Zachary remains highest-scoring La. school district; others post gains

Zachary Community Schools remains the highest-scoring school district in the state, while Ascension, Central and West Feliciana also are rated as “A” districts, according to the 2012 performance scores released today. Livingston and West Baton Rouge scored in the “B” range, while East Baton Rouge rated a “C.” Baker, East Feliciana, Iberville and Pointe Coupee are graded “D” districts; St. Helena, despite a 13.8-point improvement, received the Capital Region’s only “F,” not counting the Louisiana Recovery School District, which includes some Capital Region schools and also received an “F.” The 11.7-point increase in Ascension was highlighted during today’s announcement by the Louisiana Department of Education. “We had growth across all of our schools,” says Ascension Public Schools Superintendent Patrice Pujol. East Baton Rouge, which was in the “D” range last year, touted its highest-ever score of 92.9, a 20.6-point jump since 2007. “We are making meaningful progress even with the challenges of the state’s ever-moving goal line,” EBR Superintendent Bernard Taylor says. “Now we’ll continue the good work with targeted instruction, interventions, benchmark exams, blended learning, and professional development and support for initiatives, such as a differentiated approach to learning.” Statewide, 36% of schools earned an “A” or “B,” up from 28% last year, and “D” and “F” schools dropped from 44% in 2011 to 36% this year. Read the full story and access the complete school and district performance scores here. —David Jacobs