Ponchatoula Junior High School

Summary:

Ponchatoula Junior High School is a public middle school serving around 770 students in grades 7-8 in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, which is part of the Tangipahoa Parish school district.

Academically, Ponchatoula Junior High School struggles, with test scores generally below the Tangipahoa Parish and Louisiana state averages, particularly in Mathematics. The school's performance is especially low in this subject, with 7th and 8th grade students scoring around 44% proficient compared to 59% and 48% statewide. However, the school performs better in English Language Arts, with 63% of students proficient or better, compared to 54% in the district and 69% statewide. Ponchatoula Junior High also has significant achievement gaps, with African American and Hispanic students, as well as male students, performing much worse than their peers.

Compared to nearby middle schools like Folsom Junior High, Madisonville Junior High, and Loranger Middle, all in the higher-performing St. Tammany Parish district, Ponchatoula Junior High School significantly underperforms, particularly in Mathematics. This suggests that factors beyond just socioeconomic status, such as school leadership, teaching quality, and resource allocation, may be contributing to the academic disparities.


Detail:

Public 7-8

 315 East Oak Street
       Ponchatoula, LA  70454


(985) 370-5322

District: Tangipahoa Parish

SchoolDigger Rank:
304th of 449 Louisiana Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $11,942 Help


Students who attend Ponchatoula Junior High School usually attend:

High:    Ponchatoula High School

Feeder schools for Ponchatoula Junior High School:

Elementary:    D.C. Reeves Elementary School
    Perrin Early Learning Center
    Tucker Memorial Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio:  18.6 Help
Number of students:  770

Racial breakdown:

White:
51.0%
African American:
34.8%
Hispanic:
7.3%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  59.7% Help


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 Compare Ponchatoula Junior High School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Ponchatoula Junior High School ranks worse than 67.7% of middle schools in Louisiana. It also ranks 3rd among 6 ranked middle schools in the Tangipahoa Parish School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 34.4. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Ponchatoula Junior High School has the largest middle school student body size in the Tangipahoa Parish School District. Racial makeup is: White (51%), African American (34.8%), Hispanic (7.3%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 59.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Tangipahoa Parish School District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Ponchatoula Junior High School is 18.6. 3 middle schools in the Tangipahoa Parish School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Ponchatoula Junior High School employs 41.2 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Ponchatoula Junior High School is $11,942. 5 middle schools in the Tangipahoa Parish School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Ponchatoula Junior High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Ponchatoula Junior High School 304th of 449 Louisiana public middle schools. (See Ponchatoula Junior High School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Tangipahoa Parish:

SchoolDigger ranks Tangipahoa Parish 91st of 122 Louisiana school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Ponchatoula Junior High School

