CHRISTINE HARVEY / L’Observateur / August 11, 1999

LUTCHER – Public school students in St. James Parish did not meet thestate average for standardized test scores in any of 14 tests given to children in grades 3-12.

Of the state’s 69 parishes, St. James students ranked anywhere from 41stto 63rd on tests measuring aptitude from basic skills to high school science.

Without improvement, these students will have increased trouble passing harder exit exams coming in 2001, said P. Edward Cancienne, St. JamesParish school superintendent.

Beginning in the third grade, St. James public school students are requiredto take a standardized test of basic skills to measure one segment of a school’s overall performance score, said Samuel Jude Reulet, until recently the school system’s instructional supervisor for grades 9-12. Heis now principal at St. James High School.The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), a nationally-known achievement test that replaced the previously-used California Achievement Test (CAT) two years ago by state mandate, evaluates children’s school performance in grades 3, 5, 6 and 7.

The ITBS tests children across the nation in the subject areas of reading, language, math, social studies, science and sources of information so they can be compared to students at other schools.

The ITBS is supposed to be tougher than the CAT and addresses the idea of a higher order of thinking for students, Reulet said.

“Take the knowledge that you have and apply it toward a solution of a problem,” he said.

Another Iowa test, The Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) given to ninth-grade students, will become part of a school’s performance score for the 2000-2001 school year, he said.

The test will measure a child’s skills in vocabulary, literary interpretation, correctness and appropriateness of expression, quantitative thinking, social studies and science materials analysis and uses of sources of information.

In spring 1999, St. James third-graders ranked 41st out of 69 parishes onthe ITBS, and the statewide average on the test was 34th. ITBS scores forgrade five fell drastically, as the parish ranked 59th of 69, with the state averaging out at 29th place, according to results provided by Cancienne.

In grade six, the parish’s scores rose to 55th place, though the state still had a 36th place average.

And again the scores fell for seventh-graders, back down to 59th place, the state averaging in at 33rd.

However, Reulet did say that St. James’ ITBS scores were an improvementover last year’s results.

On the ITED, students in grade nine came in at 53rd out of 68 parishes. Thestate average was 31st place.

Whether or not a students excels on these particular tests does not play a factor in their promotion to the next grade level.

Students in grades four and eight must pass the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program-21 test in order to move ahead with their classmates.

The LEAP-21, a test so-named for the coming of the 21st century, has so far tested students’ skills in English language arts and math, with testing in science and social studies to begin this school year.

Reulet said he thinks the LEAP tests are good indicators for parents to see how their children are doing in school.

Students are measured in terms of achievement level rather than by a pass/fail grading system and will thus fall into one of five achievement level rankings upon completion of the tests.

If fourth- or eighth-grade students fall into the advanced, proficient, basic or approaching basic levels on all portions of the test on their first try, they are promoted to the next grade, Reulet said.

If they score unsatisfactorily on one or more parts, they are offered summer school and a retest, he said.

Students who score high enough on the retest are promoted to the next grade. Fourth-grade students who do not must repeat the grade. Eighth-graders that do not score satisfactorily the second time around may choose to either repeat the grade, take part in a transitional program on a traditional high school campus or enroll in an alternative program, learn work skills or begin GED preparation.

An unsatisfactory score means a student “has not demonstrated the fundamental knowledge and skills needed for the next level of schooling,” but students do move on if they prove a partial demonstration of the skills and knowledge needed, states a “Reaching for Results” publication put out by the Louisiana Department of Education.

In the fourth grade English language arts portion of the LEAP-21 test, St.

James students ranked 46th out of 67 parishes, and the statewide average was 33. Twenty-three percent of the St. James students scoredunsatisfactorily on the test.

In math, the same students ranked 40th out of 67, the state coming in at 27th place. Thirty-eight percent of St. James students received anunsatisfactory score.

Things only got worse for eighth grade students. St. James ranked 59th outof 67 in English language arts, with all Louisiana students averaging in 41st place.

In math, St. James ranked fifth from the bottom of all parishes listed, andthe state was ranked 30th. Sixty percent of all St. James Parish studentsscored unsatisfactorily on the test.

Students will not be getting away from LEAP after eighth grade, either.

Beginning in the 2000-2001 school year, 10th graders will be given the LEAP-21 test in English and math, followed the next year by science and social studies tests being given to 11th graders.

Students in those grades are already faced with having to pass the Graduate Exit Exam (GEE), which became a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 1991, in order to receive a high school diploma.

In 10th grade, students take tests in written composition, English Language Arts and math. Eleventh-graders take the science and socialstudies portions of the exam.

Students must pass all five portions of the exam in order to graduate, but those who fail one or more sections of the exam must take only those sections over again.

Retests are offered twice in 11th grade and three times in 12th. Studentswho do not pass before graduation are offered another chance to do so the following summer.

In the spring of 1999, 80 percent of St. James students passed the EnglishLanguage Arts portion of the GEE, compared to 85 percent statewide.

Seventy-eight percent passed the science portion, just below the state average of 80 percent.

In math, only 63 percent of St. James Parish students passed the GEE,though the state had an average passing rate of 74 percent. Eighty-sevenpercent passed the written composition portion of the exam, compared with 93 percent of the state. And eighty-four percent passed socialstudies, below the state average of 88 percent.

Taking tests earlier helps students prepare students for what to expect on the GEE, Reulet said.

Plus, identifying and addressing students’ problem areas sooner will benefit them in the long run. Previously, school administrators said theydid not realize test-taking problems until 10th grade when they took the GEE for the first time.

Cancienne said he realizes that students should be taught essential skills from an earlier age, which will better prepare them for the future.

“There’s going to be a lot of emphasis on early childhood education,” Cancienne said. “I’ve heard that 75 percent of a person’s language skillsdevelop between the ages of 0 and 3. The earlier we start working withchildren, the better prepared they’ll be.”He also said he wants to modify the current teaching curriculum to bring it more closely in-line with what students need to know in order to pass graduation exit exams.

“There’s too much in the United States teaching curriculum that’s a mile wide and a half an inch thick. We need to teach fewer things and more in-depth. So we’re going to try to identify, align what is tested to what weteach,” Cancienne said.

But teaching children to apply what they learn is one of the biggest challenges educators will face.

“We have to motivate our children to read and then to interpret what they read, and to apply. It’s going to be a little bit radical change, I think ineducation in general, not just in St. James,” Cancienne said.To achieve his goals in curriculum modification, Cancienne has brought on board Jim Monasmith, a veteran educator who will spend several days in the parish showing teachers the correct way to teach their students.

“We’re looking forward to working with Dr. Monasmith. Dr. Cancienne sayshe has a proven track record,” Reulet said.

Mary Edwards, administrative director of student services and resources, said she, too, is happy the parish has retained Monasmith’s services.

She said she hopes under his direction the parish will “move forward and move forward very quickly.”Though Cancienne and the school board have identified student achievement as their number one goal, Cancienne said he believes preparing the “whole child” is equally important.

More field trips to business and industry and a greater emphasis on arts programs will help bring that idea about, according to Cancienne.

“There’s going to be a tendency for society to focus only on test scores and lose sight of the fact that we’re preparing the whole child for the next step in life,” he said.

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