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School test scores in Concordia mixed bag
While test scores were a bit of a mixed bag in Concordia Parish, the District Performance Score (DPS) showed a districtwide growth of 3.6 as the district moved from 83.1 in 2006-07 to 86.7 in 2007-08.
"We are very pleased that our District Performance Score has continued to show growth and would like to thank the teachers, principals, parents, and students for their hard work," said Supt. Loretta Blankenstein.
"Although Vidalia Junior High was the only parish school to exceed its growth target and receive the growth label of 'Recognized Academic Growth,' we are also very proud of the growth shown at Ferriday Lower(+5.0), Ferriday Upper Elementary(+5.9), and Ferriday Jr. High(+3.9)," said Paul Nelson, Director of Academic Programs.
He said all three schools received the growth label of "Minimal Academic Growth."
"We are especially pleased with Vidalia Jr. High School for exceeding their growth target and would like to congratulate Mr. Whest Shirley, his staff, and their students for their hard work and dedication," said Mrs. Blankenstein.
A number of parish schools showed small decreases in their school performance scores including Vidalia Upper (-0.8), Vidalia High (-2.5), Ferriday High (-1.0), Monterey (-0.6), and Ridgecrest School(-1.6); thus earning those schools the growth labels of "No Growth."
"We were very disappointed that Vidalia Lower Elementary earned the growth label of 'School in Decline,' losing 5.9 points in their school performance score, and have put a number of things in place to assist the school in recovering those lost points," said Blankenstein. "Although, we have shown some growth in some schools, we have some work to do in others, and pledged to bring about a number of reforms to better support school administrators as they work with their staffs to improve student achievement."
The Louisiana Department of Education released 2008 School Performance Scores (SPS) for 1,263 public schools. The department said this year marks a decade since the state officially issued and reported state, district and school SPS and the scores released indicate Louisiana's public schools are continuing to improve based on their overall scores as well as specific indicators that are measured and reported annually. The scores also indicate Louisiana advanced substantially in efforts to eliminate the achievement gaps between races and socio-economic levels.
For the 1998-1999 school year, the first year the Accountability System was implemented, only 110 or 9 percent of the 1,118 schools receiving a Baseline SPS that year scored above 100. Today, 301 schools or 23 percent of the 1,263 schools receiving baseline scores this year reached the 100 mark. Additionally, in 1999, 388 or 32.7 percent of the state's schools received an SPS below 60. Today, that number has been reduced to 90 schools or 7.1 percent.
The marked differences between student performance for black, white and Economically Disadvantaged students have narrowed in both English and Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. For example, the achievement gap between black and white students narrowed from 33.7 in 1999 to 25.1 in 2008 when comparing the percentage of students scoring Basic or above on high stakes tests. The greatest improvement came in the area of Mathematics and how Economically Disadvantaged students scored compared to other students. In 1999, the gap represented a 13.2 percent difference. Today that number has dropped to 8.9, representing a 32 percent improvement.
"What this tells us is that Louisiana's Accountability System is working, and the measurements are helping us to determine our strengths and weaknesses at the state, district and school level," said State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek. "The data tells the truth - good and bad. It gives us an opportunity to take a hard look at our weak spots and correct our practices. It also guides us by revealing what works, providing us with intellectual capital to improve the quality of education we can provide to each and every child in classrooms across our state." |
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