New Orleans’ School Performance Scores are created by the Louisiana State Department of Education and adapted by NOLA Public Schools for local use. Local officials use state scores to inform charter authorizing and school oversight. This SPF has intentionally few metrics compared to other SPFs, to clearly communicate priorities to families and educators.
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System Summary:
School performance scores are part of Louisiana’s state plan to identify and intervene in low-performing schools under ESSA. Louisiana uses A-F performance grades as part of its statewide accountability system, and to communicate school quality and progress to school leaders, educators, and families. The Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), which oversees NOLA Public Schools, uses and adapts the state’s school performance scores as a key factor in its charter school oversight and renewal processes.
Key Metrics:
The system includes relatively few metrics. Elementary and middle school scores are based primarily on student achievement test scores and student growth, while high school scores include student achievement on college entrance exams, graduation rates, and a measure of how many students graduate with additional credentials like college credit, AP/IB credit, or technical certifications.
Use Cases:
The Louisiana school performance scores are used for several system management and accountability purposes at both the state and local level. Under ESSA, schools that receive D or F scores for three consecutive years or have graduation rates below 67% are identified for comprehensive improvement. At the local level, school performance scores are used to inform decisions around school replication, expansion, and closure, and NOLA Public Schools puts particular emphasis on growth trends when making important decisions about a school’s future.
Because the performance scores are a part of the state’s accountability system, they are not designed to be used for school-level continuous improvement. But state leaders say that the performance scores are meant to push educators, particularly classroom teachers, to set ambitious goals for students and focus on rigorous and effective instruction.
Louisiana has made significant investments in communicating school data to parents, and this remains a top priority. School performance scores are integrated into a state school report card website at LousianaSchools.com and the local unified enrollment site EnrollNOLA.
The collection of images below is a sample of the New Orleans school performance framework website and public-facing school reports as of 2018-19. Click on each image to view an enlarged version.
Details
SPF Creator:
Created by the Louisiana Department of Education; adapted and implemented locally by Orleans Parish School Board, which oversees NOLA Public Schools
Number of Schools Included:
85
Types of Schools Included:
All schools in New Orleans, almost all of which are public charter schools. The system also applies statewide but is put to use differently at the local level.
School Quality Rating Policy