Deviation from the Norm

Today I am writing about a different subject than I normally do. I was browsing the Louisiana Dept of Education website today and saw their announcement about the release of this year's test results. Accompanying the results were the exclamations, "More Students Are At Grade Level" and "Biggest Gains in Math and Science." Awesome, right?

I sure think so. I want to share a power point from the Dept of Ed that breaks down each subject and grade and shows that for the last ten years students have been making gains in every subject and in every grade. Here is an example:

And a few more:

I just wanted to brag a bit on my state.  These scores show the effort schools around the state have been making are paying off. Teachers and administration are making decisions that are benefiting our children. There is room for improvement as always but these scores do not play into the narrative that Louisiana public schools are failing so I'm not sure where that idea comes. I know it is not the whole picture but it is a great example of how we are getting better at teaching our kids. Yay teachers!!! So my question becomes: Why are we taking precious resources from these improving schools and pouring them into a system that has no accountability? Can someone show these results to Gov. Jindal?

For the entire power point click here. (Let me know if it doesn't work)

For the La Dept of Ed website click here.

Next week I will be back with a craft update but I could not help giving my fellow teachers a shout out. You are working hard and it shows.