La. high schools improve student achievement
BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Education released school report cards Thursday for high schools containing only grades 9-12 for the 2014-15 school year.
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.
There are 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.
School Performance Scores for all remaining schools — elementary, middle and combination schools (K-12) — will be released in December.
Click here to see northeastern Louisiana 2015 High School Performance Scores and Letter Grades.
Seven northeastern Louisiana schools climbed one or more letter grades. Those are:
- Caldwell Parish High School, from C to B
- Carroll High School, from F to D
- General Trass High School, from D to B
- Jonesboro-Hodge High School, from D to C
- Richwood High School, from D to C
- Ruston High School, from B to A
- Sterlington High School. from B to A
Caldwell Parish High School is the fifth-most improved in the state. The school pulled its School Performance School up by 21.7 points compared to 2014. Caldwell Parish Schools Superintendent Karla Tollett said the boost was the result of years of efforts, starting at the junior high level. Tollett said the district started offering more credits at the junior high level as a deterrent to dropping out. She said directors worked to integrate reading and writing in all areas, and they made sure teacher understood their role in getting high scores. The results, she said, were thanks to years of support from the board and hard work on the part of the students and teachers.
The letter grade for General Trass High School in East Carroll Parish 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. He said there has not been another year during his tenure that more students scored 18 or higher on the ACT.
State releases schools' PARCC scores
One high school, Grambling State University Lab High School, lost a letter grade. It fell from a D to a C. The School Performance Score was 68.7 in 2015 and 71.6 in 2014, a decrease of 2.9 points.
Pamela Payne, principal of the lab school, said she contributes the drop to a decrease in ACT scores and a few students who didn't graduate last year.
"When we have two, that makes our percentage go down quickly," she said. The school servced 133 students last year. With the addition of a virtual program, the school now serves 189 students though virtual and brick-and-mortar campuses.
Payne said her teachers had focused on end-of-course tests, and they saw positive results in those areas. She said she plans to discuss the score with her teachers one-on-one.
Twelve local high schools maintained the same letter grade obtained in 2014. Those are:
- Bastrop High School, D
- Delhi High School, D
- Franklin Parish High School, D
- Madison High School, D
- Mangham High School, C
- Neville High School, B
- Ouachita Parish High School, B
- Rayville High School, D
- Union Parish High School, D
- West Monroe High School, B
- West Ouachita High School, B
- Wossman High School, D
On Thursday, State Superintendent John White said after the transition baseline period in which all Louisiana public schools are engaged, the state will raise the bar on every measure so that by 2025 students in an A-rated school will average performance levels indicating full readiness for the next level of education on every measure. The Accountability Commission will begin to address this transition for elementary, middle and high schools in 2016.
"While our accountability system indicated that more kids are ready for postsecondary education, there are still too many barriers to kids affording postsecondary education," White said.
Problems include low FAFSA completion and underutilization of TOPS Tech, he said. Fewer than 50 percent of students are completing a FAFSA every year, leaving nearly $55 million on the table, and TOPS Tech is awarded only to 21% of eligible students.
"Our norm has to be full readiness for the next stage of education, and the ability to afford it," White said," and that is where the next stage of our high school rewards system must go."
Online
To view a PowerPoint presentation on the release of the 2015 High School Performance Scores, click here.
To view 2015 High School Report Cards, click here.
To view the 2015 High School Performance Scores and Letter Grades (Alphabetical by District), click here.
