VIDALIA, La. &045; The way student performance is measured in Louisiana is changing and the Concordia Parish School District is going to have to change with it.

The state will no longer test student achievement with the LEAP standardized test, but will now use the ILEAP test. ILEAP is a combination of LEAP and the Iowa test given in other states.

In order to make sure students are learning what they will be tested on the state is changing its curriculum to match the test.

Each district was given the choice of writing its own curriculum or using the one provided by the state. Director of Academic Affairs Fred Butcher said Concordia will use the state’s curriculum to be released in April.

Preparing the district’s administrators, teachers, students and parents is a long process that is already underway, Butcher said.

Administrator and teacher training will begin later this month with several sessions led by officials from the state education department.

The Iowa test, a norm-reference test, grades students on how well they are performing in comparison with students across the nation. The LEAP test, a criteria-based test, judges their mastery of the skills they’ve been taught.

ILEAP will combine both requirements to meet federal 2001 No Child Left Behind legislation. Butcher said the new test will be more like Iowa than LEAP.

After the new curriculum is released Butcher said the first step is to align resources with the new material. Resources include everything from textbooks and workbooks to manipulatives and globes.

If the district comes up short on any of the resources they will have to purchase new ones, he said. Since no new money will come from the state, Butcher said the district would look at reassigning some existing Title I funds or grant dollars to cover the cost of new materials.

Butcher and Superintendent Kerry Laster said making sure all the right resources are in place will be a major project for the district in the coming year.

The new curriculum will include grade level expectations that must be met and will change the way teachers teach, Laster said.

&uot;It’s going to be new to teachers,&uot; she said. &uot;Until the teachers go through the model curriculum for a full year and really get a handle on it, it’s going to be change. And change creates apprehension.&uot;

The statewide change was not something that came as a surprise, but Laster said she does expect some bumps along the road.

&uot;Anytime you have change you’re going to have some problems,&uot; Laster said. &uot;I do think it will help the kids and the teachers will know better what they need to teach.

&uot;What I like about it is there are numerous activities to teach the grade level expectations and do assessments. Most of it is hands-on application. The kids are going to have to demonstrate their knowledge.&uot;

After the work of several committees and sub-committees to check resources, Butcher said the district will work to inform parents of the change.

&uot;There’s a lot we’ve got to do,&uot; Butcher said. &uot;We are meeting twice a week on the local level to lay out the necessary plan.&uot;