[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish LEAP scores better than La. average

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish LEAP scores better than La. average
by Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune 
Wednesday May 20, 2009, 5:04 PM

St. Bernard Parish public school officials said they were pleased with the
springtime test results released Wednesday.

The results of the testing for students in the district were a mixed bag.
For instance, scores for fourth-graders sagged a bit from last year, but
scores for eighth-graders rose. And high school scores dropped some in
language arts but rose in math.

But almost across the board, the scores of the parish's fourth-graders,
eighth-graders and high school students in math and English were better than
the state averages.

"We're very happy, " St. Bernard Parish schools Superintendent Doris Voitier
said, adding that the district has come a long way since Hurricane Katrina
swamped the parish in 2005.


St. Bernard's enrollment now stands at about 4,800 students. Before Katrina
the enrollment was about 8,800.

Students in fourth and eighth grades take the LEAP, scoring in one of five
categories: advanced, mastery, basic, approaching basic and unsatisfactory.
Students in those grades must score at least one basic and one approaching
basic on the math and English portions to be promoted to the next grade.

Students in 10th and 11th grades take the Graduate Exit Exam, or GEE. To
graduate from high school, students must score at the approaching basic
level or above in English and math, and in either science or social studies.

Students in third, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth grades also take
standardized springtime tests, but those test do not determine promotion to
the next grade.

Voitier said students in those grades also fared well this year. For
instance, in the third grade, 72 percent of parish students scored at the
basic level or above in English and 85 percent in math. State averages in
those subjects were 66 percent for English and 68 percent for math.

"Our third-grade scores really spiked, " Voitier said.

Voitier said the scores show the district has work to do in some areas, but
she believes that overall it's on the right path.

"There was so much disruption after the storm, " she said. "We've had to
build from the ground up. But I think we're on a positive track."

. . . . . . .