RESERVE – St. John the Baptist Parish students in fourth, eighth and 10th grades took specially formatted tests this week to help identify specific areas in which students need help toward mastering academic skills in advance of being scored on important state and national standardized tests this spring.

In particular, the district’s fourth- and eighth-graders took the Standards Master Assessment. This test serves as a precursor to the LEAP test, which is administered statewide in March.

LEAP test scores serve as an accountability benchmark for schools and their students. Students failing to score higher than “approaching basic level” on both the English and math sections of the test cannot pass to the next grade level.

Tenth-graders also took part in the ACT PLAN Program, which forecasts how students might do on the national ACT Assessment.

The ACT Assessment is taken by high school students in their junior or senior year and is used for college admission and placement. In addition to gauging academic achievement, PLAN also provides extensive information for education and career planning.

“Our hope is that these programs will help our teachers, students and parents identify academic strengths and weaknesses,” said Superintendent Michael Coburn. “We plan to address those areas of concern that are identified by these tests as quickly as possible, so we might make necessary changes before our students are tested for a score.”

Technology Coordinator Robert Brown said St. John Parish is the first school district in Louisiana to utilize the Standards Master program, which is administered by the national education enhancement organization Renaissance Learning.

Renaissance Learning also is responsible for many of the accelerated reading and math programs currently used in school systems nationwide.

Brown said the district plans to conduct two assessments in advance of the LEAP tests in March. In addition to this week’s assessment, another preparatory test will be given in February.

In the meantime, 10th-graders will receive a report from PLAN that gauges their academic achievement. While the ACT assessment is intended as a college admission tool, the test also helps students examine their career goals.

“This test can really help our students bring their future into focus,” said Debbie Schum, principal of East St. John High School.

Schum said students aiming to qualify for state’s TOPS funds must score at least a 20 on the ACT if they plan to attend college and a 17 on the ACT for paid admission to a technical college. The results of this week’s preliminary testing will not be weighed toward the students’ grades nor their final performance scores, Coburn said.