Progress of Education in Louisiana · 2 The Progress of Education in Louisiana voters, and students] toward education” (5, p. 4). This history of low funding for public education

The Progress

of Education

Louisianain

© May 1999, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory

This publication was produced wholly, or in part, withfunds from the Office of Educational Research andImprovement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education,under contract #RJ96006801. The content herein does not necessarily reflect the views of OERI, theDepartment, any other agency of the U.S. Government,or any other source.

The Progress of Education in Louisiana is a product ofthe Promoting Instructional Coherence Project in theProgram for the Improvement of Teaching andLearning. This project assists educators in constructinga comprehensive approach to teaching and learning.To contact the Promoting Instructional CoherenceProject, please call us at 1-800-476-6861 or write to usat SEDL, 211 East Seventh Street, Austin, TX 78701. Youmay also send e-mail by writing to Stephen Marble,Program Manager ([email protected]), or to the authorof this paper, Sandra Finley ([email protected]).

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Front cover photo: Marty and Annette RhoadsAll other photos are © PhotoDisc, 1999Graphic Design: Jane Thurmond

SEDLSouthwest EducationalDevelopment Laboratory211 East Seventh StreetAustin, Texas 78701(512) 476-6861

The Progress

of Education

Louisianain

To make schools more effective and efficient, many

school reforms and changes have been introduced at

the national, state, and local levels. Teachers who

are making decisions about what and how to teach

their students in this new context have more to

consider—new policies, new ideas about education,

and a multitude of new programs. The new ideas

may be unclear, inconsistent, or contradictory. For

schooling to improve as a result of these reforms,

teachers must be able to make sense of the reform

ideas, bring them together in a meaningful way, and

construct a coherent practice.

"Instructional coherence" describes the relationship

among curriculum, instruction, assessment, external

mandates, and community context that teachers cre-

ate and communicate to their students. In creating a

coherent practice, the teacher intentionally brings

these together with a focus on student learning

to provide educational experiences that are clear,

connected to each other, and worthwhile. SEDL is

currently researching the problems teachers face in

making their practices more coherent. This paper

describes the progress of education in Louisiana.

The view is that of the author, drawn from documents

and interviews.

Table of Contents

Education Becomes aTop Priority1

Educational ReformInitiatives inLouisiana4

Changes in CriticalPolicies11

Conclusion16

References Cited17

Sandra J. Finley, Ph.D.

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory

April, 1999

ducation is Louisiana’s top priority today!There is excitement, energy, and hope

about education in Louisiana, a state tradition-ally ranked near the bottom of the 50 states oneducational quality and effectiveness. Thisstate is also near the bottom on measures ofthe wealth and health of its citizens, but a turn-around is underway. Historically, one commonperception of Louisiana has been that of a statedefined by opposites which often fall alongracial and socioeconomic lines: those whosend their children to private schools and thosewho cannot; those who are powerful andthose who are not; those who have profes-sional careers and those who have jobs in agri-culture, the service sector, or the oil industry.Today, however, people from these diversegroups are working together to improve education by facing the challenges, barriers,and inertia head-on.

Educational leaders in Louisiana are takingan approach to reform that focuses on theentire educational system to ensure thatchange takes place in an integrated way, rather than progressing in a piecemeal fashion.They are looking to the national reform move-ment for guidance and support in improvingthe quality of education for all students in thestate. Teaching in Louisiana is expected toimprove as teachers are given more resources,responsibilities, and opportunities to learn newskills. Students should have improved educa-tional experiences as problems throughout the system are addressed. Let’s look at how thestory of education in Louisiana unfolds.

1

Education Becomes a Top Priority

Economic Realities Lead to Support forEducational Reform

Economic realities have helped mobilize thegeneral public to support educational reformin Louisiana. The oil and gas industry plays apivotal role in the state. Louisiana is the thirdlargest U.S. producer of oil and natural gas andis a center of petroleumrefining and petrochemi-cal manufacturing. Duringthe oil boom of the 1970sand early 1980s, oil andgas accounted for 30 to 41percent of the state’s rev-enue, adding $1.6 billionto state coffers in 1981-82.Times were good; therewas little incentive for thestate to diversify its indus-trial base. However, whatwas good for the stateeconomy was not neces-sarily good for public education. The readyavailability of well-paying,low-skill roughneck jobsin the oil patch reducedthe incentive for manystudents to complete highschool. This attitude isoften blamed for the state’s high illiteracy rate,low national test scores, and low graduationrate (5). Those who controlled the pursestrings share a similar attitude toward invest-ment in education; spending for schools andteacher salaries in Louisiana was ranked lowerthan nearly all of the 50 states. The oil indus-try has thus been described as having a “pro-found impact on attitudes [of policymakers,

E

Education Becomes a Top Priority

The Progress of Education in Louisiana2

voters, and students] toward education” (5, p. 4).

