Analysis

High School Performance

Posted on 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
2012-2014_EOC_Percent_Proficient_NO_v_State-2

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.

Continue reading →

Grades 3-8 Test Scores Are In

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

New Orleans Flat; State Flat

The Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) has released the 2014 test scores for grades 3-8. The percent of students performing Basic or above remained unchanged from 2013. This is the first year since Katrina that New Orleans did not improve.

  • The state average remained the same at 69% Basic or above.
  • New Orleans (RSD & OPSB) remained the same at 63% Basic or above.
  • OPSB went down 2 points; RSD remained the same; and Type 2 charters grew 5 points.

Percent Basic or Above – Grades 3-8

District 2013 2014 Change
Louisiana
 69% 69% 0
All New Orleans
 63% 63% 0
RSD – N.O.
 57% 57% 0
OPSB
 84% 82% -2
Type 2 charters – N.O.
 73% 78% 5

Continue reading →

Who’s Going to College

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

Who’s Going to College? A new report from the Louisiana Department of Education shows how many students from the class of 2012 enrolled in college after high school. For the Class of 2012 (OPSB & RSD combined):

  • 58% of graduates enrolled in college right after high school.
  • By the fall of 2013, college enrollment went up 10 points to 68% of graduates.
  • This is 2 points higher than the state average of 66%.

Continue reading →

Court Rules in Favor of Teachers Fired After Katrina

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

What does it mean for New Orleans schools?

The appellate court recently issued a unanimous ruling in favor of the 7,000 OPSB employees (teachers and support workers) who were terminated in the aftermath of Katrina (Oliver vs. OPSB). Educate Now! has received lots of questions regarding the ruling and its impact on the continuing operation of schools, especially since the media has implied that the judgment could bankrupt the school system. Here is what we know.

What did the ruling say? 

  • The appeal court ruled that while the Orleans Parish School Board had the right to execute a reduction in force after Katrina, it failed to create a recall list based on seniority by position – violating its policy and depriving employees of their constitutionally protected property right to be recalled as schools reopened. The court awarded two years of lost wages and benefits, offset by unemployment compensation and other earnings received by the terminated employees during the time in question.

Continue reading →

New Orleans is Over 90% Charter

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

Educate Now! has reviewed the most recent enrollment data from the state. As of October 1:

  • 91% of New Orleans students are in charter schools.
  • Enrollment keeps increasing by around 1,500 students per year.
  • New Orleans schools have grown more diverse since Katrina.

New Orleans Enrollment Over Time

October 1
Count
(all students)*		 2004-05 2009-10 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
TOTAL 66372 38051 42030 43540 44950
Charter 1.5% 61.4% 77.5% 83.9% 91.0%
Direct-Run 98.5% 38.6% 22.5% 16.1% 9.0%
White 3.6% 5.4% 7.9% 6.7% 6.9%
Black 93.2% 90.0% 86.3% 87.3% 86.1%
Other 3.2% 4.6% 5.8% 5.9% 7.0%

*2013-14 does not include 0-3 enrollment or NOCCA (which dropped below 50% N.O. enrollment) but does include Milestone SABIS (with over 50% N.O. enrollment).

According to a recent market share report, New Orleans has the nation’s highest percentage of public school students in charters. In 2012-13, Detroit was second with 51% percent in charters, and Washington, D.C. was third with 43%.

Also, when the Recovery School District closes its last four direct-run schools at the end of this school year, it will become the nation’s first all-charter district.

UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect corrected state data that increased charter enrollment from 90.2% to to 91%.

Voucher Performance Lacking

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

At least 45% of students in Louisiana’s voucher program last year attended D or F schools, according to the state.

The state released scores for 22 of the 118 schools participating, and last year these schools enrolled 2,888 of the nearly 5,000 voucher students. The other schools had too few students at testing grades for scores to be released.

Of the 22 voucher schools receiving a score, more than half (13) were in the F range.

  • Seven of the F rated voucher schools are in New Orleans, and together these seven schools enrolled more than 1,000 students in 2012-13.
  • Of the more than 50 K-8 public schools in Orleans Parish, only 3 received an F.

