The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has once again approved an appeals process to give students who are unable to pass the LEAP test another option to graduate. Some politicians are saying the plan does not make the grade.
In order to apply for an appeal, President Dr. Holly Boffy says appeals will be administered by local school systems.
“They would also need to demonstrate employability and that could be demonstrated through certain work key score or having a industry based credential that would qualify them for employment,” said Boffy.
Louisiana is one of eight states that still require minimum standardized test scores for graduation. And is the only state that has not offered an appeals process.
In a six to five vote, BESE approved lowering the bar for graduating high school seniors. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy believes BESE is taking a massive step backward.
“Everyone of my kids in Louisiana can learn. Sometimes they need a bit longer. But its not going to do them any good to give them a diploma they can’t read,” said Kennedy.
Boffy says four percent of high school seniors are unable to graduate because they can’t pass the LEAP test. That could mean the students are poor test takers not because they can’t read. She points out that students achieve at different levels.
“If my air conditioning goes out at home, I’m really not looking for someone whose able to analysis poetry, I’m looking for someone who’s going to be able to have the knowledge and skills to be able to fix the air conditioning,” said Boffy.
Kennedy says just over a third of Louisiana public high school students perform on grade level. He says helping a student graduate counts towards the school’s accountability score.
“It’s not the kids who want to do this. It’s the adults. Because not only do we grade our kids, we grade our schools. If schools have kids that don’t pass the graduation examination, it counts against the grade of the school,” Kennedy said.
The House Education Committee has scheduled an oversight hearing for Thursday to review the policy.