This history of low funding for public education has also been attributed to the highrate of private and parochial school attendanceamong the state’s affluent and nonminority students. Many middle- and upper-class families, including state decision makers, havetraditionally sent their children to theseschools—it is a way of life in Louisiana—andthus, had relatively little interest in increasingfinancial support for public schools (7).Another factor contributing to the traditionallylow rate of spending on education may be the large rural population in the state, which issaid to be leery of change in general and to have had a limited interest in pursuing educational change.

During the mid-1980s, oil prices declined.Oil companies reduced their exploration anddrilling activity and laid off workers. An economic crisis resulted—high unemploymentcoupled with a poorly educated workforce.The state’s income from oil and gas plummet-ed and has never recovered to boom levels.

[In 1997, oil and gas revenues contributed only12% or $723 million of total state revenues.]This situation changed the public view of education, as many people realized that diver-sifying the state’s economic base was criticaland that “a well-trained work force [was] thekey to attracting and maintaining new indus-try” (5, p. 5). Writing in 1990 about the impactof this shift in attitude, education leaders said,“change became inevitable—not merely toler-ated, but demanded . . . . The changing mood ofthe last decade, driven by a deep economiccrisis, has now created a consensus that com-pels reform” (5, p. 5). The challenge was tofind ways to put more money into education—to go against the low priority placed on schoolfunding (1).

There was a general economic upturn inthe country during the mid-1990s. Louisianareported increases in available jobs in mostsectors, with decreased reliance on oil and gas.Unemployment dropped from 13.1 percent in1986 to 6.9 percent in 1995. The oil industrystabilized, but at a lower production level andwith fewer high-wage, low-skill jobs (10).

Table 1. LouisianaPopulationand Numberof Schools

a. Data from State of the State 1997, Louisiana Office of Planning and Budget.b. Data from Quality Counts 1997, Education Week

State population (1996) a 4,350,579Percentage African-American 31.6Percentage Hispanic 2.4

No. of school districts b 66

No. of public schools b 1,459Percentage urban 32Percentage suburban and large town 19Percentage rural and small town 49

No. of public school students (1995-96) a 767,796

No. of pr ivate school s tudents (12.1%) b 105,688

Per pupi l spending (1996) b $4,194U.S. average b $5,541Louisiana rank b 45th

3Education Becomes a Top Priority

Despite the overall gains, Louisiana still hasone of the highest percentages of persons liv-ing in poverty in the nation (19.7% for all per-sons and 31.0% for children in 1995 [7, 10]).Related measures—the general health of thepopulation, rate of violent crime, infant mortality rate, and child well-being—add tothe picture of a state facing problems on manyfronts (6). Improving education is seen as away to change that picture.

Education visionaries are beginning toconvince citizens and policy makers toimprove the quality of education in the stateby spending more money on education.Economic realities have helped enlist the support of the general public for reform, butquestions persist. What kinds of improvementsshould be made to the educational system?How much will it cost? Where will the moneycome from? As elsewhere, these are hot topicsin Louisiana.

The Political Agenda PushesEducational Reform

In Louisiana, stories of power strugglesbetween the governor, legislature, state super-intendent, state boards of education, andteacher unions are common. A 1988 report onreform in Louisiana concluded that, “Thosewho tried to change the system have time andagain seen reform measures watered down,ignored, not properly implemented, taken tocourt by teacher unions, repealed, mired downin turf battles and power struggles betweenpublic bodies, or not funded” (3). This ischanging as education leaders in the statecome together to solve the substantial prob-lems facing Louisiana education. Each succes-sive governor has had his own approach toeducational issues, setting the tone for legisla-tion. Mike Foster, who took office in 1996,brought education to the forefront. His agenda

reflects national trends and includes settinghigh academic standards, developing appropri-ate assessments, establishing greater schoolaccountability, increasing staff developmenttime, turning more control over to districts andholding them accountable for results, makingthe charter-school law less restrictive, and providing better preparation for children tostart school.

The Board of Elementary and SecondaryEducation (BESE) has eight elected membersand three members appointed by the governor.BESE supervises and controls the public ele-mentary, secondary, vocational, and specialschools and has budgetary responsibility for allstate-appropriated school funds for K-12schools. In July 1999, control of vocationalschools will be transferred from BESE to theBoard of Regents (BoR), which has responsi-bility for higher education in the state. Prior to1987, the state superintendent of educationwas an elected official whose political positionon education was often at odds with those ofBESE members. In 1987, Louisianans voted tochange the superintendency to an appointedposition, thus reducing some of the politicaltension between BESE and the superintendent.A former state senator and chairman of theSenate Education Committee, Cecil J. Picard,was appointed superintendent by BESE in1996. He heads the Louisiana Department ofEducation (LDE) and is responsible for carryingout BESE policies and laws affecting the public schools.

Today, there is the sense that the governor,superintendent, legislators, and board mem-bers are all on the same page, moving in thesame direction, to get Louisiana out of thebasement with regard to educational quality(7). Their commitment reflects the recent histo-ry of educational reform in Louisiana thatbegan with collaboration to acquire federalgrants and continues with a systemic approachto improving education.


hanges in Louisiana’s economics pushedthe state to make education a priority.

