(The Center Square) — In the 2024 regular session, the House passed a resolution establishing the K-12 Study Group, aimed at identifying challenges impeding progress in Louisiana schools.
Lawmakers say education is a beast not easily tamed.
“It’s too big”, said Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Livingston. “But there’s a handful of items that ascertain how to make [education] better.”
Being so convoluted and layered, it is unsurprising that addressing Louisiana’s difficulties in education has provoked a fair bit of opposition.
The study group has taken particular aim at the state’s new accountability system, which measures how well public schools are helping students learn basic concepts and skills, as well as many of the standards of the accountability system.
In June, Tensas Superintendent Joyce Russ argued that it unfairly penalizes schools when students score at the “Approaching Basic” level, even though they still meet minimum graduation requirements.
The new accountability system awards zero points for student achievement below mastery, which is the level considered to be proficient.
“If schools rate low, especially for several consecutive years, they are subject to certain consequences or interventions by the state,” Erin Bendily, Senior Vice President of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy said. “They can ultimately be taken over by the state at some point.”
Every state receiving federal funding must have a K-12 accountability system to track school performance and student progress, according to Bendily.
These accountability systems rely on standardized tests administered annually, providing objective data that informs school ratings shared with families and the public.
The new system transitioned to letter grades, a format parents and communities can more easily recognize. As a result, school performance became a more prominent factor in local discussions, even influencing housing markets, according to Bendily.
The accountability system was made more rigorous in June, leaving schools with worse student performance vulnerable to state intervention, such as being required to target funds in certain ways.
Hennessy Melancon, a principal in Lafourche Parish, worried about the burdens being inflicted on teachers who have to administer the tests has impacted the curriculum. Melancon’s worries about the amount of testing have been repeated by other members of the task force.
When State Superintendent Cade Brumley announced a minor reduction in the amount of testing in October, one study group member, Jazlyn Thibodeaux called the policy change “a Band-Aid for a bullet wound.”
“English 1, 41% of our students are achieving mastery and above. English 2, 47%. Algebra 1, 39%, Geometry, 30%. Does anyone think those figures are acceptable?” Bendily said in her testimony to BESE. “This is why we have to raise expectations.”
The task force is composed of teachers, principals, and superintendents, BESE never provided any input at the study group meetings and do not appear on any of the study group’s agenda.
Wilder said at Tuesday’s hearing that “there’s been a lot of radio silence.”
“I think it sends less than the best perception to not attend our study group,” Wilder continued.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
