By the Numbers: Student and School Performance

Posted on August 22, 2015May 15, 2016 by Leslie Jacobs

This fall, Louisiana’s Department of Education will release new baseline scores for schools and for student performance. As we move to the new academic standards, Educate Now! will no longer use 2005 as a comparison point. Instead, our new baseline will be the 2014-15 school year.

It’s time to focus on what’s next for New Orleans public schools, but before we move on, Educate Now! wants to thank the educators, administrators and volunteers who have worked tirelessly over the past decade to help our students succeed.

Ten years after Katrina, here’s how New Orleans public schools have changed.

SCHOOL AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE

The percentage of students enrolled in failing schools fell from 62% to 6%. The percentage enrolled in A or B schools increased from 13% to 37%.¹	The percentage of students proficient on state tests increased from 25% to 62%. a
	The percentage of Black students proficient on state tests increased from 21% to 59%, and we now outperform the state by 5 percentage points. a

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By the Numbers: Student and School Performance

Posted on August 22, 2015May 15, 2016 by Leslie Jacobs

Ten years after Katrina, here’s how New Orleans public schools have changed.

SCHOOL AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE

The percentage of students enrolled in failing schools fell from 62% to 6%. The percentage enrolled in A or B schools increased from 13% to 37%.¹	The percentage of students proficient on state tests increased from 25% to 62%. a
	The percentage of Black students proficient on state tests increased from 21% to 59%, and we now outperform the state by 5 percentage points. a

Continue reading →

By the Numbers: Student and School Performance

Posted on August 22, 2015May 15, 2016 by Leslie Jacobs

Ten years after Katrina, here’s how New Orleans public schools have changed.

SCHOOL AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE

The percentage of students enrolled in failing schools fell from 62% to 6%. The percentage enrolled in A or B schools increased from 13% to 37%.¹	The percentage of students proficient on state tests increased from 25% to 62%. a
	The percentage of Black students proficient on state tests increased from 21% to 59%, and we now outperform the state by 5 percentage points. a

Continue reading →

By the Numbers: High School Performance 2005 vs. 2014

Posted on February 9, 2015August 11, 2016 by Leslie Jacobs

p The state just released the 2014 ACT scores for public schools. Continuing our By the Numbers series, Educate Now! takes a look at high school performance.

ACT Performance

New Orleans has seen strong gains since 2005.

The growth in ACT scores comes even as the percentage of seniors taking the test has increased significantly. (The state now requires students to take the ACT as part of high school accountability; in 2005, students were not required to take the ACT.) Since 2005, as the percentage of seniors taking the ACT increased, New Orleans improved its composite score¹ from 17 to 18.4, while the state declined from 19.8 to 19.2. Both RSD and OPSB have seen gains in their ACT scores².

During this time (2005 to 2014), the RSD improved its ACT average by 2 points, more than any other district in the state. It is one of only 5 districts that improved more than 1 point during this time.
OPSB improved by 0.8 points.

ACT Scores Over Time

	Class of 2005	Class of 2014	Change
OPSB	19.7	20.5	0.8
Schools transferred to RSD	14.4	16.4	2
New Orleans (OPSB + RSD)	17	18.4	1.4
Louisiana	19.8	19.2	– 0.6

View individual high school performance.

If comparing performance, RSD schools serve a very different population than OPSB, with more African American students, more poor students, and more students with special needs. Some OPSB high schools have selective admissions, and only three of seven OPSB high schools participate in EnrollNOLA (OneApp). RSD data includes the alternative high schools in the city, and every RSD high school is open-admissions and participates in EnrollNOLA.

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High School Performance

Posted on July 11, 2014May 15, 2016 by Leslie Jacobs

The state has released data on high school performance.

The Really Good News

New Orleans showed robust growth on the End of Course Tests (EOCs).

New Orleans¹ (OPSB & RSD) is 8th in improvement in the state, with 59% of students proficient (scoring Excellent or Good) compared to 52% in 2013.
This is a jump of 7 percentage points; the state improved 3 points, from 59% to 62% proficient.
Compared to the other 69 districts, New Orleans is now #37, up from #47 last year (up 11 spots).
When we look at all New Orleans², including Type 2 charters and NOCCA, 61% of students are proficient, just 1 point below the state average.

The state has been phasing in the EOCs by testing more subjects each year. This year, for the first time, all six subjects were tested: Algebra, Biology, English II, English III, Geometry and U.S. History. Since 2011, New Orleans has improved 14 points, while the state has improved 7 points.

Percent of Students (OPSB & RSD) Proficient

See below for EOC performance by school.

The Really Good News (part 2)

New Orleans students improved on the ACT

All students are now required to take the ACT. Many take it multiple times, and ACT uses their highest score.

Looking at all New Orleans high schools, 50% of students scored an 18 or higher, up 6 points from 44% in 2013.
Statewide, 59% of Louisiana students scored an 18 or higher, a 1 point gain from 2013.
18 is the score that ACT says is aligned with college success.

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Game Changer! N.O. High School Grad Rate Outperforms US

Posted on January 13, 2013May 15, 2016 by Leslie Jacobs

With the recent release by the U.S. Department of Education of national high school completion rates, New Orleans has cause to celebrate. In terms of graduating students on time, we have closed the performance gap.

New Orleans outperformed the state and outperformed the nation.

States are now required to use a common measurement for high school completion: the percent of first time 9th graders who graduate within 4 years with a regular diploma (the 4-year cohort graduation rate¹). The data on the graduating class of 2011 shows that nationally 76% of white students and 60% of black students graduated on time.

In New Orleans, 76.5% of our students graduated on time²

Outperforming the national average for white students
Outperforming the national average for black students by 16.5 percentage points
Outperforming the state of Louisiana (70.9%)
Outperforming Jefferson Parish (67%), Baton Rouge (62.3%) and Shreveport (61.5%)

New Orleans had 2,051 high school graduates in 2011, 443 more than if we were at the national average for black students, and 657 more than if we were still at New Orleans’ 2005 graduation rate.

This improvement is a game changer for our students and our city.

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