New ideas from the national education reformmovement were also critical—high academicstandards, systemic improvement, equity, andnew approaches to teaching and learning—inhelping Louisiana focus on a number ofimprovement goals. The availability of federalmoney to support systemic reform broughtmany leaders together to develop proposals.Kerry Davidson, the deputy commissioner forsponsored programs for the Board of Regents,has been very successful in establishing andmaintaining a climate of collaboration, empha-sizing a systemic approach to reform, andacquiring federal grants for improving educa-tion in the state.

Educational ReformInitiatives in Louisiana

C

Table 2. Guide toEducationalLeaders,Agencies, and ReformInitiatives

Governor Mike Foster, Republican, elected 1996Superintendent Cecil J. PicardBESE State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Glenny Lee Buquet, presidentBoR State Board of Regents, Mary Ellen Sanders, chairpersonLDE Louisiana Department of EducationLaSIP Louisiana Systemic Initiatives Project

(National Science Foundation-funded Statewide Systemic Initiatives Program), Kerry Davidson, project director

LaCEPT Louisiana Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (NSF-funded project), Kerry Davidson, project director

LEARN Louisiana LEARN for the 21st Century (Louisiana Education Achievement and Results Now), Gary Nesbitt, chairperson

LEQSF Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund, a fund for education established with money from an oil settlement with the U.S. government

Goals 2000 Initiative Grant from U.S. Dept. of Ed. to assist state in meeting National Education Goals, overseen by bipartisan commission

Technology Collaborative Project, includes Louisiana Networking Infrastructure for EducationChallenge Grant (LaNIE), Goals 2000/LEARN, NSF

Kerry Davidson, project director

5Educational Reform Initiatives in Louisiana

Louisiana Develops a Vision of Good Practice

In 1979, the legislature voiced the state’s visionof good practice with the passage of Act 750,the Louisiana Competency-Based EducationProgram. Act 750 required LDE to developstate curriculum guides in the core subjectsthat listed minimum skills and competencies,instructional activities and materials, and mini-mum instructional time. The legislature alsorequired assessment to be linked with thecompetencies (1).

LDE established advisory and writing com-mittees that included classroom teachers todevelop curriculum guides. The guides, whichwere revised periodically, were handed tolocal districts as the state curriculum. Theywere directive, providing little encouragementor help for teachers to improve classroomteaching. Then in the mid-1980s, the nationalmovement to develop academic standardsstarted with the work by the National Councilof Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Acrossthe country, educators were taking a closelook at drafts of these national mathematicsstandards and, later, at those for science fromthe National Research Council. Many educa-tors in Louisiana reviewed the drafts and real-ized that Louisiana’s guidelines were not asacademically rigorous as those from thenational groups. Standards being drafted byNCTM, for example, emphasized critical think-ing, problem solving, and communication,whereas most math teachers in Louisiana andin other states taught computation.

Money Is Dedicated to Educational Reform

New money became available for educationreform in 1986 when the state established afund with $550 million received in an oil

settlement with the federal government. A con-stitutional amendment dedicated the interestproceeds from the fund (1997 fund value, $760million) to the Louisiana Education QualitySupport Fund (LEQSF), to be administered byBESE and BoR (4). This was significantbecause it created a substantial source of dis-cretionary funds for education, money thatcould be used for trying new things. For example, $33.9 million from the LEQSF wasspent on K-12 materials and programs in 1995-96 (10).

The Availability of Federal DollarsLeads to Statewide Collaboration

Additionally, new money became availablethrough federal initiatives to improve educa-tion. Louisiana has been “very successful inattracting federal dollars for systemic educationreform” (1, p. 4). A collaborative spirit ofreform began with the development of theLouisiana Systemic Initiatives Program (LaSIP)proposal to the National Science Foundation’s(NSF) Statewide Systemic Initiatives Program(SSI). LaSIP received $10 million from NSF fora five-year statewide effort to reform classroom


mathematics and science in 1991, the first yearof the SSI awards. The state supported theeffort with an additional $10 million—$5 mil-lion from BoR and $5 million from the BESELEQSF. LaSIP was chartered as an independentstate agency funded by the consortium of NSF,BoR, and BESE, with its existence tied to continued funding by NSF.

Other federal dollars were secured forimprovement of teacher education, develop-ment of curriculum frameworks, application oftechnology, and attention to urban schools.LaSIP took a lead role in fostering cooperationbetween the various agencies and was able toavoid turf wars and keep the reform efforts ontrack (1). Appropriate resources were soughtand strategies identified for improving eachpiece of the educational system. The effortswere not considered in isolation, however, asconnections between the pieces were recog-nized and used to foster a systemic approachto reform.

LaSIP actively sought the support of keypeople at the state level. The funds available toLaSIP were small compared to the Louisiana’sK–12 education budget, so LaSIP could notexpect to change things on its own. It has beena challenge for LaSIP to accomplish its goals.The metaphor in the following description is apt.

