La. House panel OKs abolishment of insurance rating commission
May 15, 2007May 17
May 17, 2007
The Tri-parish school systems applauded the increase in overall student performance on the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program exam, but were disappointed in the high school results.
The State Department of Education released the results of the LEAP and the Graduation Exit Examination Thursday.
Both tests include an English, mathematics, science and social studies section. Students must score at or above the state average to demonstrate a basic understanding of the state’s curriculum.
State results indicate that Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes showed continued performance growth on the LEAP exam, while several Tri-parish middle schools still need improvements in key areas.
“We haven’t digested everything, but we are very proud of the improvement the students made on the LEAP exam. We still have inconsistencies in some areas, but we are doing what we can to correct that,” said Lafourche Parish testing coordinator Julie Bourgeois.
The LEAP was administered to fourth and eighth grade students.
The state mandates that all students who score below the minimum requirement on the LEAP exam attend summer remedation. Remedation for the Lafourche Parish begins May 28, according to Bourgeois.
Parents should contact their child’s school for more information, she said.
Friday afternoon, Terrebonne Parish school officials were still deciphering the results.
Terrebonne testing coordinator Kathy Tamplain said, “We are still analyzing the results. However, we are extremely proud of our fourth grade students. And, we are addressing the key areas where we need improvements.”
Fourth grade students in Terrebonne Parish continue to improve, scoring nearly 10 percent above the state level on the LEAP exam, while the eighth grade students still struggled in math and social studies.
Lafourche’s fourth grade students showed a surprising increase in the number of students who scored at or above “Approaching Basic” level in science and social studies.
Bourgeois attributes the increase in social studies and science scores to excellent classroom instruction, and adherence and implementation of the comprehensive curriculum.
“The better job we do at being true to the Louisiana comprehensive curriculum, the better our scores will be,” Bourgeois said.
St. Mary’s Accountability Manager Kevin P. Derise said, “I feel that many of our schools will show positive gains in their School Performance Scores (SPS) based on these LEAP/GEE scores. We anxiously await the release of the iLEAP test scores next week which will complete the academic achievement part of the SPS.”
St. Mary’s fourth graders saw a 10 percent increase in the number of students at or above “Approaching Basic” level in English, compared to the 51 percent they received last year.
School officials said they were disappointed in the 10th and 11th grade student’s performance on the graduation exam. Students must pass the English and math portion along with a science or social studies section to receive a high school diploma.
In Lafourche Parish, up four percent from last year 16 percent of the students, who took the GEE for the first time failed the English section. In mathematics and science, failing rates remained at 16 percent and 14 percent respectively.
Terrebonne’s re-testing failure rate showed improvements in science and math. However, 77 percent of the testers failed the English section of the exam.
In St. Mary, 18 percent of the students taking the GEE for the first time failed to meet the requirements for the English portion, down four percent from last year. In science, failing rates remained at 16 percent.
“Despite the modest decline, St. Mary’s 10th grade students still scored at above the state’s average in mathematics and English. Science scores maintained the state average while social studies showed substantial growth and scored above the state’s average,” Derise said.
The secondary school students are given seven opportunities to pass the English and math section, and four chances to pass the science and social studies portion before graduation.
Students begin taking the English and math portions of the test in the 10th grade and the science and social studies sections in the 11th grade state officials said.
