LEAP: Parish up, Bogalusa mixed

Before the end of the month, there will a new superintendent of the Bogalusa City School district, but the task facing them will include many of the same duties as their two most recent predecessors — get better results on achievement tests.

The 2011 LEAP results, released to school districts and being made public this week, are mixed — at best — for the district, while parish school officials are generally pleased with the numbers.

Fourth graders brought back a bit of the magic in the Magic City, with students considered to be performing at least at the basic level rising to 73 percent. That’s up from 69 percent a year ago and virtually on par with the state averages. Students who took the test or the first time fared better still, scoring 77 percent against last year’s 67 percent.

LEAP measures the performance of students in English Language Arts (ELA) and math in the fourth and eighth grade.

But for the headiness created by the fourth grade results, there was a hard crash at the eighth grade level.

City students scored 51 percent — down 19 points from a year ago — but the results were even worse for first-time takers of the test, with 51 percent meeting at least minimal objectives this year versus 74 percent a year ago.

Among parish fourth graders, 74 percent performed at or above standard in ELA while 73 percent met objectives in math. The ELA results met the state average while the math results were two points better than the state. A year ago, the parish ELA mark was 63 percent while the math score was also 73.

At the eighth grade level, ELA results were 69 percent — same as the state and 12 points better than a year ago. The math results showed parish students performing better than the state average — 63 versus 60 — and 12 points better than a year ago.

Each year, fourth- and eighth-grade students participate in the state’s Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) – a series of tests that determines whether they will be required to attend summer school or be held back. Based on Louisiana’s Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs), the LEAP measures fourth- and eighth-grade students' knowledge and skills in English Language Arts, math, science and social studies. Students must score Basic or above in either English Language Arts (ELA) or math and Approaching Basic or above in the other subject to advance to the next grade. Fourth-graders have had to meet this requirement since 2004, while eighth-graders have had to meet this requirement since 2006.

The following link accesses the state’s site listing results. Current data has not yet been uploaded  to allow districts the opportunity to make the results public first.

http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/uploads/16493.pdf