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Rank History for all students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2007 60.84 176th 396 55.6%
2008 63.74 162nd 413 60.8%
2009 61.98 180th 425 57.6%
2010 49.19 239th 408 41.4%
2011 49.58 249th 412 39.6%
2012 56.13 205th 442 53.6%
2013 56.81 201st 457 56.0%
2014 64.07 165th 470 64.9%
2015 60.52 189th 482 60.8%
2016 58.63 189th 435 56.6%
2017 53.53 226th 437 48.3%
2018 33.70 279th 411 32.1%
2019 43.73 269th 449 40.1%
2021 44.21 259th 459 43.6%
2022 40.64 281st 460 38.9%
2023 40.50 281st 465 39.6%
2024 34.40 304th 449 32.3%
See the entire list of Louisiana Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 43.09 22nd 33 33.3%
2019 33.89 35th 49 28.6%
2021 36.47 40th 57 29.8%
2022 27.37 49th 58 15.5%
2023 25.48 53rd 63 15.9%
2024 13.73 37th 39 5.1%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 48.05 21st 48 56.3%
2024 43.42 29th 48 39.6%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 28.30 160th 210 23.8%
2022 25.08 156th 206 24.3%
2023 30.24 148th 206 28.2%
2024 33.61 120th 175 31.4%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 41.20 262nd 403 35.0%
2019 35.47 300th 430 30.2%
2021 35.99 291st 455 36.0%
2022 30.54 321st 458 29.9%
2023 28.93 335th 459 27.0%
2024 24.10 357th 444 19.6%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 52.82 12th 29 58.6%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 47.95 229th 418 45.2%
2021 34.04 305th 441 30.8%
2022 40.12 282nd 441 36.1%
2023 44.12 262nd 444 41.0%
2024 38.42 273rd 415 34.2%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 37.94 268th 418 35.9%
2021 51.87 211th 442 52.3%
2022 40.86 261st 442 41.0%
2023 37.31 279th 443 37.0%
2024 30.80 301st 426 29.3%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 42.84 190th 313 39.3%
2019 28.69 250th 338 26.0%
2021 34.05 230th 352 34.7%
2022 36.93 221st 360 38.6%
2023 35.93 230th 360 36.1%
2024 30.20 249th 333 25.2%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 37.89 82nd 118 30.5%
2019 53.90 61st 128 52.3%
2021 19.36 130th 153 15.0%
2022 22.26 134th 163 17.8%
2023 17.81 140th 163 14.1%
2024 32.67 108th 152 28.9%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Ponchatoula Junior High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools LA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 43.16 205th 338 39.3%
2019 39.96 233rd 350 33.4%
2021 42.42 224th 358 37.4%
2022 35.22 256th 362 29.3%
2023 35.33 252nd 352 28.4%
2024 38.28 219th 320 31.6%
See the entire list of Best Louisiana Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Louisiana Dept of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Ponchatoula Junior High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Louisiana Dept of Education

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Enrollment information for Ponchatoula Junior High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 538 538
1990 435 145 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 580
1991 470 153 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 623
1992 467 167 1 0 0 n/a n/a 0 635
1993 469 139 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 610
1994 470 162 1 5 0 n/a n/a 0 638
1995 550 166 2 4 0 n/a n/a 0 722
1996 550 166 2 4 0 n/a n/a 0 722
1997 575 145 4 2 0 n/a n/a 0 726
1998 588 148 7 1 0 n/a n/a 0 744
1999 579 123 3 2 0 n/a n/a 0 707
2000 564 113 1 2 0 n/a n/a 0 680
2001 532 114 3 3 0 n/a n/a 0 652
2002 507 132 3 5 0 n/a n/a 0 647
2003 507 132 3 5 0 n/a n/a 0 647
2004 528 152 2 3 0 n/a n/a 0 685
2005 553 181 5 4 1 n/a n/a 0 744
2006 545 177 3 8 2 n/a n/a 0 735
2007 540 141 2 7 2 n/a n/a 0 692
2008 524 155 3 8 2 n/a n/a 0 692
2009 524 181 5 10 2 n/a n/a 0 722
2010 515 202 4 14 1 n/a n/a 0 736
2011 508 232 7 11 0 0 1 0 759
2012 456 241 7 14 2 0 0 0 720
2013 467 254 7 17 2 0 4 0 751
2014 510 238 6 17 0 1 4 0 776
2015 477 258 5 10 2 0 7 0 759
2016 443 223 1 17 1 0 12 0 697
2017 429 226 2 27 0 0 41 0 725
2018 443 280 6 37 0 0 48 0 814
2019 447 278 5 40 1 1 41 0 813
2020 435 274 2 45 1 2 56 0 815
2021 407 274 3 45 0 2 53 0 784
2022 427 264 4 60 1 1 43 0 800
2023 393 268 5 56 2 0 46 0 770

