More than half of Louisiana’s public schools received A and B grades from the state this year, but will soon face a higher bar.
It marks the fourth straight year that overall school performance has increased statewide, according to data released Thursday.
The state’s new grading system, approved in 2024, will kick in this spring. Officials have said many schools will likely receive lower scores after the change, and expect less than a third to earn As and Bs.
The change represents a significant overhaul in how schools are judged and includes higher standards and new criteria that the state’s department of education says better measure the skills students need.
Grades are a key part of Louisiana’s school accountability system, which sets goals for student achievement. Officials argue the letters — A through F, like on a report card — provide the public with a necessary snapshot. The state’s department of education uses them to identify schools that need support and that the state could take over if they fail to improve.
Making the grade
More than half of schools received A and B letter grades this year — 44% of elementary and middle schools and 70% of high schools — and 32% earned a C.
The state has no F-rated school districts this year, and only four received a D rating. There are 16 C school districts this year, one fewer than last, since New Orleans climbed to a B.
In the New Orleans area:
- New Orleans grew more than 2 points, scoring high enough to receive its first B rating before the system changes. Under the new standards, the district would have received a C this year, according to simulated scores.
- Jefferson Parish held onto its B and grew 2 points. In the simulation, it also received a C.
- St. Tammany held steady at a B. St. Bernard fell slightly, but kept its B. Plaquemines grew 4 points and maintained its A. St. Charles grew less than a point from a B to an A. St. James lost 5 points, staying in B range. St. John the Baptist grew more than 5 points, retaining its C grade.
East Baton Rouge’s public school system received a C and grew more than 2 points. Also in the parish, schools in Baker, which are now all charters, got a D, up from an F the year before.
Central and Zachary, who both received As, would have kept their grades if the new system were already in effect, according to simulated scores.
Fourth year of growth
Louisiana’s score has increased by more than 5 points since 2021, as students have regained ground lost during the pandemic.
The state’s students have been recognized nationally for gains on national assessments in reading and math in recent years, which officials attribute to a focus on the basics, teacher training and tutoring, among other things.
Students take state exams — the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program, or LEAP — each spring. The department crunches those numbers, along with other metrics such as high school graduation rates and course offerings, and assigns schools A through F letter grades, typically in mid-November.
Louisiana schools collectively earned almost 90 points last year on a 150-point scale, the equivalent of a B, about a point higher than the year before.
“Four years of steady growth is a testament to Louisiana teachers, students and families,” Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said in a press release. “This progress shows what’s possible when we remain focused on strong instruction and improved academic outcomes.”
Progress this year was driven mainly by gains in graduation rates and a metric called “interests and opportunities,” which gives schools points for extracurriculars and specific course offerings. The new system will eliminate this category.
What’s changing exactly?
Letter grade ranges across the new 100-point scale were created using a curve based on the simulated scores schools received in 2024. The bottom 10% set the F cut point.
The new simplified scale includes two categories of points for elementary and middle schools — grow and achieve — and an additional category for high schools — thrive.
Grow measures student growth in test scores, and the new formula weighs growth more heavily. It also counts growth among a school’s lowest performing students twice, but measures it differently.
Previously, the state measured growth in two ways: whether a student met their specific growth target and whether they outpaced their peers, as reflected in a value-added score.
Now, growth will be determined as a binary (yes or no) based on whether a student reaches the next achievement level.
Under “achieve,” the state will count the percent of students who are proficient in math, English, science and social studies on state exams.
Previously, schools received partial points for students who scored in the basic category, the one below mastery. Now they will only get them if a student has mastered grade-level material.
For high schools, test scores now carry greater weight, and graduating students must complete one of three pathways to earn points for their school: college, career or military service.