One state official compares LaSIP to asleek racehorse blazing a trail ofreform, while the state educationalbureaucracy is full of workhorses stillburdened by the old system and long-established habits. . . . the workhorsescannot keep up with the racehorses(nor is it easy to teach an old horsenew tricks), and the racehorses, whilefast, are not strong enough to pull thewhole system forward with them. (1, pp. 31-32)

LaSIP brought a new vision of classroomteaching and learning in science and mathematics to educators in the state, a vision derived from the national conversationabout educational reform. LaSIP connectedLouisiana’s education reform to the nationalreform agenda. This connection worked inboth directions; not only did educators withinLouisiana become fluent with reform ideas,but leaders around the country began to takenotice of Louisiana’s strong collaborativeapproach, as well. Across the country, reformorganizations like LaSIP were urging teachersto change their instructional strategies to betterbenefit student learning. Of course, they hadto do more than “urge” teachers, they had toprovide training and support so teacherswould have the knowledge, skills, and desireto change their practices.

LaSIP Promotes New Ideas aboutClassroom Teaching and Learning

The mission of LaSIP, which was funded for asecond five-year period in 1996, is to “achievepervasive and enduring standards-basedreform of mathematics and science educationin Louisiana in light of the increasingly rapidchanges required to prepare students for productive life in the 21st century” (4).


Approximately 70 percent of LaSIP resourcesare directed toward professional developmentprograms for mathematics and science teach-ers to retrain them in the teaching approachesadvocated in the national standards. The newmethods represent a clear change from theway classes are taught in most schools inLouisiana, and indeed, in the nation.

Rote memorization of facts and formu-las, along with mundane paper-and-pencil procedures, will be replacedwith a student-centered approach tocritical thinking and problem solving,leading to a much broader under-standing of the uses of mathematicsand science in today’s technologicalage. (5, p. 9, LaSIP’s statement onteaching and learning)

LaSIP found that a major, long-term effortis required to change teaching. More than6,000 teachers have been trained by LaSIP. Acase study of LaSIP from 1991 through 1996found that these teachers were, at that time,more likely to use student-centered teachingapproaches and multiple student assessmentsin their classrooms, but most need more timeand practice to incorporate the changes fullyinto their teaching (1). LaSIP teachers weremore aware of reforms and willing to try newthings. However, the reform ideas do notappear to have traveled by osmosis tountrained teachers, nor are many teachers inany one school trained, so LaSIP teachers arefairly isolated (1). It is difficult for them to con-struct a coherent practice based on newreform ideas without support from schooladministrators and opportunities to collaboratewith trained colleagues. School leaders werenot originally targeted for training, but LDEand LaSIP have begun to address this by offer-

ing leadership courses taught by LaSIP staff. Asmore administrators embrace the new ideas, itis likely that they will encourage and providefor more teachers to get the professional devel-opment necessary to learn new approaches.Also, more teachers are now receiving trainingoffered through LDE and thus the differencebetween teaching approaches of LaSIP teach-ers and others is, in many cases, narrowing.

LaSIP has created a climate for educationalreform in the state that extends beyond thework of individual teachers. For example, newapproaches to assessment that are consistentwith LaSIP’s reform agenda have been incor-porated into the revised state criterion-refer-enced tests, the Louisiana EducationalAssessment Program for the 21st Century(LEAP 21). Fourth-grade students in mathe-matics are now expected to solve real-worldproblems, accurately use calculators, under-stand fractions, construct written responses toproblems, justify answers and solution process-es. LaSIP has held staff development work-shops across the state promoting instructionalapproaches that enable students to accomplishthese complex tasks. Louisiana has taken theplunge in expecting its students to do morethan add, subtract, multiply, and divide or tomemorize a list of definitions.

The State Develops Frameworks and Standards

In 1993, LDE applied for and received a three-year $900,000 federal grant to develop mathe-matics and science curriculum frameworks.The project was a collaboration between LDEand LaSIP to “to create state mathematics andscience curricula that represent present andemerging world class standards in mathematicsand science curricula and assessment” (8, p. 2).LaSIP had already begun the work of develop-ing standards for mathematics and science, but


the new funds and collaboration with LDEextended their capacity to successfully com-plete the project. At the same time, a Goals2000 grant from the U.S. Department ofEducation enabled a commission to beginwork on a state improvement plan addressingthe National Education Goals and providedfunding for the reform efforts of local districts.

The frameworks for mathematics and sci-ence, which include standards, were complet-ed in 1996, following an extensive reviewprocess throughout the state. LDE then focusedon developing standards in the other core sub-jects. These were written for English languagearts, social studies, foreign languages, and thearts, with considerable input from teachersaround the state. National standards served asmodels, and the state called on out-of-stateexperts for advice and review. The guidebooksthat accompany the standards include stories ofreform strategies and results from severalstates, showing teachers in Louisiana that theyare not alone in these efforts.

The next step, currently under way, is forlocal districts to develop curricula that reflectthe state standards and the priorities of the dis-trict. There is concern that “the level of contentexpertise and leadership at the local level isoften not strong enough” to successfullyaccomplish this task (1, p. 3). A LaSIP educatorreported, however, that districts are generallyfinding that bringing teachers together to dothe work is the key to success. For participat-ing teachers, this process breaks down theirtraditional isolation, and they share their under-standings of teaching and learning. Teachersmust make sense of the various mandates inorder to understand and use new state policiesand local priorities to create coherent curriculafor their districts and students.

