The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) released its 2022-23 Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) test scores on Aug. 2, results that found St. Charles Parish Public Schools ranked sixth highest in the state for “Achievement.”
Achievement scores are considered an all-subject-encompassing measuring stick, defined as the percent of students scoring Mastery and above across all four LEAP content areas: English language arts, math, science and social studies.
“While being ranked in the top 10 is reflective of the hard work and commitment of all stakeholders in St. Charles Parish Public Schools (SCPPS), there is still much work to do as we continue the pursuit of excellence,” Erin Granier, SCPPS Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, said.
LEAP tests students annually in third thru eighth grades as well as 11th grade to measure proficiency in English language arts (ELA), math, science and social studies.
Overall, 41 percent of SCPPS students in third to eigth grade scored Mastery and above, Granier said, with three standout parish schools showing particularly strong growth in scoring Mastery and above: Norco Elementary, R.K. Smith and R.J. Vial. The LEAP Mastery rate measures the percentage of students who scored a Mastery level or above and are considered proficient.
The parish’s two public high schools also showed improvement over last year, with the overall percentage of students scoring Mastery and above increasing two points to 47 percent across all high school LEAP subjects. Algebra I results, Granier commented, showed especially strong year-to-year growth on the high school level, with students scoring Mastery and above increasing by 15 percentage points. Other LEAP-scored high school subjects that showed continued improvement were English I, English II and geometry.
“All schools in the SCPPS continue to exceed state averages in all subjects,” Granier said in summary following the release of 2022-23 LEAP results.
Even though Hurricane Ida and pandemic-related effects would be difficult to measure inside the last few years’ LEAP results, this year’s improved LEAP scores appear to be benefitting at least in part to less classroom disruption than in recent years’ past.
“While previous years have presented SCPPS with significant challenges, we have been able to shift our focus from emergency response back to teaching and learning,” Granier said regarding the past year’s slightly quieter school calendar.
Louisiana’s overall mastery rate improved two points to a 33 in 2022-23, moving up from a score of 31 in 2021-22. Around 75 percent of school systems throughout Louisiana improved from 2021-22 to 2022-23, however statewide the number of students who fail the LEAP test remained largely unchanged from last year.
“I’m pleased to see an academic rise in Louisiana for the second straight year – a true testament to the hard work taking place in Louisiana classrooms every single day,” State Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley said earlier this month in a statewide press release. “While I am encouraged, we must remain committed to the implementation of needed practice and policy shifts as too many students remain below proficiency.”
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