Parish student scores rank 27th in state

The percentage of St. Mary Parish students scoring basic and above on standardized tests remained steady at 70 percent, ranking the parish 27th in the state, according to results released by the State Department of Education today.
The parish’s 70 percent slightly outpaced the state’s 69 percent average for grades three through eight in all core areas (math, English, science and social studies).
This year’s test items were directly linked to Common Core State Standards, including required writing tasks in all four core areas.
Students in grades three, five, six and seven take the iLEAP test, while students in grades four and eight are assessed through LEAP. Additionally, state policy mandates the use of LEAP results to determine student promotion in conjunction with course grades, St. Mary Parish Superintendent Donald Aguillard said.
In the spring 2014 testing session, 84 percent of fourth grade students and 74 percent of eighth grade students in St. Mary Parish met the state’s proficiency mandate in the English language arts and mathematics components of the LEAP test, Aguillard said.
Comparatively, the state average was 82 percent for fourth graders and 74 percent for eighth graders.
According to state reports of all students scoring basic or above in the core content areas, St. Mary Parish students performed above the state level in 18 of 24 tests and at the state average in an additional two areas. High performance rates in both English and math were seen by students across all grade levels. Further, students in grades three, seven and eight outperformed the state in all four core areas, Aguillard said.
At the high school level, End-of-Course tests have replaced the Graduation Exit Exam and measure skills or content within a given course rather than a culmination of knowledge from a core area of instruction.
The EOC tests became high-stakes for high school students with the freshman class of 2010-11. State policy mandates that high school students pass three EOC tests in English II or English III, algebra I or geometry and biology or U.S. history for graduation.
Although individual student scores are provided three days after the online tests are completed, overall proficiency levels have not been released by the state education department, Aguillard said.
In addition to being part of high school graduation requirements, EOC tests serve as the course’s final exam. High school students also are tested using the ACT series. Aguillard said the seniors’ ACT scores also factor in as a percentage of a high school’s overall performance score.
Students in grades four and eight who did not score at least approaching basic or basic in English language arts and math will attend a required summer remediation session and have the opportunity to retest in late June.
Summer school sessions are offered at four sites across the parish: Morgan City, Patterson and Franklin junior highs and B.E. Boudreaux Middle School from 7:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. each week day. Summer school classes begin Wednesday and will continue until June 27.
Beginning next school year, students in grades three through eight are scheduled to test English language arts and mathematics skills through PARCC assessments, an online testing series scheduled in two sessions set for March and May of 2015. Science and social studies skills will continue to be measured through iLeap/Leap assessment testing program slated for April 2015.
“The academic performance levels among all testers provides reliable evidence of St. Mary’s undeterred focus on student success. Results visibly demonstrate that our teachers, administrators and instructional staff have readily embraced the challenges set forth by the state department and deftly prepared district students for the increased difficulty of state assessments. As we transition to PARCC assessments in the coming year, I firmly believe that the efforts of our highly dedicated educators will continue to set students on a path for college and career readiness,” Aguillard said.