End of Course Tests

What are End of Course Tests (EOCs)?

Louisiana is phasing out the Graduation Exit Exam (GEE) and replacing it with specific End of Course tests, or EOCs.

There are six EOC exams. Beginning with the freshman class of 2010-11, students must pass at least three of the tests to graduate:

  • English II or English III
  • Algebra I or Geometry
  • Biology or American History

Like the GEE, if a student does not pass the test on their first attempt, they have other opportunities to take the test.

Last year, the state tested students in Algebra I, English II, and Geometry. Tests for Biology, English III and American History will be phased in over the next two years.

The Louisiana Department of Education recently released the 2010-11 End of Course test results for Algebra I, English II and Geometry. Educate Now! analyzed student performance for New Orleans schools, focusing specifically on Algebra I and English II.

How did our students do?

Algebra I: New Orleans (all OPSB and RSD schools) outperformed many other school districts, posting its highest ranking relative to other school districts on any state administered test- ever!

EOC Algebra I
Results
Excellent +
Good
Excellent +
Good + Fair
(Passing)
Needs
Improvement

(Failing)
Total
District # % # % # % #
Louisiana 23,764 51% 36,865 80% 9,346 20% 46,211
New Orleans 1,312 49% 1,955 74% 702 26% 2,657
  • In the two highest rankings, Excellent and Good, New Orleans performed the same or better than 34 other school districts. This is the highest ranking New Orleans has ever achieved.
    • Our students performed very close to the state average for Algebra I:  51% statewide versus 49% in New Orleans (all OPSB and RSD schools combined).
  • In the percent passing (Excellent, Good or Fair), New Orleans performed the same or better than 23 other school districts.
    • We scored slightly lower than the state average: 80% of students in Louisiana passed vs. 74% in New Orleans.

English II:  New Orleans did not do well in English II. We were in the bottom five school districts statewide.

EOC Algebra I
Results
Excellent +
Good
Excellent +
Good + Fair
(Passing)
Needs
Improvement

(Failing)
Total
District # % # % # % #
Louisiana 23,764 51% 36,865 80% 9,346 20% 46,211
New Orleans 1,312 49% 1,955 74% 702 26% 2,657
  • 61% of students in Louisiana scored in the two highest categories, Excellent or Good, vs. 44% of students in New Orleans.
  • 89% of students in Louisiana passed the test, scoring Excellent, Good or Fair, vs. 77% of students in New Orleans.

How did our schools do?

If we compare performance by type of school, the EOC results are very similar to the spring test results we saw for LEAP and GEE.

  • OPSB charter schools continue to outperform the other schools, which is not surprising since most OPSB charters have some admission criteria or criteria to remain at the school.
  • RSD charters and OPSB direct-run schools performed comparable to each other.
  • RSD direct-run high schools struggled last year, which is reflected in their very low performance on the EOCs.
Algebra I English II
EOC Performance by
Type of School
Excellent or
Good
Excellent,
Good or Fair
(Passing)
Excellent or
Good
Excellent,
Good or Fair
(Passing)
OPSB Charter Schools 72% 93% 73% 95%
OPSB Direct-Run Schools 48% 81% 39% 81%
RSD Charter Schools 52% 79% 37% 76%
RSD Charter Schools 23% 44% 15% 49%

To see a listing of individual school performance on all three tests, download the Excel reports for Algebra I, English II and Geometry.

School Shout Outs for Algebra I

These high schools scored higher than the state average of 51%
in the two highest categories, Excellent and Good, on the Algebra I exam.

School Name % of students who
scored Excellent or
Good on Algebra I
Lusher Charter School 100%
KIPP Central City Academy 100%
Benjamin Franklin High School 99%
New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy 94%
Edward Hynes Charter School 93%
KIPP Believe College Prep (Phillips) 87%
NOLA College Prep Charter School 74%
Abramson Science & Technology Charter School 71%
Dr. M.L.K. Charter School 69%
L.B. Landry High School 64%

 

School Shout Outs for English II

These high schools scored higher than the state average of 61%
in the two highest categories, Excellent and Good, on the English II exam.

School Name % of students who
scored Excellent or
Good on Algebra I
Benjamin Franklin High School 100%
NOLA College Prep Charter School 100%
Lusher Charter School 99%
Warren Easton Senior High School 68%

To see a listing of individual school performance on all three tests, download the Excel reports for Algebra I, English II and Geometry.

How will End of Course tests impact School Performance Scores?

The 2012 School Performance Scores will be the first to include End of Course test results.

  • The 2011 School Performance Scores, which will be released in the next month or so, will not include End of Course tests. They will include the 10th and 11th grade GEE.
  • In 2012, the School Performance Scores will include the end of course tests.
    • The 2012 Baseline Score will include End of Course Tests.
    • To measure growth from 2011 to 2012, the Louisiana Department of Education will:
      • Calculate a transitional 2011 Baseline Score using the 2011 EOC results
      • Then compare this transitional 2011 Baseline Score to the 2012 SPS to measure growth

Results will be scored as follows:

EOC Label Subject-Test
Index Points
Excellent 200
Good 135
Fair 75
Needs Improvement 0

 

 

 

 

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