Like LaSIP, LDE supports the efforts of localdistricts and teachers through training work-shops and printed materials. “There are signsthat LDE now views its mission as including

support, technical assistance, cooperation, andleadership” (1, p. 3). LDE’s Resource Guide forCurriculum Development provides informationand guidance for local educators on theprocess of standards-based curriculum plan-ning and implementation. Resource guideshave also been developed for the specific sub-ject areas. The guide for mathematics, forexample, includes curriculum models that areconsistent with the mathematics standards,descriptions of instructional strategies forteaching mathematics, lists of resources, andso on. The development of capacity in localschool districts to create and implement localstandards-based curricula is critical, especiallyin light of new standards-based assessmentsand accountability, to be discussed later.

Reform Requires Changes in Teacher Preparation

The collaborative spirit of reform was furtheradvanced when Louisiana received a five-year$4 million award from NSF in 1993 to establishthe Louisiana Collaborative for Excellence inthe Preparation of Teachers (LaCEPT). Again,the state added funds ($500,000 per year) fromthe LEQSF. LaCEPT seeks to reform teachertraining programs so new mathematics and sci-ence teachers will be well prepared in both


content and pedagogy (1). LaCEPT is an inte-gral part of LaSIP, and is directed from thesame office, thus increasing the likelihood ofconnections among these reform efforts.

LaCEPT provides money for colleges torevise mathematics and science teacher train-ing to reflect national standards. Collaborationbetween education, mathematics, and scienceprofessors, college administrators, and localschool people is encouraged. College facultycan also become more involved in K–12 education reform by working with LaSIP summer projects. LaSIP and LaCEPT have professionalized teaching, as evidenced by theincreasing number of teachers in the state whobelong to professional teaching organizations,present at conferences, seek external fundingsources, and attend professional developmentevents (1).

Louisiana Increases Availability ofTechnology for Schools

Most schools in Louisiana, including two-yearcolleges, currently do not have access to thekind of technology that will help studentsbecome competitive in an information-drivenmarketplace. The state technology planaddresses this problem and helps ensure thatall students become technologically literate.The Louisiana Networking Infrastructure forEducation (LaNIE) is a joint plan of the Goals2000 initiative, BESE,Louisiana Public Broad-casting, and LaSIP. Fivepilot sites were fundedto develop models for integrating Internetresources with K–14instruction. Each siteinvolves collaborationbetween university fac-ulty, district and schooladministrators, and class-room teachers. LaNIEincorporates access totechnology with trainingfor teachers, assistancewith curricular integra-tion, and ongoing tech-nical support.

The Foster administration appropriated $38million in 1997-98 and $25 million in 1998-99for classroom-based technology—hardware,software, and equipment including modemsand scanners. A Technology Challenge Grantfrom the U.S. Department of Education for $10million extended the original LaNIE effort tounderserved populations in the state. The pushfor technology education is based on the beliefthat “Louisiana’s long-term social and econom-ic prosperity depends on it” (14). As in all of the reform efforts, there is the theme ofbringing Louisiana into the 21st century.


Putting It All Together

The state has been working on many fronts.The reform projects and LDE have addressedteaching practice, frameworks and standards,teacher training and preparation, and technol-ogy. Ongoing work on such key policies asschool funding and teacher salaries, account-ability and assessment, and teacher certificationand evaluation, has been influenced by thesereforms over the past 15 years. To consolidatethe reform efforts, LDE and the Office of theGovernor began formal development of a stateeducation plan in 1994 with the support of aGoals 2000: Educate America Act grant. Thebipartisan Goals 2000 Committee developedthe first drafts of a plan. At the end of its term,the committee was replaced by the LEARNCommission, whose members were selectedby the governor and state superintendent.

Based on the groundwork laid by theGoals 2000 Committee, the commission devel-oped the Louisiana LEARN for the 21st Century(Louisiana Education Achievement and ResultsNow), a comprehensive and ambitious planthat pulls together the state reform efforts andstate goals. LEARN subsumes all existing stateeducation initiatives under its umbrella and hasone overarching goal: “that all students who

exit schools in Louisiana will be knowledge-able, self-reliant, and productive citizens in the21st century” (1, p. 9). The plan’s 11 objectivesare “intended to accelerate the trend towardincreased local control and increased account-ability for results” (1, p. 9).

The commission solicited public input onthe state plan through telephone interviews,focus groups, television programs, and mail-ings. The plan was submitted to BESE andapproved in concept in 1996. LEARN is astrategic plan that details the state goals, corebeliefs, objectives, and strategies, as well asspecifying who is responsible for implement-ing each strategy. The plan is complementedby a competitive subgrant program that sup-ports local improvement, professional devel-opment, and preservice reform efforts.Approximately $14 million in LEARN fundswere awarded to local systems by 1997. OfLouisiana’s 66 school systems, 59 had beenconducting LEARN subgrant projects, including770 individual teacher projects (10). TheLEARN Commission’s influence has promptedthe Legislature to support the LEARN plan bypassing new education policies, includingthose on funding, teacher evaluation, assess-ment, and accountability, to be discussedbelow.

