Believe and Prepare is a teacher preparation reform implemented by the Louisiana Department of Education in collaboration with school systems and teacher preparation programs across the state. It was piloted in the 2014/15 school year and became mandatory in July 2018 for incoming teacher candidates in all 18 institutions of higher education that…

Believe and Prepare is a teacher preparation reform implemented by the Louisiana Department of Education in collaboration with school systems and teacher preparation programs across the state. It was piloted in the 2014/15 school year and became mandatory in July 2018 for incoming teacher candidates in all 18 institutions of higher education that…

The full study to these appendixes used administrative records on undergraduate teacher candidates provided by the Louisiana Department of Education to compare the outcomes between similar teachers who completed programs that had implemented Believe and Prepare and teachers who completed programs that had not implemented it. This document presents…

Research in this study investigated the impact of assessment on the learning outcomes of students an academic year and the students' academic success on the Louisiana End-of-Course (EOC) test. This study utilized a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design that included a non-equivalent control group selection. Participants…

In partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education and through a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, Mathematica conducted a study that measured each Louisiana public high school's promotion power, which is a school's effect on the long-term success of its students as indicated by high school graduation, college or career readiness,…

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the influence of selected demographic and academic factors on the science achievement among middle school students in Louisiana. The dependent variable for this study was Science achievement as measured by the Eighth Grade LEAP Test. The independent variables consisted of selected demographic…

This study examined high-stakes test scores for 37,222 eighth grade students enrolled in music and/or visual arts classes and those students not enrolled in arts courses. Students enrolled in music had significantly higher mean scores than those not enrolled in music (p less than 0.001). Results for visual arts and dual arts were not as…

With tightening school budgets and continued emphasis on core subject standardized testing, physical education often takes a backseat to academic areas that school administrators deem more important. Much time is spent using improvement strategies in the classroom that do not involve exercise. Two hundred eighty-five sixth to eighth grade students…

Federal and state initiatives (No Child Left Behind, 2001) require schools and districts to set high standards for student growth and achievement. Currently, student growth and progress are measured in Louisiana via statewide achievement tests. In 4th and 8th grades these assessments are considered to be 'high-stakes', as promotion and retention…

Guided by a new framework, the NAEP science assessment was updated in 2009 to keep the content current with key developments in science, curriculum standards, assessments, and research. The 2009 framework organizes science content into three broad content areas. Physical science includes concepts related to properties and changes of matter, forms…

This paper profiles Louisiana's test score trends through 2008-09. Between 2005 and 2009, trends on state tests and NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) sometimes differed. On the state test, the percentages of students reaching the proficient level increased at grades 4 and 8 in both reading and math. On NAEP, the percentage of…

Focusing on student proficiency in reading and math from 2003-04 to 2006-07, this report compares gaps in performance on state achievement tests between grade 8 American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other grade 8 students in 26 states serving large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students. In response to a request by…

"Taking Stock and Pushing Forward" (2014) reports states' progress toward the Challenge to Lead 2020 Goals for Education. State-specific documents report on student achievement as well as essential state policies to improve it. Among the many metrics: how states are improving achievement on NAEP [National Assessment of Educational…

A representative sample of 122,000 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment, which is designed to measure students' knowledge and abilities in the areas of physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences. This report covers the overall results, achievement level…

The purpose of this study was to examine the policy implications allowing administrators to exempt a student from required arts instruction if the student obtained unsatisfactory scores on the high-stake state mandated tests in English and mathematics. This study examined English language arts and math test scores for 37,222 eighth grade students…