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Ponchatoula Junior High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 538 31.0 17.3 37
1990 580 30.0 19.3 39.1
1991 623 30.0 20.7 32.6
1992 635 31.0 20.4 35.4
1993 610 32.0 19.1 36.9
1994 638 33.0 19.3 35
1995 722 36.0 20.1 34.9
1996 722 36.0 20.1 34.9
1997 726 38.0 19.1 39.4
1998 744 37.0 20.1 36.3
1999 707 37.0 19.1 41
2000 680 36.0 18.9 41.8
2001 652 35.0 18.6 44.5
2002 647 33.8 19.1 46.4
2003 647 33.8 19.1 46.4
2004 685 32.0 21.4 49.6
2005 744 36.2 20.6 51.7
2006 735 36.8 20.0 53.7
2007 692 38.3 18.1 49.1
2008 692 38.0 18.2 46.5
2009 722 37.0 19.5 55.5
2010 736 41.0 17.9 53.9
2011 759 39.9 18.9 57.6
2012 720 40.0 18.0 64.3
2013 751 37.0 20.2 65.2
2014 776 40.0 19.4 68.3
2015 759 39.0 19.4 68.1
2016 697 n/a n/a 66.3
2017 725 43.4 16.6 73.5
2018 814 35.5 22.9 38.6
2019 813 38.0 21.3 39.9
2020 815 39.0 20.8 46.1
2021 784 41.0 19.1 40.4
2022 800 38.6 20.6 37
2023 770 41.2 18.6 59.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Ponchatoula Junior High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 538 31.0 17.3 37
1990 580 30.0 19.3 39.1
1991 623 30.0 20.7 32.6
1992 635 31.0 20.4 35.4
1993 610 32.0 19.1 36.9
1994 638 33.0 19.3 35
1995 722 36.0 20.1 34.9
1996 722 36.0 20.1 34.9
1997 726 38.0 19.1 39.4
1998 744 37.0 20.1 36.3
1999 707 37.0 19.1 41
2000 680 36.0 18.9 41.8
2001 652 35.0 18.6 44.5
2002 647 33.8 19.1 46.4
2003 647 33.8 19.1 46.4
2004 685 32.0 21.4 49.6
2005 744 36.2 20.6 51.7
2006 735 36.8 20.0 53.7
2007 692 38.3 18.1 49.1
2008 692 38.0 18.2 46.5
2009 722 37.0 19.5 55.5
2010 736 41.0 17.9 53.9
2011 759 39.9 18.9 57.6
2012 720 40.0 18.0 64.3
2013 751 37.0 20.2 65.2
2014 776 40.0 19.4 68.3
2015 759 39.0 19.4 68.1
2016 697 n/a n/a 66.3
2017 725 43.4 16.6 73.5
2018 814 35.5 22.9 38.6
2019 813 38.0 21.3 39.9
2020 815 39.0 20.8 46.1
2021 784 41.0 19.1 40.4
2022 800 38.6 20.6 37
2023 770 41.2 18.6 59.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Ponchatoula Junior High School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2017 $9,984
2018 $9,415
2019 $10,198
2020 $9,799
2021 $10,953
2022 $11,942

Data source: Louisiana Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Ponchatoula Junior High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 269th of 449 Middle schoolsRanks 281st of 465 Middle schools
 0.5%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
7th Grade Mathematics (Ponchatoula Junior High School)5548
 7%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Tangipahoa Parish)5042
 8%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Louisiana)6158
 3%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Ponchatoula Junior High School)6964
 5%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Tangipahoa Parish)6657
 9%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Louisiana)7267
 5%
7th Grade Social Studies (Ponchatoula Junior High School)5651
 5%
   7th Grade Social Studies (Tangipahoa Parish)4941
 8%
   7th Grade Social Studies (Louisiana)5552
 3%
8th Grade Mathematics (Ponchatoula Junior High School)4638
 8%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Tangipahoa Parish)4036
 4%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Louisiana)5347
 6%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Ponchatoula Junior High School)6762
 5%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Tangipahoa Parish)6356
 7%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Louisiana)7170
 1%
8th Grade Social Studies (Ponchatoula Junior High School)5751
 6%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Tangipahoa Parish)5045
 5%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Louisiana)6453
 11%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students813770
 5.3%
African American278268
 3.6%
American Indian12
 100%
Asian55
Hispanic4056
 40%
Pacific Islander10
 100%
White447393
 12.1%
Two or More Races4146
 12.2%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients39.9%59.7%
 19.9%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Ponchatoula Junior High School

Students at Ponchatoula Junior High School are 51% White, 35% African American, 7% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races.

Ponchatoula Junior High School ranks 304th of 449 Louisiana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2022-23 school year, 770 students attended Ponchatoula Junior High School.

Students who attend Ponchatoula Junior High School usually go on to attend Ponchatoula High School


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Louisiana Dept of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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