(May 23)
A state senator’s bill on Louisiana’s statewide student tests is well-intentioned but ill-advised. At best, it’s superfluous, and at worst, directly counterproductive.
Senate Bill 246, by Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, would require the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to research alternatives to the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program. It also would mandate that the LEAP tests in social studies and science be administered at only four grade levels (during the K-12 schooling career), rather than the current six — something that BESE already is in the process of doing anyway.
Abraham wants the board to examine whether a “nationally normed” test, rather than the Louisiana-specific LEAP, might be better to help this state’s students compete nationally, and also to spend less time taking statewide mandated tests. Louisiana’s ACT (college admissions test) scores rank among the ten worst in the nation — although among the far smaller population that takes the SAT test instead, Louisiana ranks an impressive 13th out of 51.
Of course the test itself doesn’t determine how well students will do, but a good test will accurately assess whether children are learning what top educators think they should. A good test and a good curriculum will influence and complement each other holistically. Both LEAP and the Louisiana curricula and standards enjoy solid national reputations.
