Students show improvement on LEAP test
BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Education announced results of the spring 2016 LEAP assessments on Thursday.
Students improved performance in English language arts and math, increasing from 33 percent of all ELA and math tests in those subjects scoring mastery or above in 2015 to 38 percent in 2016 and from 65 percent scoring basic or above in 2015 to 67 percent in 2016. Additionally, the percentage of students scoring "Mastery" or above in science increased at every grade level from 2015 to 2016. The trend indicates that students, educators, and schools are adjusting to higher expectations implemented through a four-year transition period, mirroring a similar trend in other states.
Performance also improved among historically disadvantaged student populations, though not at the same rate as the general population in every case. At the mastery level, economically disadvantaged students saw a five percentage point increase, equal to the state increase, from 25 percent in 2015 to 30 percent in 2016. African-American students realized a three percentage point increase in students scoring mastery, from 21 percent in 2015 to 24 percent in 2016.
While overall student performance improved, achievement gaps between peers persist. The achievement gap between African-American students and white students at the "Mastery" level is 26 percentage points. Likewise, the achievement gap at the mastery level between economically disadvantaged students and those who are not economically disadvantaged is 28 percentage points. Both gaps are larger today than they were under less challenging standards, prior to the transition.
"We have raised academic expectations in order to prepare more students for the workplace and college. These results are encouraging. However, still today, too few students are fully prepared for the next level of education, and significant gaps remain in performance between historically disadvantaged students and their peers," State Superintendent John White said. "We have the opportunity to address these challenges through Louisiana's plan in response to the Every Student Succeeds Act. I am greatly encouraged by the conversations I have had with educators, parents, community members, business leaders, and civil rights advocates over the last two months."
Transitioning tests
These results are part of a four-year "baseline" evaluation of student skills in Louisiana. After the baseline period, the state will gradually raise performance requirements for schools in the school rating system. Historically an "A" school is one where the average score is basic. By 2025, an "A" school will be one where the average score is mastery, indicating full readiness for the next level of education.
During this transition, the department will work in partnership with BESE, the Accountability Commission, and other key stakeholder groups to determine the pace at which schools and schools systems will move towards mastery.
BESE also continued its transition policies during this baseline period - ensuring school and district letter grades do not fall below the pre-transition distribution; allowing "high-stakes" promotion decisions to be made locally rather than through state tests; and not requiring that tests data be used for educator evaluations. These policies continue through 2017.
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