2014 School Scores Released

School Performance Scores Released
2013-14 a stand still year

New Orleans hit the pause button this year. After 7 years of robust growth in school performance, 2013-14 remained flat.

 Variability in School Scores

While overall city performance was unchanged, individual school scores varied a great deal from 2013 to 2014. Of the 63 schools that received a letter grade in 2013 and 2014, almost half had a letter grade change: 11 moved up and 19 went down.

• K-8 scores were impacted by a decrease in progress (bonus) points. Schools earn progress points by improving the performance of non-proficient students more than expected. This year the state changed the rules and made it more difficult to earn progress points¹, so only five K-8 schools received the maximum of 10 points, whereas twenty-three received the maximum last year.

• 2014 K-8 scores also reflect the migration to Common Core standards. In the spring of 2014, students took LEAP and iLEAP tests that were Common Core aligned. (Students will transition to the new PARCC tests in 2015, unless this is changed by the current litigation.) While the state “curved” the letter grades so the distribution remained the same statewide², the test results in the spring clearly showed some schools adapted to the new standards better than others.

• Finally, beginning in 2013, the state increased the inherent volatility of school scores and letter grades by using only one year of data to calculate letter grades instead of averaging two years of data.

School Performance Scores 

Despite the variability in individual school grades, the overall grade distribution is about the same as last year.

• Two-thirds of students attended a school with a letter grade of A, B or C.
• 5% attended a school with a letter grade of F.

New Orleans Schools

Grade	2012-13 # Schools	2013-14 # Schools	% of Students
A	6	7	14%
B	18	17	25%
C	23	24	27%
D	16	17	21%
F	5	8	5%
No SPS	11	7	5%
Closed	13	6	3%

 

* Does not include Milestone SABIS or New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA).
The percent of students was calculated using 2013-14 enrollment. 

High School Performance 

A bright spot in the scores is the improvement in the high school landscape. The changing high school portfolio has been a source of conflict as some long standing, low performing New Orleans high schools have been closed and new high schools opened. Yet, this painful process has yielded results.

• In 2005, two-thirds of high schools were failing and 80% were a D or F.
• In 2014, two-thirds of high schools are rated C or higher.

• In 2005, 13 of the 14 failing high schools were comprehensive, traditional high schools, with Clark and John McDonogh in the bottom 5 schools.
• Today, 3 of the 5 failing high schools are small, alternative high schools – The NET and ReNEW schools.

Percent of High Schools at Each Letter Grade

* In 2005, schools received stars instead of letter grades. For the purpose of comparison, 4 and 5 stars = A, 3 stars = B, 2 stars = C, 1 star = D and Academically Unacceptable = F. Percentages for 2005 and 2014 include only those schools with a letter grade.

Improved High Schools = Improving Equity 

 Before Katrina, the truth is that public high schools in New Orleans were not failing white or wealthy students, as they either went to selective admission public high schools or to private schools. It was poor and Black students who attended the open admission, failing high schools. With the improvement in the city’s open admission high schools, many more poor and Black public school students now have the opportunity to attend a decent high school.

Distribution of Black and Poor Students by High School*

High School Grade	2005		2014
	% of Black public school students	% of poor public school students	% of Black public school students	% of poor public school students
A	12%	10%	7%	5%
B	6%	5%	41%	44%
C	7%	6%	24%	29%
D	4%	5%	11%	10%
F	69%	71%	14%	8%
Closed	2%	2%	2%	3%

* For combination high schools (high schools that include elementary or middle school grades) these numbers include the entire school enrollment.

View individual high school performance for 2005, 2013 and 2014.

District Performance Score Remains the Same 

The District Performance Score (DPS) is the most comprehensive measurement of school and student performance. It includes all students, all tests, and all grade levels (including students that attended schools now closed). The DPS for New Orleans includes all RSD and OPSB schools, both charter and direct-run.

The District Performance Score for New Orleans (OPSB + RSD) was 83.4, identical to last year, and remains a high C (1.6 points from a B). The state average increased from 88.5 to 89.2, remaining a B.

New Orleans District Rank Over Time
2005	67th out of 68 districts – second to last
2012	51st out of 69 districts –  in the bottom third
2013	38th out of 69 districts – close to the middle
2014	41st out of 69 districts – fell three places

• OPSB remains an A, increasing a from 108.2 to 109.2.
• RSD remains a C, decreasing from 71.9 to 71.2.

View 2014 District Performance Scores. 

Shout Outs! 

Congratulations to these high performing A and B schools.

School	2014 SPS	Grade	Participates in OneApp
Benjamin Franklin High School	140.1	A	NO
Lusher Charter School	131.5	A	NO
Lake Forest Elementary Charter School	124.6	A	NO
Audubon Charter School	118.4	A	NO
International School of Louisiana	114.1	A	Yes
Edward Hynes Charter School	108.6	A	NO
Alice M. Harte Elementary Charter	106.6	A	Yes
Edna Karr High School	96.7	B	Yes
Warren Easton Senior High School	96.2	B	NO
KIPP Central City Academy	95.2	B	Yes
N.O. Charter Science and Math HS	94.3	B	NO
Mahalia Jackson Elementary School	93.7	B	Yes
Mary Bethune Elementary	93.7	B	Yes
Martin Behrman Elementary School	93.3	B	Yes
Einstein Charter School	91.9	B	Yes
Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orleans	91.5	B	Yes
Benjamin Franklin Elem. Math and Science	90.6	B	Yes
Pierre A. Capdau Learning Academy	89.9	B	Yes
Landry-Walker High School	89.7	B	Yes
Eleanor McMain Secondary School	87.9	B	Yes
Robert Russa Moton Charter School	86.7	B	NO
KIPP McDonogh 15	85.7	B	Yes
Esperanza Charter School	85.6	B	Yes
Dr. Martin Luther King Charter	85.5	B	Yes

View 2014 School Performance Scores for all New Orleans Schools.

View the Department of Education’s SPS Press Release.
View 2014 Comprehensive School Report Cards.

Notes

¹  Changes to Progress points: The percentage of academically behind students that had to exceed expected growth for a school to be eligible for growth points increased from 30% to more than 50%; the points a school received for improving an individual student’s performance level were cut in half; the definition of eligible students was expanded by including any student who was non-proficient in the prior school year.

² As part of the transition to Common Core, the state assured districts that while scores might change, the distribution of letter grades across the state would remain the same. To do this, the state “curved” the SPS ranges for C, D and F schools to keep the distribution the same. The ranges for 2014 are below. Twenty-one schools were affected by this, including two in New Orleans: KIPP New Orleans Leadership Academy and Mary D. Coghill. The state will also curve the 2015 scores. For more on the transition, click here.

Updates: 4-7-15 Updated High School Performance to clarify which schools are included in the bar graph and to break out ReNEW Accelerated high schools into two separate schools, not one combined.

Transition Grading Scale