St. Landry Parish LEAP scores improve

St. Landry Parish LEAP scores improved in 2016 compared to scores in 2012, the Louisiana Department of Education reported.
In the spring 2016 test results, 30 percent of St. Landry Parish students taking the test scored at the mastery level or greater compared to 16 percent in 2016.
The parish students scored below the 38 percent state masterly level or greater achieved statewide.
Angela Cassimere, St. Landry Parish supervisor of instruction, school choice and school improvement, said, “We’ve done really well in terms of improvement.”
Many students in St. Landry Parish public schools are scoring at the basic level, she said. There will be an extra push to get the students to the mastery level, she said.
Among the top-performing districts were Acadia and Evangeline Parish.
In Acadia Parish, 44 percent or greater of the students attained mastery or greater level, up from 20 percent in 2012.
In Evangeline Parish, 42 percent of the students scored at the mastery level or greater compared to 21 percent in 2016.
Students in grades three through eight take the LEAP test.
On the state level the education department reported, Students improved performance in English language arts (ELA) 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, the department reported.
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 5 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.
The 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.