‘Mastery’ scores fall, but parish schools still performed better than state average

While it was always known that students across the state have faced challenges for the past two school years due to the coronavirus pandemic, those challenges were first quantified this month when the Louisiana Department of Education released the first batch of standardized test data that measures how students fared on major exams during the pandemic.

The LEAP tests were not administered in 2020 due to school shutdowns, but the 2021 data indicates that the number of students scoring at the “mastery” level or above on the state’s benchmark test dropped about five percentage points.

Officially known as the LEAP 2025, the annual test measures what students know in math, English, science and social studies.

“In the face of immense adversity, students, teachers, administrators and parents showed unwavering resiliency, demonstrating a deep commitment to both safety and learning,” State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley said. “This LEAP 2025 data will be invaluable in guiding our instructional, policy and resource allocation decisions as we recover and accelerate from this unprecedented interruption to student learning.”

Local students fared slightly better that the state average as St. Charles Parish Public Schools students dropped an average of four percentage points.

Lakewood Elementary and Hahnville High School saw the greatest decrease in mastery level scores at 13%, while JB Martin Middle had no change to its mastery scores.

RK Smith Middle fared the best in parish, with an increase of 1% in its mastery scores.

Luling and Ethel Schoeffner Elementary Schools each experienced a 1% decrease, while RJ Vial had a 2% decrease. Harry Hurst Middle, Norco Elementary, Albert Cammon Middle and St. Rose Elementary each had a 3% decrease, while Destrehan High had a 7% decrease.

“After taking into consideration the recurring interruptions and pandemic-related circumstances presented during the 20-21 school year, the LEAP results are celebrated as it reflects the commitment and resiliency towards teaching, learning, and safety of all stakeholders,” SCPPS Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Erin Granier said. “While the results from 2020-2021 do not compare to district achievement results in the past, St. Charles Parish public school students outperformed the state average at every grade level and content area. St. Charles Parish Public Schools is poised and positioned to accelerate student learning and provide interventions for students who exhibit deficits.”

Granier said that disaggregating student achievement results this year is “more important than ever as we must proceed with increased intentionality.”

 

About Monique Roth 919 Articles
Roth has both her undergraduate and graduate degree in journalism, which she has utilized in the past as an instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University and a reporter at various newspapers and online publications. She grew up in LaPlace, where she currently resides with her husband and three daughters.

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