Educate Now! urges parents to really explore all of their choices. The public schools in New Orleans offer some excellent (and better performing) options.

For more on voucher performance, download the state’s annual voucher report and read this article in the Times-Picayune.

2013 School Performance Scores Released

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

New Orleans Gains Continue!

I am amazed and awed by the continued academic improvement of our schools and students. In 8 years:

  • New Orleans has gone from 62% of students attending failing schools to 5%.
  • We have moved up in the state rankings from 67th to 38th.
  • We have shown robust improvement on the ACT.
  • We have more high performing, high poverty schools than anywhere else in Louisiana.

Congratulations to the remarkable educators across the city. Incredibly well done!

Only 5% of students now attend a failing school –
down from 62% in 2005. 

In 2004-05, 78 public schools in New Orleans, enrolling over 38,000 students, were failing. Today, only 9 schools in the city, enrolling 2,481 students, are failing.*

The End of Failing Schools in New Orleans Is In Sight
Percent of students in failing schools 2005 vs. 2013
Percent_in_failing_schools_05_vs_13_3

Continue reading →

Revisionist History

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

High School Performance: Then and Now
Or … Leslie’s Rant

A few months ago, I went on WBOK radio to discuss public schools in New Orleans. A number of callers, as well as one of the hosts, disputed the fact that our schools are getting better. I readily acknowledge that we have room for improvement, but quite frankly, I am tired of the revisionist history some folks insist on using to rationalize their opposition to the school reforms taking place in New Orleans.

There cannot be honest disagreement, based on any semblance of facts, on whether schools are doing a better job educating students today versus 2005 – THEY ARE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER.

To make my point, let’s look at the TOPS data, which is compiled by the Office of Student Financial Assistance (not the Department of Education). Louisiana offers qualifying students a scholarship to a 4-year (TOPS Opportunity1) or 2-year (TOPS Tech) college based on a combination of GPA, coursework, and ACT scores. OSFA has been compiling this data since TOPS began, and the standard for earning a scholarship is the same in 2013 as it was in 2005, so it’s a pretty good measurement to compare high school performance.

So let’s compare.

New Orleans has made remarkable gains since 2005. 

In 2013, 38% of our graduates qualified for TOPS scholarships, an increase of more than 50% from the 2005 rate of 25%.

TOPS Eligibility

Year
# Graduates
TOPS
4-year
TOPS
2-year
All TOPS
2005
2906
16%
9%
25%
2013
2252
26%
12%
38%

View LOSFA’s 2013 TOPS report.

But this isn’t the real story.

Critics of the current reforms say they don’t like that schools are run by two governing bodies – RSD/BESE and OPSB. They want to go back to just one system.

They forget that in 2005 New Orleans also had two school systems: a system of “good” schools and one of “bad” schools – separate and very unequal.

These two unequal systems are vividly captured in the 2005 TOPS data. Continue reading →

Number of Failing Schools Plummets

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

Every August, as part of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the state releases a preliminary list of failing schools because most will be required to offer parents the option to transfer their children to another school.

This year, only 9 New Orleans schools are failing. This low number is truly a cause for celebration and reflects the past 7 years of stellar growth.

To determine which schools must provide choice, the state calculates a preliminary School Performance Score (SPS). This year marks a new SPS system with changes in how the scores are calculated.

With a new system, it’s best to compare New Orleans performance to the state, since the system has changed for all schools across the state.

  • In 2013, New Orleans has 9 of 112 failing schools in Louisiana (8%).
  • In 2005, New Orleans had 66 out of 151 failing schools in Louisiana (44%).

See below for the list of failing schools.

We just need to repeat it: There were only 9 New Orleans schools on the list (and 4 of them are alternative schools).

Continue reading →

Good News About Cheating

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

The Lens recently reported on the number of test administration mistakes and instances of cheating found by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) from 2010 to 2012 for public schools in New Orleans. This information was provided to The Lens by the LDOE.

Educate Now! is very encouraged by the results.

The fact that only 130 tests out of hundreds of thousands given in New Orleans over three years were voided – due to student cheating, adult cheating, or administrative errors – is very good news.
Continue reading →