BATON ROUGE, La. – Students in at least 151 and up to 180 of Louisiana’s 1,525 public schools must be offered the right – or “choice” – to transfer to other public schools, according to preliminary school accountability results released Wednesday. Local school districts where these schools are located are required to cover the costs for transportation for students requesting “choice” transfers.

In addition, 56 of the schools must also offer students the opportunity for tutoring from state-approved vendors, or Supplemental Educational Services (SES), based on federal regulations. SES is defined by the U.S. Department of Education as “tutoring or extra help provided to students in reading, language arts/English, and math from approved providers.” This extra help can be provided before or after school, on weekends, or during the summer

Louisiana’s School Accountability System calls for continuous improvement in student achievement, attendance and dropout rates. Schools receive numerical scores – known as School Performance Scores – based on their students’ test scores on LEAP/GEE and The Iowa Tests, as well as their dropout and attendance records. Schools scoring below 60 are considered Academically Unacceptable.

Overall, 175 – or about 12 percent – of Louisiana’s 1,525 public schools have been deemed Academically Unacceptable. Altogether, 151 must offer “choice” and will be in School Improvement 2 (SI2) or higher. For the remaining 24 Academically Unacceptable schools, the Department of Education is recommending that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education grant them a 1-year waiver because these schools were Academic Warning Schools in 2004 but have a 1-year 2005 growth School Performance Score of 60 or above. If the waiver is granted, these schools will not face SI2 sanctions, including school choice, for the 2005-2006 school year. Another five schools failed the Subgroup Component for two or more consecutive years in the same subject and therefore may have to offer “choice if they are Title I schools.

(Schools recommended for this waiver are listed in a table on Page 3 of this release.)

While the 175 school figure is an increase over the 78 schools identified as Academically Unacceptable in 2004, the increase is due to rising standards in the School Accountability Program. In 1999, a school was Academically Unacceptable if it had a School Performance Score of 30 or below. In 2003, the bar was raised to a score of below 45. This year, any school with a 2005 Baseline School Performance Score below 60 is Academically Unacceptable.

The total number of Academically Unacceptable Schools is significantly less than what state officials predicted last year when it was estimated as many as 250 schools would be Academically Unacceptable under the new, higher standard.

It is also far fewer than the 456 schools – or 33 percent –  that scored below 60 when they were first judged under the state’s Accountability System (388 K-8 schools in 1999 and 68 high schools in 2001).

“We continue to raise our standards and our schools continue to rise to our higher expectations, and I am very proud of that,” State Superintendent of Education Cecil J. Picard said. “This is clearly evidenced by the drop in the numbers and percentages of schools scoring below 60 since we began our school improvement journey. Although I realize much still needs to be done, I am encouraged by this trend.”

“The principle behind our accountability system is simple – reward schools that grow academically and assist schools and students who need help – and our nationally acclaimed Accountability System is accomplishing just  that,” State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Glenny Lee Buquet said. “With our track record, I expect many of these schools can exit School Improvement in years to come, but it won’t be easy. Local and district leadership must take this seriously and increase their targeted efforts.”

Academically Unacceptable schools enter School Improvement 2 and are required to offer choice, in addition to revising their School Improvement Plan and being provided a District Assistance Team. In each consecutive year that an Academically Unacceptable school does not meet its Growth Target, or year-to-year goal, the school moves to a higher level of School Improvement. Each higher level of School Improvement has more stringent consequences for the school.

Schools identified for School Improvement 2 through “subgroup” criteria must offer choice if they are Title I schools. Non-Title I schools will not have to offer “choice” but will have to implement other requirements for School Improvement 2 such as school improvement plans and District Assistance Teams.

The state plans to release School Performance Scores and Subgroup Component results for the remaining public schools later this year. In order for students to be offered the choice to attend other public schools or to receive free tutoring services at the beginning of the school year, the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires schools that have not met AYP and are in School Improvement be identified by the beginning of each school year. Results for these schools are preliminary and will be verified for the final release later this year. More schools could be identified as Academically Unacceptable at that later release. 

Of the 180 schools in School Improvement 2 or higher, 73 are in Orleans Parish. The others are located in the following districts, including:

·         22 in East Baton Rouge Parish

·         18 in Caddo Parish

·         15 in Jefferson Parish

·         4 in City of Monroe School District

·         3 each in Calcasieu Parish, Concordia Parish, East Feliciana Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, Rapides Parish, and Tangipahoa Parish

·         2 each in Avoyelles Parish, Iberia Parish, Madison Parish, Morehouse Parish, Richland Parish, and St. Helena Parish

·         1 each in Ascension Parish, DeSoto Parish, East Carroll Parish, Franklin Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Ouachita Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Mary Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Union Parish

·         1 BESE Special School – Louisiana  School for the Deaf

·         2 Charter schools – East Baton Rouge Arts and Technology School and Milestone SABIS Academy of New Orleans

One-hundred and seventy-five of the 180 schools entering School Improvement 2 or higher for 2005 were identified because their School Performance Score was below 60. Five other schools were identified through “subgroup” criteria requiring schools to improve in each of nine subgroups in English/Language Arts and Math for two consecutive years in a row. Additionally, 48 of the Academically Unacceptable Schools did not meet the Subgroup Component requirements in addition to being Academically Unacceptable.

The following table contains those schools with a Growth SPS above 60. The Department of Education is recommending that BESE grant these schools a waiver from accountability sanctions, as it has done in prior years when standards have increased.

In the following tables:

* denotes alternative school

** indicates a closed school.  Districts are required by BESE policy to consult with the Louisiana Department of Education to determine that the needs of students transferred from closed schools in SI2 or higher are met.

There are another 95 schools that are Academically Unacceptable that must implement the requirements of School Improvement 2, which include offering public school “choice,” rewriting their School Improvement Plan, being provided a District Assistance Team, and setting aside 10 percent of Title I funds for professional development.

Click here for Table 2

·         There are four additional schools in School Improvement 2 because they did not meet the Subgroup Component requirements, even though they have School Performance Scores above 60. Stella Worley Junior High in Jefferson Parish is also in School Improvement 2, although it met the Subgroup Component requirements this year.  According to NCLB, once a school enters School Improvement 2 for not meeting Subgroup Component requirements for 2 consecutive years, the school must meet these requirements for 2 consecutive years before the school can exit School Improvement 2. If any of these schools are a Title I school, they must offer “choice” in addition to the requirements listed above for all School Improvement 2 schools. Any of these schools that are not Title I schools are not required to offer school choice.