School scores remain steady after second year of LEAP 2025

The long awaited 2018 Louisiana Education Assessment Program tests (LEAP 2025) results are here and show that the overall mastery of English language arts (ELA) and mathematics remained steady, according to the state’s Department of Education.
State Superintendent John White said, “Everyday, educators across the state are committed to ensuring that every child, even those who struggle the most, has the opportunity to thrive. The results released today are a testament to those efforts. But those same results also illuminate persistent struggles, such as gaps among our historically disadvantaged student groups and their peers or our students’ grasp of fundamental mathematics skills. As we continue to implement Louisiana’s ESSA plan, we must maintain clear communication about these barriers and our progress in overcoming them.”
The LEAP 2025 test assesses ELA, math, science and social studies for grades 3-12, and measures the knowledge and skills contained in the state’s content standards for the particular grade.
The five levels that student scores are reported include Unsatisfactory, Approaching Basic, Basic, Mastery, or Advanced. Mastery and above, which is considered proficient, or ready for the next grade level.
According to a release from the Department of Education the overall percentage of students who scored mastery and above in ELA during the 2017-2018 school year for grades 3-8 was 43, while last year it was 42 percent. The percent for grades 3-12 was also 43.
In terms of math, things stayed the same for grades 3-8 with a total of 32 percent of students scoring mastery and above. When examined for grades 3-12 the percent of students scoring mastery or above for the 2017-2018 school year was 33.
For social studies, the percent of students scoring mastery or above increased by two percent from 25 to 27 for grades 3-8.
In the Department of Education’s release, it stated that “historically disadvantaged students are improving in ELA, mathematics, and social studies, but their overall performance and rate of improvement remain lower than that of their peers.”
These results, according to the Department of Education, “signal Louisiana must continue to address persistent challenges and remove barriers to student success,” which will be done by “strengthening essential mathematics skills” and “building a foundation of early literacy.”
The state has also said that in an effort to provide better information to educators and families regarding student progress school systems can now begin sending home student reports for LEAP 2025 ELA, math, and social studies, along with a copy of the Parent Guide to the LEAP 2025 Student Reports.
The Department of Education then plans to release preliminary 2017-2018 student progress results for school and teachers showing how well students are progressing toward mastery. In its release the department stated, “Value-added results will be released to school systems in August 2018 to provide teachers with information on how students improved relative to their peers during the 2017-2018 school year.”
Finally, this fall, the Department of Education will start rewarding schools not only for students’ outright performance on state tests but also for how much students improve throughout the school year.
The Department of Education’s release stated, “A new “Student Progress Index” will be added to the accountability system and will account for 25 percent of an elementary or middle school’s overall school performance score and 12.5 percent of a high school’s overall grade. Those scores, their accompanying letter grade equivalent, and school profiles will be made available through the Louisiana School Finder this fall.”