[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish students holding their own in state testing

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish students holding their own in state testing

Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 4:16 PM     Updated: Wednesday, May 23,
2012, 9:36 PM

 By Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune 

Test scores for St. Bernard Parish eighth graders showed impressive growth
this year, while students across all grades continued to outperform their
counterparts statewide, springtime test scores released by the state
Wednesday showed.

"I'm very excited,'' St. Bernard Parish schools Superintendent Doris Voitier
said. "Our middle school scores are going up. There was tremendous
improvement.''

Voitier said the school district has recently concentrated efforts on
improving scores for middle school students.

"I'm really happy with our eighth grade progress. We made a major push
there,'' she said.

The percentage of eighth graders meeting the "basic'' or above level in
English/language arts rose from 65 percent last year to 72 percent this
year. The state average was 67 percent. And the percentage of eighth graders
meeting the same level in math rose from 69 percent last year to 72 percent
this year, the scores show. The state average was 64 percent.

In fourth grade, the percentage of students at "basic'' or above was 79
percent in English/language arts and 83 percent in math. The state averages
in those grades were 75 percent for English/language arts and 73 percent in
math.

Fourth- and eighth-graders take the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program
tests each spring, scoring in one of five categories: advanced, mastery,
basic, approaching basic and unsatisfactory. Pupils in those grades must
score at least one basic and one approaching basic on the math and English
portions of the LEAP tests to earn promotions to the next grade.

Voitier said 87 percent of fourth-graders did well enough this spring to be
promoted to fifth grade, the same percentage as last year.

"Our fourth-graders held their own,'' she said.

In eighth grade, 82 percent of the students performed well enough to gain
promotions to the ninth grade, up from 75 percent last year.