LEAP tests 'steady,' with challenges

Staff report
The St. Mary Parish school system says the latest round of state LEAP testing shows steady proficiency with some challenges.
The LEAP 2025 Assessment results, covering the 2023-24 school year, were released last week.
The school system reported that the overall proficiency rate on tests for grades 3-8 remained steady at 31%.
The passing rates decreased slightly to 84% from 85%.
“The results showcase a mix of advancements and areas needing improvement across different grades and subjects,” said a school system Facebook post on Thursday.
Detailed information, including individual student results, is available through the Parent Command Center. Printed copies will be distributed on the first day of school.
Superintendent Dr. Buffy Fegenbush stressed the importance of transparency. The strategy is to use test data and progress monitoring to implement “targeted interventions and support systems.
“This open approach is crucial for building on our achievements and effectively addressing disparities.”
Statewide, the Department of Education said English language arts mastery was up by a percentage point, and students with disabilities improved their scores for the third straight year.
“Following consecutive years of improvement, these latest scores show students holding steady,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “With a need to see increased outcomes, however, these numbers substantiate our recent aggressive efforts to simply let teachers teach, provide students with high-dosage tutoring, refresh our school accountability model, and expand options for students to access high-quality schools.”
Results from the 2024 LEAP assessments show:
—In math, students in grades 3-8 maintained their previous overall mastery rate. Math mastery rates improved in grades 4 and 7, remained the same in grades 5 and 6, and declined in grades 3 and 8.
—In science, students in grades 3-8 maintained their previous overall mastery rate. Science mastery rates improved in grades 3, 5, and 6 and declined in 4, 7, and 8.
—The percent of students scoring “Unsatisfactory” — the lowest achievement level — decreased when compared to last year in grades 3-12.
—Third-graders grew two points in both ELA and science.
—Fourth-graders dipped three in ELA and two in science, while growing two in math.
—Fifth-graders grew three points in ELA and one in science.
—Sixth-graders grew two in ELA and three in science.
—Students in grades 4 and 7 grew in math for the third consecutive year. Fourth-graders improved by two points and seventh graders by one.
—Eighth graders dropped one in both ELA and math and three in science.
Louisiana’s overall mastery rate for students in grades 3-8 is 34, high school is 36, and the combined rate is 35. All of those percentages match totals from the previous year. The mastery rate measures the percentage of students who scored Mastery or above on LEAP and are considered proficient.
The Council for a Better Louisiana analyzed the numbers against the backdrop of a Washington Post investigation that found scores falling to pre-COVID levels across the country.
“The good news for Louisiana is that despite our clear challenges, that doesn’t seem to be the case,” said a CABL press release.
In 2019, just before the pandemic, 34% of students in grades 3-8 performed at the level of Mastery, the state goal, or above. Generally, this was across the four subjects where students are assessed: English, math, science and social studies.
In 2021 that dipped to 29%, but in both 2023 and 2024 returned to that earlier level of 34%. Currently, students do not appear to be growing, but they are not going backwards.