Calcasieu Parish Elementary Schools exhibited impressive growth during the previous school year.

According to the 2021-2022 LEAP 2025 results that were released by the Department of Education on Wednesday, the growth within the parish’s elementary schools placed the Calcasieu Parish School Board in the top 10 spot in the state for growth amongst elementary and middle schools.

CPSB said the “results are a testament to the hard work of our students, faculty, and staff happening every day in our schools”

“This growth is exciting news for our district,” said CPSB Superintendent Shannon LaFargue. “We have endured so much, but our educators’ resiliency and commitment to our students inspires us to continue the great efforts by all.”

Vincent Settlement Elementary School, Nelson Elementary School and DeQuincy Elementary School all place in the top 15 for one-year growth.

T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School also placed high, tying fourth in overall performance in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Department of Education, 80 percent of the state’s school systems improved their mastery rate when compared to the 2020-2021 school year.

Mastery and proficient scores in math and English both rose 3 points. Math scores rose to 30 percent, while English scores rose to 42 percent. Science mastery scores showed growth as well, increasing to 27 percent, which was 2 points higher than last year. Scores for social studies maintained a 25 percent score.

Mastery rates improved consistently amongst all individual subject areas for grade 3 through 12. As reported by the LDE, there was also consistent improvement among many student subgroups, including the economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, Asian students, African American students and white students.

The LEAP test has five achievement levels: unsatisfactory, approaching basic, basic, mastery, and proficient. A score of mastery or proficient indicates that the student is ready to continue to the next grade level.

State Superintendent Cade Brumley believes this is a sign that the state school system is reaching normalcy. “After the impact of a global pandemic and two of the strongest hurricanes in our state’s history, Louisiana’s students are back on their feet,” he stated. “K through 12 education is on the rise in Louisiana because we kept schools open, strategically allocated resources, and developed innovative solutions to recover and accelerate student learning.”

It has been reported that in-person learning was vital for score improvement. Ninety-five percent of LEAP testers engaged in full-time, in-person learning during the 2021-2022 school year. Comparatively, only 57 percent of students in the 2020-2021 school year participated in in-person learning.

The LDE also reported that “over the course of the pandemic, students engaged in full-time, in-person learning have outperformed those engaged in virtual learning.”

“This progress is a true testament to the dedication of our educators to maintain high standards for students no matter the circumstance,” Brumley said. “We still have work to do before we’ve fully recovered from the impact of the last two years, but there’s excitement among our teachers and leaders to close that gap and continue moving our students forward.”