Objectives for Louisiana LEARN for the 21st Century:• Louisiana will establish high academic standards and administer appropriate assessments.• Schools and districts will be held accountable for student achievement.• Districts and schools will have greater control over decision making.• Resources and funding will be used more effectively.• Parents and students will help ensure that student learning occurs.• Teachers and learners will have access to and effectively use technology.• Schools will be safe, drug- and violence-free, disciplined environments. • Professional growth and development opportunities will be available.• Parent and community partnerships will be encouraged.• Children should start school with the skills to be successful learners.• Students will be encouraged to explore career and educational choices. (6)

11Changes in Critical Policies

uilding on the collaborative climate, thelinkage to new visions of teaching and

learning, and the recognition of the need toconsider all parts of the system, the state hasmade changes in major statewide educationalpolicies. The policies that have the most far-reaching implications at this time includethose addressing school funding, teachersalaries, teacher evaluation, student assess-ment, and school accountability. The legisla-tive or board policy action often requires localimplementation to move the reform forward.

Moving toward Equitable SchoolFunding and Higher Teacher Salaries

The inequity of funding for education in dif-ferent districts has been cause for concern inLouisiana as in other states. School fundingcomes from federal, state, and local sources.Disparities arise because the local contributiondepends on the local tax base; poor districtslack the tax base to generate adequate moneyfor schools. Paralleling similar events aroundthe country, BESE and the legislature weresued in 1991 by a coalition of districts and par-ents alleging the state funds to local districtswere inequitable and inadequate. The lawsuitwas dismissed by a state appeals court in 1997,remanded by the state supreme court for clar-ification, and then dismissed for a second timein 1998. The plaintiffs are taking the case backto the state supreme court for a final ruling.

BESE has revised the state school fundingformula to gradually equalize funding (6). TheMinimum Foundation Program (MFP) sets thestate appropriation formula. The formula has,in the past, been based on the number ofteachers allotted and employed, or, later, on

the number of students enrolled in a district.The current revised MFP formula provides aspecific funding amount for each studentbased on local needs. Changes in state fundingwere phased in. In 1992-93, the MFP formulaimplementation level was 20 percent of newfunds owed to school systems. [Simply put, theallocation for a district was calculated using theold funding formula and the new funding for-mula. The difference between the two is theamount of new money owed to a district.] In 1993-94, the implementation level increasedto 25 percent and remained unchanged until 1996.

Changes in Critical Policies

B


With a new administration and increasesin state revenues, the 1996 legislature provid-ed $109.4 million to “jump-start the funding”for MFP (7, p. 118), with commitment to fundat 100 percent by 1999-2000. School systemscan now count on these new funds as theymake their plans. The legislature is making“funding for public education a high priority,providing more than $330 million in newfunding during the past two years” (9, p. 1).The state sent about $2 billion to local districtsin 1998, double the amount of just 10 yearsago. This is average for Southern states (9).Louisiana receives more in federal funds thanthe Southern average, but local funding is lessthan the average. The state has taken addi-tional measures, as we shall see, to link schoolfunding to accountability, recognizing thatprevious inequities in educational fundinghave created districts in desperate need ofhelp. The new systems of funding andaccountability are anticipated to work togeth-er to ensure that new state money goes to helpthose districts that need it most.

Low teacher salaries have been a concernthroughout the Southern region. In Louisiana,much of the additional state spending hasgone to teacher salaries, which were increasedin 1996, and then again in 1997 and 1998. In a

national comparison, Louisiana teachersreceived the highest average salary increase in the country (5.8%) during the 1996-97 year (13), although salaries still rank 48th in a national comparison. With the increases in salaries came new demands and expecta-tions—to work longer hours, to attend moretrainings, to be part of curriculum develop-ment teams, to change teaching methods, and to be held accountable for student performance.

Rethinking Teacher Evaluation

Teacher evaluation has been an emotionalissue in Louisiana for the past decade. Thegovernor’s Children First Act, passed in 1988,included a teacher evaluation plan thatrequired all teachers to be evaluated andrecertified every three years by the state.Teachers had to demonstrate competency on91 indicators, and evaluation by the state waslinked to certification (2). Following an outcryby teachers unions who said the plan was“punitive, unworkable, and focused too heav-ily on getting rid of poor teachers instead oftrying to improve their skills,” the plan wassuspended in 1991 (12). Under a revised plan,

Table 3. SchoolSpending

a. Data from Quality Counts 1997, Education Week.b. Data from State of the State 1997, Louisiana Office of Planning and Budget.c. Data from Schneider & Nelson, 1998.

