Central Middle, Eunice Jr. High get 'Top Gain' rank on performance testing

The new school performance results are in, with St. Landry Parish falling to a D by the thinnest of margins.
The parish needed one more point to score 70 and reached the C level under the new accountability system more heavily based on student performance on standardized tests.
Had the year been evaluated under the previous rating system, which used a 200-point scale, it would have received a 94.6, good for a C.
As for Eunice schools, some got higher letter grades and some lower under the new system, while Eunice Elementary remained an A.
Eunice schools’ scores:
A:  Eunice Elementary, previous year A;
B:  Glendale Elementary, previous year A;
C:  Central Middle (Top Gainer),  previous C, East Elementary,  previous C, Eunice High, previous B, Eunice Junior High (Top Gainer), previous D;
D: Highland Elementary, previously D.
The previous rating system for elementary schools counted student scores on iLEAP and LEAP tests for 90 percent of the school’s grade. School attendance accounted for 10 percent of the grade. Now, however, these schools will be graded entirely on student test scores.
For middle schools, 90 percent was formerly based on test scores, 5 percent on attendance and 5 percent on dropout rates. This year, 95 percent is based on test scores, and 5 percent will be based on how many students drop out or don’t progress to the next grade level.
At the high school level, 70 percent of the school’s grade was based on end-of-course examinations, 30 percent on graduation rates. This year, 25 percent is based on ACT scores, 25 percent on end-of-course exams and 50 percent on graduation rates.
According to St. Landry Parish Superintendent Edward Brown, there were two A schools, six B schools, 12 C schools, eight D schools, and six F schools last year.
Angela Cassimere, supervisor of instruction, school choice and school improvement, said four parish schools received “Top Gains” designation because of the improvement they posted.
Three schools, Eunice Jr. High School, Sunset Elementary, and Magnet Academy for the Cultural Arts earned 10 bonus points, giving them the distinction. Bonus points are earned when a certain amount of students who were not proficient the previous year improved their designated achievement gap.
Central Middle School also received the Top Gains distinction, but Cassimere said it did so without bonus points needing to be factored in.
This year’s scale is:
A -100-150 points
B - 85-99.9
C -70-84.9
D-50-69.9
F -0-49.9
The previous scale was:
A - 120-200
B -105-119.9
C- 90-104.9
D -75-89.9
F- 0-74.9