The state has released the four-year cohort graduation rates for 2012, and the news is good for New Orleans.
The combined graduation rate for all New Orleans public schools rose to 77.8%.
Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate by District
New Orleans = OPSB, RSD, charter and traditional schools
- The New Orleans graduation rate of 77.8% compares well to the rest of the country. According to the U.S. Department of Education report released in November, in 2011 the national average graduation rate for African American students was 60%, and the national average for white students was 76%.
- In New Orleans, public school enrollment is 88% African American, 6% white and 6% other.
- New Orleans outperformed the state of Louisiana (72.3%).
- New Orleans also outperformed Shreveport (63.4%) Baton Rouge (66%) and Jefferson Parish (70.4%).
- RSD-New Orleans is among the most-improved districts, going from a graduation rate of 58.8% in 2011 to 67.7% in 2012.
- RSD-New Orleans ranks #49, outperforming Baton Rouge and Shreveport. The RSD took over the worst performing high schools in the state. This progress in just a few years is remarkable.
- OPSB has the highest graduation rate in the state, although it dropped from 93.8% in 2011 to 89.3% in 2012.
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In this edition of In the News:
Common Core is Coming
Louisiana overhauling teaching goals, standardized tests in effort to raise the bar for students
Times-Picayune - March 22, 2013
This article gives a good overview of the major changes coming as Louisiana raises the education bar again, implementing the new, national set of education standards called the Common Core. To help students meet the new goals, textbooks must be ordered, computers upgraded, lesson plans updated, and new tests developed. Louisiana has joined 22 states in using the PARCC tests for English and math, which will be much more rigorous than the current LEAP tests. The tests won’t go into effect until late 2014, but teachers will start teaching to the new standards this fall. Educators are encouraged to look at the PARCC sample items and prototypes to help them prepare.
Editor’s note: New York and Georgia are ahead of Louisiana in developing their new curricula, and both states are offering all of their materials for free online. Visit EngageNY.org or GeorgiaStandards.org for more information.
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In this edition of In the News:
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TOPS Scholarships and ACT Scores on the Rise
Educate Now! has reviewed the 2012 TOPS data, and the percent of public school graduates eligible for TOPS scholarships in Orleans Parish is now higher than in Jefferson and East Baton Rouge parishes.
- In 2012, 38.8% of Orleans Parish public school graduates were eligible for TOPS scholarships (two- or four-year).
- 36.6% of East Baton Rouge graduates and 38.4% of Jefferson graduates were eligible.
New Orleans continues to close the gap with the state average.
- Since 2005, the percent of Orleans Parish graduates eligible for TOPS has grown 13.9 percentage points, from 24.9% in 2005 to 38.8% in 2012.
- During this same time, the state average grew only 5.3 percentage points, from 37.3% in 2005 to 42.6% in 2012.
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When School Performance Scores (SPS) are released this fall (2012 scores), they will be based on the same formula as in the past, except the score for a failing school increases from 65 to 75.
Next year at this time, however, the 2013 School Performance Scores will be calculated very differently. Here are some of the highlights:
Scale: The simplified scale will run between 150 and 0. (Currently it runs from 200 to 0.)
School Grades: An SPS of 100 will equal an A; an SPS of less than 50 will equal an F.
K-8 Schools:
- LEAP and iLeap – Schools will not receive points for scores below Basic; English and math test scores will be double weighted for all grades.
- Attendance – Will not be part of the SPS calculation.
High Schools: The changes in calculating the SPS for high schools are more significant. Read More »
Performance is uneven in traditional public schools. Performance is uneven in charter schools. It should come as no surprise that performance is uneven in nonpublic schools.
Let’s look at two schools participating in the Orleans voucher pilot: St. Leo the Great and Upperroom Bible Church Academy.
- Last year, St. Leo had 136 voucher students; Upperroom Bible had 74.
- Both began participation 4 years ago, beginning with students in grades K-3.
- Both had more than 60% of their total student population receiving vouchers.
- Students enrolling in either school from grades 1 and up came from a failing school.
- Students at both schools took the same state tests – iLeap and LEAP.
But the similarities stop here. Read More »
The annual drop out rate1 for New Orleans public schools (OPSB + RSD) has plummeted 60% since Katrina, falling from 11.4% in 2004-05 to 4.1% in 2010-11.
At current enrollment, this translates into 900 fewer dropouts per year.
We Continue to Close the Gap!
New Orleans’ drop out rate is now down to the state average. In 2004-05, we had the state’s third highest drop out rate. Read More »
The K-8 student test scores for Louisiana were released today, and New Orleans continues to improve.
Test Score Highlights
- For the 6th year in a row, student performance is up.
- Growth was less robust this year. While the RSD outperformed the state, for the first time since Katrina, OPSB did not.
- New Orleans Combined (OPSB +RSD) tied the state with a 2 point gain in the percentage of students Basic or above.
- New Orleans students performed better than last year in all four subjects (English, Math, Science and Social Studies).
- We reduced the percentage of students performing in the lowest category (Unsatisfactory).
- We increased the percentage of students performing above grade level (Mastery and Advanced). Read More »