K–12 expenditures (1995-96) a $3.397 billionFederal contrubution b 12.3%State contribution b 50.9%Local contribution b 36.8%

Per pupil spending (1994-95) a $4,194

Average teacher salary (1996-97) c $28,347U.S. average c $38,436Louisiana rank c 48th


passed in 1994, beginning teachers are evalu-ated by the state through the LouisianaTeacher Assistance and Assessment Program.A new teacher entering service for the firsttime in a Louisiana public school is providedassistance (mentoring and professional devel-opment) and is assessed on his or her com-petence on the Louisiana Components ofEffective Teaching in order to structureimprovement activities and to make decisionsabout certification. New teachers may remainin the program for up to two years, at whichtime the teacher is either certified or sus-pended. Currently licensed teachers are eval-uated by their district. The lifetime certifica-tion for teachers was preserved in the newbill (12).

Linking Accountability and Assessmentto School Improvement

The new accountability system is beingphased in over the next several years. Itrequires every school and district to developa school improvement plan, identify the low-est achieving schools in the district, and makeprovisions for assistance to those schools (7).

The proposed accountability system isintended to drive fundamental changesin classroom teaching by helpingschools and communities focus onimproved student achievement. Thesystem is designed to encourage andsupport school improvement by• Clearly establishing the state’s goals

for schools and students; • Creating an easy way to communi-

cate to schools and the public howwell a school is performing;

• Recognizing schools for their effec-tiveness in demonstrating growth instudent achievement; and

• Focusing attention, energy, andresources on those schools that needhelp improving student achievement.(9, p. 1)

Under the new system, school perfor-mance grades (0 to 100+) will be calculatedaccording to a formula that assigns varyingweights to four indicators of student achieve-ment: criterion-referenced tests (60%), norm-referenced tests (30%), attendance (10% for K-6, 5% for 7-12), and dropout (5% for 7-12). Ascore of 100 indicates the school has reachedthe state’s ten-year goal. Growth targets will becalculated for each school, indicating howmuch the school is expected to improve in atwo-year interval. The actual performance


grade will then be compared tothe growth target, and schoolswill be labeled according to therelationship between the two.Monetary rewards will be givento schools that meet or exceedtheir growth targets; technicalsupport and resources will beprovided for schools that do not(9).

Students in Louisiana had ahigh passing rate on the stateLEAP test and a low passingrate on the National Assessmentof Educational Progress (NAEP),leading the legislature to con-clude that the state test is tooeasy and gives an inflated pic-ture of what students know andcan do. New state criterion-ref-erenced tests, the LouisianaEducational Assessment Pro-gram for the 21st Century (LEAP21), are being designed toreflect the new state standards,to have more kinds of questions(multiple choice, constructedresponse, and open-endedquestions), and to require stu-dents to use more complexthinking skills. The tests will be similar to the NAEP test inthat they will have five perfor-mance levels—advanced, profi-cient, basic (on-grade level),approaching basic, and unsatisfactory. They will include science and social studies forthe first time. Passage of a graduate exit examcontinues to be required for a state-endorseddiploma (1, 9).

Louisiana students took the Iowa Test ofBasic Skills (ITBS), a norm-referenced test, forthe first time in spring, 1998. Prior to 1998,Louisiana used the less-difficult California

Achievement Test. Students will now take astandardized test nearly every year. Because ofthe changes in assessment, teachers are criti-cally examining their curriculum to make suretheir classroom instruction is aligned with thetest content. Administrators and teachers arepredictably nervous about how their studentswill do and about what will happen if studentsdo poorly.


Table 4. LouisianaStudentAchievementScores

LEAP: Percentage of students at or above state standards

1996 Language Arts Math

3rd grade 90 89

5th grade 87 89

7th grade 87 79

HS Exit 86 77

NAEP: Percentage of students attaining mathematics achievement levels

1996 4th grade 8th grade

Below basic 56 62

Basic 36 31

Proficient 8 7

Advanced 0 0

Data from State of the State 1997, Louisiana Office of Planning and Budget.

Table 5. LouisianaStandardizedTestingSchedule by Grade

ITBS—national norm-referenced testLEAP 21—the new state criterion-referenced test

Grade 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Test ITBS LEAP ITBS ITBS ITBS LEAP ITBS LEAP LEAP21 21 21 21


ouisiana is taking the improvement ofeducation seriously. Historically, educa-

tion has been a low priority in this state, butthis is changing. State leaders have rallied toreverse the widespread reluctance to ade-

quately fund education,increasing state support ofeducation and adding pro-visions to address fundinginequities across districts.The state’s economy isimproving and with itcomes access to additionalmoney, which the state hasearmarked for educationand used to leverage evenmore federal funds

There is concern insome camps that improve-ment in student achieve-ment is not coming fastenough. The president ofthe Council for a BetterLouisiana warned thatthere is still a “critical needto focus on student

achievement and school performance” (11).Graduation rates and test scores have notimproved very much over the past decade. Forexample, from 1990 to 1996, the percentage ofeighth graders scoring at or above the basiclevel on the NAEP math test increased sixpoints, but Louisiana students still rank next tolast when compared to those in other states(7). A BESE member was reported as sayingthat school improvement in Louisiana requiresprovision of enough money to provide a “min-imum education” for all students, implementa-tion of the school accountability plan, andimprovement in teacher pay and training. “It’sa three-pronged attack. If you leave any one ofthose out, you’re not going to make it” (11).

