As we struggle to build a better future for our youth, it is important that we take time to recognize the large and small successes that transpire in our schools every day.
Just this past week, two of our open-admissions high schools have given us reason to celebrate. Sci Academy held a Senior Signing Day to honor the accomplishments of its first graduating senior class. Over 94% of their 55 graduates were accepted to a 4-year college. And Lake Area New Tech Early College High School reported that 100% of their 125 graduates were accepted to either a 2 or 4-year college. Read More »
Governor Jindal has made K-12 education reform the cornerstone of his legislative agenda. He is proposing sweeping changes – including expanding vouchers, creating more charter schools, and changing teacher tenure – that could radically alter the landscape of Louisiana education.
This Wednesday the House Education Committee and this Thursday the Senate Education Committee will hear his three foundational bills.
- Rep. Carter’s House Bill 976 and Sen. Appel’s SB 597, which expand school choice, including the scholarship program, pathways for charter schools, the providers who can offer courses to K-12 students, and a “parent trigger” for failing schools.
- Rep. Carter’s House Bill 974 and Sen. Appel’s SB 603, which link teacher tenure to performance, make effectiveness the primary criterion for personnel decisions, and grant authority for hiring and placement of personnel to school superintendents.
- Rep. Carter’s House Bill 933 and Sen. Appel’s SB 581, which outline a framework for a single coordinated early childhood education system with accountability for academic outcomes.
Comments on the Governor’s Education Package
Gov. Bobby Jindal Education Overhaul Legislation Introduced
The Times-Picayune – March 3, 2012
This article outlines the governor’s ambitious plans, provides details on the different bills to be debated, and presents arguments for and against his most controversial proposals to overhaul teacher tenure and expand vouchers. Read More »
(higher than Educate Now!’s projection earlier this month)
The Louisiana Department of Education has released the official combined District Performance Score for New Orleans schools – 83.2.
#1 In Growth Since 2005
District Performance Scores = All students, all grades, all tests
Educate Now! compared District Performance Scores of the 4 largest districts in the state.
| |
2005 |
2011 |
Gain |
| New Orleans |
56.9 |
83.2 |
26.3 |
| East Baton Rouge |
73.1 |
86.2 |
13.1 |
| Jefferson |
74.3 |
88.2 |
13.9 |
| Caddo (Shreveport) |
82.3 |
88.5 |
6.2 |
While New Orleans still lags a bit, the large districts are all clustered within 5 points of each other. Our challenge will be to see if over the next 2-3 years we can surpass the “clustering” of these larger districts. Educate Now! is optimistic we will!
The Louisiana Department of Education recently released cohort graduation rates for all Louisiana schools. The cohort graduation rate looks at the 4-year graduation rate of students who started high school in 2007.
- The state’s rate increased to 70.9%.
- OPSB’s graduation rate of 93.5% is #1 in the state.
- RSD New Orleans improved its cohort graduation rate by 15.3% and is #11 out of 70 districts for most improved.
Read the DOE press release
View cohort graduation rates for New Orleans high schools [xls]
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! Read More »
Voucher Program Faltering: Accountability and Performance Standards Needed
Educate Now! analyzed student test scores from voucher schools and compared them to New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD) schools. We found that for the second year in a row, students participating in the voucher program performed worse than students in the RSD!
STUDENT PERFORMANCE
Comparing 3rd, 4th and 5th graders
- Statewide: 75% performed on grade level (Basic or above)
- RSD schools: 49% performed on grade level
- Voucher schools: Only 38% performed on grade level
Read More »
Since 2005, the percent of seniors graduating has risen from 79% to 94% -
a 15 point increase!
In the spring of 2005, the last year all of the schools were under the Orleans Parish School Board, only 79% of New Orleans seniors graduated. We tied Madison Parish for the worst record in the state.
This year 94% of seniors graduated – a 4 percentage point increase from 2010 and 15 points from 2005.
What does this mean in real terms? This improvement since 2005 means that an additional 333 of our 2,218 seniors were able to walk across the stage, receive their diploma and celebrate their success. Read More »
Great News!
Student performance showed robust improvement for the 4th consecutive year.
- Significantly more students passed the high-stakes LEAP tests
- In cumulative gains (over four years) the RSD is again #1, and OPSB is #4
- More students met the State proficiency goal of Basic or above
- 8th grade performance soared
Educate Now! analyzed the test scores of all schools under the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and the Recovery School District (RSD), both traditional and charter, to assess the performance of public school students in Orleans Parish.
Read More »
Who is Educating Students with Disabilities, and How Are They Doing?
In New Orleans public schools, students with special needs now represent 9.1% of the overall student population. If every school enrolled a proportionate share, students with disabilities would represent 9.1% of each school’s student body. But that is not the case.
Recovery School District (RSD) schools are serving a much larger share of special needs students than are OPSB schools.
| District |
% of Student
Population |
| RSD (direct-run and charter) |
10.2% |
| OPSB (direct-run and charter) |
6.7% |
RSD charters exceed the city average in their percentage of students with disabilities. Read More »
Schools doing a much better job keeping kids in school!
The dropout rate[1] for New Orleans public school 9th-12th graders (RSD and OPSB, charters and direct-run) fell 31% from 2008-09 to 2009-10, dropping from 8.3% to 5.7%.
Since 2005, New Orleans dropout rate has been cut in half.
Pre-Katrina, New Orleans had one of the worst dropout rates in Louisiana, and Louisiana had one of the worst dropout rates in the nation. In 2004-05, 11.4% of the city’s public high school students dropped out.
Since 2005, both New Orleans and Louisiana have improved, but New Orleans is improving at a much faster rate than the state. The New Orleans dropout rate has fallen 50%, while the state’s rate has dropped 27%.
Translation: More teens in school
Put in real terms, this improvement means over 300 more students stayed in school in Read More »
