The state has released the 2025 School Performance Scores. It was a good year!
District Performance
New Orleans Earns a B for the first time EVER!!!
Congratulations to everyone for a milestone accomplishment
The District Performance Score (DPS) is the most comprehensive measurement of student performance. It rolls up the data on all students, all grade levels, and all measurements used in the accountability system into one number.
Over the past four years, we have grown more than twice as much as the state.
Subgroup Performance
The state also ranks districts on performance by subgroup, creating a subgroup performance score that is analogous to the DPS – it simply isolates performance for each subgroup.
NOLA-PS outperforms the state and peer districts in outcomes for Black/African American students, ranking 32 out of 69 school districts.
And we rank in the top half of districts in outcomes for Students with Disabilities, right behind Jefferson Parish.
4-Year Cohort Graduation Rate
This metric measures the percentage of high schoolers who graduate within four years of entering as freshmen.
The NOLA-PS cohort graduation rate grew from 78.6% to 81.7%, surpassing peer districts and narrowing the gap with the state.
School Performance — More Good News!
- The percentage of students attending an A rated school grew from 14% to 23%
- The percentage of students attending a D or F school fell from 19% to 8%
Student Distribution by Letter Grade
Includes all NOLA-PS and Type 2 Charter Schools in Orleans Parish
Congratulations to these fifteen schools that improved their grade!
Special shout out to ReNEW Moton, which improved by 2 letter grades!
These five schools went down a letter grade.
NOLA-PS has 3 schools ranked in the top 15 in the state.
These New Orleans high schools are among the highest performing high poverty (80% or more economically disadvantaged students) schools in the state.
Highlighting High School Performance
Next year, the state implements a new, more rigorous accountability system for the high schools to better reflect the challenges graduates will face in the coming years, emphasizing stronger academic performance and more career and college readiness. Across the state, high schools will see their letter grades go down, including most open admission high schools in New Orleans.
This year, Educate Now! wants to celebrate the accomplishments of our high schools.
A LOOK BACK
Cohort Graduation Rate
In 2005, the NOLA-PS cohort graduation rate was 53%. Today, it is 81%.
For every 100 freshman, 28 more are graduating now than in 2005!
School to School Comparison
To appreciate the real improvement of our high schools over the past two decades, Educate Now! went to data archives — back to Spring 2005.
In 2005, there were 13 open enrollment (non-selective) district high schools: all were failing (SPS <60) and among the very lowest performing high schools in the state. Seven of these thirteen schools will still be open next year. While the accountability system has changed, eligibility for TOPS has been constant.
Comparing TOPS attainment is illuminating and Educate Now! wants to applaud the hard work of so many extraordinary educators, leaders, students, and families.
At these seven high schools, for every 100 seniors, 22 more earned TOPS scholarships in 2024 than in 2005!
- Of the class of 2005, 5% of graduating seniors earned a TOPS Scholarship
- Of the class of 2024, 27% of graduating seniors earned a TOPS Scholarship