Teachers in Louisiana have been amongthe poorest paid in the country. Improving

teacher salaries is key to improving educationin the state, and salaries are getting closer tothe regional average with the pay raises thathave come out of the past three legislative ses-sions. This should raise morale among thestate’s teachers and, over time, lead to anincrease in the number of new teachers enter-ing the profession in Louisiana.

The state is taking a very close look atteacher learning. LaSIP believes in the impor-tance of focusing attention on professionaldevelopment, and LDE has a new divisioncharged with providing better access to train-ing for teachers across the state. LaSIP and LDEare shifting some of their attention to garneringthe support of the administrators who controlaccess to professional development opportuni-ties for teachers. They are also making plans todevelop cadres of trained teachers within indi-vidual schools and districts. These actionsshould help ensure that teachers can get thetraining and support they need to providequality instruction for students.

A LaSIP evaluation report states that “lackof capacity appears to be Louisiana’s most sig-nificant barrier to reform” (1, p. 32). Teachersand administrators do not appear to have theexperiences necessary to cope with all of thenew expectations and responsibilities. Theywill have to adapt to a number of significantchanges in a short time. They are being heldaccountable for their students’ achievement onnew, more stringent tests, but they are assuredmore local control, including local teacherevaluation, and more consistent state funds.So, the state is both transferring control to thelocal districts and providing guidance throughtraining, technical assistance, and guidebooks.

This paper began with the idea that theeducation story in Louisiana is infused withexcitement, energy, and hope. It is a complexstory. The improvement of a system thatbegins the reform effort ranked near the bot-tom is, to put it bluntly, hard work. With all the

Conclusion

L

17Conclusion

excitement comes the realization that there isa lot of work ahead—for teachers, administra-tors, policy makers, and students. With all theenergy that some people bring to the processcomes the knowledge that it takes more—more money, more support, more risk-taking,more people committed to the reform efforts,more good ideas, more perseverance. Theearly successes have provided a source ofmomentum to keep the efforts alive, so thatpeople stay involved in the work as long as necessary to effect a positive change andprovide a quality coherent education for all students.

1 Breckenridge, J. S., & Goldstein, D. (1998). A case study of Louisiana’s SSI (LaSIP), 1991-1996. In A. A. Zucker & P. M. Shields (Eds.), SSI case studies, Cohort 1: Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana,and Montana. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

2 Diegmueller, K. (1991, October 9). Changes inLouisiana’s teacher evaluation program are proposed.Education Week on the Web. Available:http://www.edweek.org [June, 1998].

3 Excerpts from Bennett’s status report on schoolreform. (1988, May 4). Education Week on the Web.Available: http://www.edweek.org [October, 1998].

4 LaSIP Overview. (1996). [On-line]. Available:http://www.lasip.state.la.us [February, 1997].

5 LaSIP Proposal. (1990). The Louisiana systemic initiatives program for mathematics, science, andengineering education reform. Proposal to NSF for SSI program. Unpublished manuscript.

6 Lawton, M. (1997, January 22). Louisiana: Hoping to climb. Education Week, Quality Counts, 117-119.

7 Lawton, M. (1998, January 8). Louisiana: Hard timesin the Big Easy. Education Week, Quality Counts,165-168.

8 Louisiana Department of Education. (1994, January 13). Year two continuation proposal to the Department of Education’s Eisenhower CF grantprogram. Unpublished manuscript.

9 Louisiana District and School Accountability AdvisoryCommission. (1998, March 18). Recommendations forLouisiana’s public education accountability system.Baton Rouge: Author.

10 Louisiana Office of Planning and Budget. (1997).State of the state 1997. Baton Rouge: Author.

11 Myers, D. (1998, May 26). La. education spendingsours, student performance poor. The AdvocateONLINE. Available: http://theadvocate.com [June, 1998].

12 Schnaiberg, L. (1994, June 22). Teacher evaluationprogram advances in La. Education Week on the Web.Available: http://www.edweek.org [June, 1998].

13 Schneider, K., & Nelson, F. H. (1998). Survey and analysis of salary trends 1997. Report of theAmerican Federation of Teachers. [On-line]. Availablehttp://www.aft.org/research/reports/salarysv/ss97/index.htm. [May, 1998]

14 Welcome to the challenge grant. (1998). [On-line].Available: http://www.challenge.state.la.us/welcome.html [June, 1998].

In addition, the following individuals were interviewed: Jackie Decote (Public Affairs ResearchCouncil), Michael Hollier and Rodney Watson (LDE),Nancy Jolly and George Silbernagel (Louisiana legislativestaff), Faimon Roberts (LaSIP).

References Cited

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory211 East Seventh StreetAustin, Texas 78701(512) 476-6861

Documents

Progress of Education in Louisiana · 2 The Progress of Education in Louisiana voters, and students] toward education” (5, p. 4). This history of low funding for public education