VIDALIA &045; This is where the rubber meets the road.

After five weeks of reviewing facts and studying test-taking strategies in summer school, about 290 Concordia Parish students are retaking the LEAP, Iowa and GEE tests they failed during the school year. Retests are being taken through Thursday.

That number also includes third- and seventh-graders who have been identified as needed the extra practice to do well on the LEAP tests next year. &uot;From what I’m hearing, it’s going smoothly so far,&uot; said Superintendent Kerry Laster.

With the LEAP in particular, the state has set higher standards this year. Fourth- and eighth-graders had to answer about 40 percent of the questions correctly in the past. That has now risen to 50 percent.

The stakes are high. Students who don’t pass the LEAP don’t move on to the next grade.

Schools who don’t meet their state-set accountability goals &045; a score mostly comprised of Louisiana Educational Assessment Program, Graduate Exit Exam and Iowa scores and attendance rates &045; can face a variety of state sanctions.

Schools won’t know until Aug. 10 or 11 &045; about the start of school &045; how the students scored, and therefore, in the case of LEAP retest students, won’t know in which grade the students will be placed.

Once they know, however, schools will notify parents immediately, Laster said.

What’s the district’s strategy? No matter what the retest &045; LEAP, GEE or Iowa &045; students in summer school were taught test-taking strategies and took plenty of practice tests.

&uot;They’re being taught, for example, to read the questions first and then the passage, so they’ll know what they’re looking for. It’s hard to teach them facts any more&uot; than they’ve already been taught in the regular session, Laster said.

What should parents do to prepare their children for the remaining retest days?

&uot;Making sure they get a good night’s rest before the test and making sure they have a good breakfast before they leave for school &045; those are two important things,&uot; said Fred Butcher, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction.

&uot;The thing that’s most important is for parents to make sure their children are on time and ready to learn &045; and to make sure they’re supportive of their children and of their school,&uot; Laster said.