Better grades reflect hard work

When the Louisiana Department of Education released its report cards for high schools, nothing surprised or pleased as much as this: Not a single school earned a failing grade.

That alone is news to shout about. For the first time in recent years, the Monroe City School System’s Carroll High School has raised its grade to a D from F. The teachers, students and staff at Carroll should be congratulated for their hard work.

A clearer picture of secondary education will be available next month when the state reports on schools that house more than grades 9-12, but among the 20 schools in northeastern Louisiana that serve purely as high schools, two high schools received A’s, six received B’s, three received C’s and nine had D’s.

Even more gratifying is that only one of the 20 schools slipped a grade — Grambling State University Lab School to a D.

High schools are rated on performance in end-of-course tests; ACT; graduation rate; and credentialing programs such as Advanced Placement courses and tests, dual enrollment courses and Jump Start courses and credentials. Statewide data show progress in all areas. More schools also demonstrated progress with low-achieving students due to increased reading and math scores with previously low-achieving students and changes in BESE policy.

The school grades, however, point to two stubborn trends.

The first: Resources matter. The nine schools that earned D’s are located in poorer rural parishes or poorer urban settings. Among these are Wossman and Carroll, but also Bastrop, Delhi, Franklin Parish, Madison, Rayville and Union high schools.

Students at these schools are at a disadvantage as they face a future in the global marketplace. It’s an unfortunate truth that, in this country, place of birth can be limiting. Schools that can afford the best teachers and offer the widest range of courses have better grades.

But General Trass High School also shows that with concentrated effort, those limitations can be overcome.

That East Carroll Parish high school jumped from a D to a B, showing the biggest increase in letters grades in northeastern Louisiana. Rickey Taylor, principal of General Trass High, said his teachers put in extra effort and gave students lots of individual attention. He also credited an ACT mastery program with helping the juniors and senior perform better on tests.

That’s a real success story. The challenge now will be to sustain that success.

The second trend: Schools with B grades face a difficult task to show improvement. When school accountability under the Jindal administration began, Ouachita Parish School System was considered one of the top systems in the state. From that lofty place, the system has found it difficult to show gains.

Four schools with B grades and large resources stood pat: Neville High School, Ouachita Parish High School, West Monroe High School and West Ouachita High School.

Two managed to move B’s to A’s – Ruston and Sterlington high schools.

In General Trass, Ruston and Sterlington, northeastern Louisiana has schools that bucked those stubborn trends. It can be done, and their examples should inspire area educators to a new goal for next year: No F’s and fewer D’s.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star’s editorial board, composed of General Manager and Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock, Engagement and Community Content Editor Hope Young, Watchdog and Storytelling Coach Mark Henderson and Business and Politics Reporter Greg Hilburn.