Superintendent says programs being designed to spur improvement in local districts.

Baton Rouge, La. – School districts across the state received their District Performance Scores (DPS) based on the school year ending in May/June 2007. It is a measurement of how districts compare to other local public school systems. The DPS is essentially a “roll up” of individual student scores on State examinations. Results from the LEAP, iLEAP and Graduation Exit Exams (GEE) are utilized along with student attendance and dropout rates.

Sixty-one districts received scores for the 2006-2007 school year. Additionally, 8 other districts were not included in the DPS because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including Cameron Parish, Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Tammany Parish, City of Bogalusa and the Recovery School District. These districts will re-enter the Louisiana Accountability System in 2007-2008.

For the third consecutive year, the Zachary Community School District earned the state’s highest marks, scoring 110.1. The rest of the top five remained largely unchanged from the previous year, with West Feliciana Parish second, Vernon Parish climbing to third and Ouachita Parish fourth, with Livingston rounding out the group. St. Helena Parish remained the lowest performer, with Madison Parish, City of Baker Schools, Franklin Parish and East Feliciana making up the rest of the bottom five. The state average District Performance Score remained steady at 85.3. This is certainly expected, since the School Performance Scores (SPS), which directly correlate to District Performance Scores, were released in September 2007 and revealed a leveling off of SPS figures.

School districts in Louisiana are also given DPS labels or “Stars” annually, indicating their level of performances. The chart below defines each label.

There was very little movement in the individual district ratings. For the 2006-2007 school year, 5 districts achieved three-star status, compared to four the previous year, and 33 districts earned a two-star rating, the same as in 2005-2006. The state also has 3 districts rated as Academically Unacceptable, an increase from 2 the year before. The state earned an overall two-star rating.

State Superintendent Paul Pastorek said, “These numbers will not come as a surprise to the districts. DPS ratings are consistent with the School Performance Scores we released in September 2007 and are precisely the reason we quickly began our effort to pair high performing schools with high priority schools in November 2007. We have also added educational consultants to provide technical support at the school level. Plans have been made to expand and build on the success of the LA 4 program, and we are in the process of designing our ‘Ensuring Literacy and Numeracy for All’ initiative, which we will begin implementing this summer. This statewide effort seeks to ensure that more children, particularly in grades PK-4, are successful with reading, writing and mathematics. We are also committed to refocusing and redoubling our High School Redesign effort so our graduates will be prepared for education and employment opportunities in a global market.”

Mr. Pastorek continued, “In addition to the direct assistance that the Department provides to districts, LDE has encouraged utilization of resources available to supplement their local efforts. For example, the PASS website has had over 35,000 children accessing it each day for the past several weeks, more than ever before. Also, the after-school LEAP tutorial helpline has served nearly 4,000 students to date. We believe that we will see the results of that support when this year’s scores are tallied.”

In other key indicators:

Eighth Grade Persistence, a measure of a district’s ability to keep 8 th grade students enrolled in school, is aimed at rewarding districts that do not lose students in the period between middle and high school. Districts are given credit for 8 th grade “persistence” if an enrolled 8 th grader returns to school the following year. The indicator is calculated using two years of data. The state’s overall 8 th Grade Persistence rating remained Unacceptable, with a score of 96.0.

Districts are given 8th Grade Persistence Indicator labels as defined below :

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Linda Johnson stated, “Certainly we remain concerned about this score. All school districts need to take this opportunity to re-examine what is being done to keep these students in school. It is critical that we reduce the number of dropouts in this state. We will work to support the State Superintendent as the Department and our local districts tackle one of our state’s greatest challenges.”

Thirteen school districts were labeled Exceptional in their 8 th Grade Persistence Indicator, down from 15 the previous year. Twenty-four districts were labeled Unacceptable. The top performing districts for 8 th Grade Persistence were Jefferson Davis Parish, Caldwell Parish and Zachary Community Schools. The lowest performing districts were Madison Parish, Evangeline Parish, Franklin Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish and St. John the Baptist Parish.

The Teacher Certification Indicator measures whether the core subjects of English language arts, math, science and social studies are taught by certified teachers in both low performing schools and in all schools. Districts earn extra points by placing their certified teachers in low performing schools and/or placing their non-certified teachers into certification programs. Districts are given Teacher Certification Indicator labels as defined below:

“One of our highest priorities at the Department of Education is supporting the recruitment and retention of Highly Qualified teachers for every classroom in the state. We will continue to work on policy and legislation that moves that agenda forward,” said Superintendent Pastorek. “The most important factor in improving student achievement is having a quality teacher in the classroom.”

Nineteen districts received an Exceptional label, up from 13 in 2005-2006, while 12 districts were labeled Unacceptable, down from 15 the previous year. Overall, Louisiana received a Marginal label for its efforts. The top-performing districts were Jackson Parish, Red River Parish, Vermilion Parish, Caldwell Parish, and LaSalle Parish. The lowest performing districts were Madison Parish, Tensas Parish, Grant Parish, St. Helena Parish, and City of Baker Schools.

“What we learned this year is that we have school districts in Louisiana that are making strides, but that isn’t enough,” continued Superintendent Pastorek. “We are going to continue working with these districts that aren’t where they need to be, and to take a hard look as a state at our plans to fulfill the promises that we’ve made to our children.”

2006-2007 District Accountability Ranking Tables

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