State change to impact school scores
Officials: Districts expected to drop at least one letter grade
One of two school performance scores (SPS) set to be released next month could possibly reflect a drop in Jeff Davis’ performance due to changes to a state formula.
The Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) annually uses standardized tests, graduation rates and academic growth to determine schools’ and school districts’ SPS and letter grade. Scores are also broken into categories, including advanced, mastery, basic, approaching basic and unsatisfactory. Jeff Davis’ overall letter grade for the 2016-2017 school year was an “A,” and it was ranked as the 15th best district in the state with a score of 100.6. The year before, the district earned a “B” with 90.6 points.
Because of scoring changes going into effect this year, however, districts across the state are expected to drop at least one letter grade, said Jeff Davis Superintendent of Schools Kirk Credeur.
“Last year, 15 school districts out of 77 in this state earned an ‘A,’” he said. “Under the new formula, the state has advised us that we’ll probably only see about seven districts keep A’s.”
In hopes of getting Louisiana’s public education achievements in line with the majority of the country, LDE aims for schools to average mastery by 2025. Previously, schools were tasked with averaging basic. Prior to this school year, students could see up to 150 points for scoring mastery and 100 points for scoring basic. Now, only 100 points will be given for mastery and 80 for basic.
“This means that even if we produce the same score as last year, we’re still going to show a drop in a letter grade,” Credeur explained. “This does not mean the district or students are not working hard. This means there is suddenly a new way of calculating these scores.”
However, under the new formula districts will have more opportunities to earn progress points, also known as bonus points.
“Before, there was a limited number of student scores that were considered to determine if there was academic growth, which gave us bonus points,” he said. “Now every student will be considered, so that is a plus for schools and districts.”
" Before, there was a limited number of student scores that were considered to determine if there was academic growth, which gave us bonus points. Now every student will be considered, so that is a plus for schools and districts.
– JDP Superintendent of Schools Kirk Credeur
Earlier this year, the Louisiana Legislature decided that for the first year under the new SPS formula, two letter grades and two scores had to be released for each school and district. One grade will reflect performance under last year’s formula and the other, the new formula. Credeur said Sen. Dan Morrish was one legislator to push for that rule.
Credeur hopes the public will see these two scores and realize the difference is because of a formula change, not a drop in productivity in Jeff Davis schools.
“There are some pros and cons in all of this,” Credeur said. “In recent years, the state has made a lot of changes in education. They demanded more of students and educators. But as a whole in Jeff Davis Parish, we met those challenges. You always want to push your students, educators, everyone in your school system to work harder and reach more goals. But it is disappointing that so many schools and districts are going to get lower grades this year because of a new formula, especially after working so hard over the past few years.”
New formula or not, Credeur said the district’s goal is to grow academically each year.
“We review tests and results to see where issues are or how we can strengthen different areas,” he said. “We look at all of our processes to see how we can become more efficient. The teachers work so hard everyday to reach higher goals. They accept the challenge. We all do.”