Annual findings on Louisiana’s education system are released

By Meghan Holmes
Contributing Writer

On Nov. 8, the Louisiana Department of Education released annual findings on the status of the state’s education system. During a press call, Superintendent John White described the performance profiles as reflecting, “improvements every day across the state,” as well as, “showing us where we see successes and struggles,” he said.

Available to the public at www.louisianaschools.com, the data shows that while overall state test scores and graduation rates are improving, many students of color and those with special needs continue to struggle.

“We are in the first stage of a three-step process in which we will identify challenges that schools have and then make plans, raise funds and implement measures to improve those schools,” White said.

Louisiana grades K-12 schools based on a variety of criteria, including test scores on state LEAP tests and the ACT, as well as graduation rates. Grades also reflect how schools improve from year to year, with significant improvement in a short amount of time leading to a higher letter grade. That is just one change the state has made to how they score schools this year – students are also required to test at a mastery level on LEAP tests for an “A” grade. In the past, a lower basic level was accepted.

“The result is that we have fewer A’s this year, but really more or less the scores have stayed flat,” White said. “We are putting greater expectations on students, and we are seeing them make strong gains. We have a higher graduation rate than ever before, and a higher percentage of students who receive industry-based credentials or dual enrollment credit than ever…We are seeing modest shifts in grades while we implement higher standards.”

The state’s website allows the public to access data for individual schools, illustrating how they determine each letter grade. Lists of extracurricular activities and after-school programs allow parents to see what each school offers, and statistical breakdowns show how different student populations perform on tests.

“We are now using labels that show when urgent intervention is required, meaning that a group within that school, it could be small or large, is having challenges. So, even an “A” rated school could have that label,” he said. “We also have schools with a comprehensive intervention label, that have struggled for years.”

The state has also released data on head starts, daycares and child development centers across the state. The evaluation system is different, involving in-person visits at every site in Louisiana.

“We visited hundreds of sites to observe and ask questions like, Is it emotionally supportive and organized? Are teachers engaging in developing students’ cognitive intellectual capacities? We still see systems struggling, especially at the infant and toddler level, but we are also seeing yearly growth at the proficient and excellent level,” White said.

Overall, White described a system in flux, working to improve student outcomes with limited funding and pressure to produce high scores in spite of stagnant wages for teachers and support staff.

“We have to do better by our teachers and have competitive wages,” he said. “But, we also have to act now. Whether or not a “D” or an “F” school has adequate funding, we have to act with fierce urgency. We are doing what we can with evidence-based plans, while we also advocate for more funding.”

This article originally published in the November 19, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.