Livingston superintendent surprised by district ranking

• By DEBRA LEMOINE
• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Nov 6, 2009 - Page: 5B

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LIVINGSTON — After achieving its best test scores so far in spring testing, Livingston Parish School Superintendent Bill Spear told the School Board on Thursday night he was surprised when the state Department of Education ranked the parish 13th when statewide district performance scores were released two weeks ago.

“We were so impressed when our test scores came out,” Spear said. “Our jaws hit the ground when the district performance scores came out.”

The district performance score and the individual school performance scores are based on the springtime standardized tests, attendance rates and drop-out rates, Supervisor of Instruction Joe Murphy said.

With good test scores and attendance rates, the only explanation for the district performance scores is the drop-out rate, Spear told the board.

The parish’s district performance score of 101.3 in 2009 follows a score of 101.5 in 2008. The district also ranked 13th in 2009, despite finishing 7th in 2008.

School attendance is averaging 94 percent even with the active flu season, Spear said.

However, the school system’s drop-out rate is 73.4 percent for 2009, compared to the state average of 65.9 percent, Murphy said.

Although emphasizing that this is not an excuse, Murphy said the drop-out data is based on four years ago, which was when the district received an influx of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Nevertheless, Murphy told the board the system plans on focusing on improving its drop-out rate, including programs to assist students who fail high school courses to make them up to graduate with their peers and the implementation of the career diploma as well as the college preparation diploma next year.

In his report, Murphy highlighted:

• The school system had 24 three-star schools in 2009 — the highest rank achievable in Louisiana — and 19 in 2006. A school must have a school performance score of at least 100 to be a three-star school.
• The school system had 15 two-star schools in 2009 and 18 in 2006. It also had no schools that ranked as a one-star school in 2009 but had one in 2006. The school system has had no schools be considered “unacceptable” by the state over the past four school years.
• Twenty out of 38 schools met their growth targets in school performance scores in 2009. In 2006, 10 out of 38 met their growth targets. The state expects school performance scores to grow by a certain amount each year in order to reach the goal of a 120 score by 2014.