There was a slight improvement for Louisiana overall in the annual "Quality Counts" report. Last year, K-12 achievement was graded F. Today, it's a D-minus.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Louisiana gets very high marks for public school accountability but a D-minus for student achievement in a national education publication's latest annual ranking of state education efforts, released Thursday.
There was a slight improvement for Louisiana overall in grades kindergarten through 12th in the annual "Quality Counts" report issued by Education Week. Last year, K-12 achievement was graded F.
The report gave Louisiana an overall grade of C-plus when numerous factors - including school financing, buildings and capacity, and factors affecting the teaching profession - are considered. Louisiana earned an A for its school accountability efforts, with high scores for assessments and standards. Early childhood education efforts also received an A.
Citing National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, the report said 26 percent of public school fourth graders were proficient at math; 23 percent at reading. For eighth-graders, just under 21 percent were proficient at math; 24 percent, at reading.
The overall achievement score of just under 60 was 49th in the nation.
On the positive side, the report said there were gains in each of those categories of from 4 to 6 points.
The state also did a better job than most other states in closing the achievement gap between poor and more affluent students in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math. The report states that those divides expanded over the past decade in two-thirds of the states. Louisiana's 27 point gap in reading and 21-point gap in math each had narrowed by about two points from 2003-2013, enough to earn the state a 10th-place ranking.
The Quality Counts report said its K-12 Achievement Index assessed state performance against a set of 18 separate indicators or criteria, including results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, high school graduation rates, and scores on Advanced Placement exams.
The state Department of Education, in a statement issued Thursday, cited statistics of its own, including results on standardized LEAP and iLEAP tests, in heralding an improved public education system.
"Our graduation rate is at an all-time high of 72.3 percent, the number of college credits earned through AP increased 25 percent last year, approximately 3,600 more seniors earned a college-going score on the ACT, and more students than ever before are performing at grade level on the LEAP and iLEAP," the statement said." However, continuing to rank near the bottom is unacceptable and further shows the importance of higher expectations and increased standards that are as rigorous as other states across the country."