VIDALIA — The percentage of Concordia Parish’s eighth graders who achieved the promotional standard for the high-stakes LEAP test increased to 71 percent in 2009, 11 percentage points higher than 2008.

“Overall, you have got to be pretty happy with (the scores),” Concordia Parish schools’ Director of Academics Paul Nelson said. “While there is the district score component to it, for the parent and a student, the fact that you passed is the most important thing.”

To achieve the promotional standard for the LEAP test, students must score at least “approaching basic” in either math or English, and for the other subject they must score “basic.”

The LEAP test is a five-tiered system. Those tiers are — from lowest to highest — unacceptable; approaching basic; basic; mastery and advanced.

Superintendent Loretta Blankenstein said the school district is still analyzing the test information, as well as the programs employed during the year to see if they have paid off.

“We are going to look at those practices we used in eighth grade math and see how we can use those in other grades,” Blankenstein said.

The parish’s fourth graders — the other high-stakes testing group — made some gains, but not make gains as dramatic as the eighth graders.

“Fourth grade did not show as much improvement as we liked, and that is something we are really going to have to pull back and look at, the fourth grade scores,” Nelson said.

Students in third, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth all took the iLEAP test, which does not carry a promotional standard.

The percentage of students scoring basic in math grew in every grade except the fifth grade, and the number of students scoring unsatisfactory decreased for every grade except the sixth grade.

In the ninth grade, the rate of students scoring unsatisfactory in math was slashed from 10 percent to 4 percent.

While there are other factors that need to be considered, Blankenstein said this was the first year iLEAP scores, which in the past were considered only on an assessment level, were factored into the students’ grades.

“If you know it is not going to count one way or another, you might not be as focused on it,” she said.

But that shouldn’t discount the work the teachers, students and parents put into the test, Blankenstein said.

“I think everybody has tried to focus and understand this is a really big deal for all,” she said. “Not only does the student get a score, but the school gets a score and the district gets a score — we are all in this together.”

Retesting will be allowed during the summer for students who did not achieve promotional standards.

The high stakes testers, by the numbers, performed as follows:

4In 2009, 1 percent of fourth graders achieved an advanced rating for English, while 10 percent achieved mastery, 48 percent basic, 27 percent approaching basic and 14 percent unacceptable.

In math, 2 percent received an advanced rating, 9 percent mastery, 42 percent basic, 28 percent approaching basic and 20 percent unacceptable.

In 2008, 2 percent of fourth graders were rated advanced in English, 12 percent mastery, 43 percent basic, 25 percent approaching basic and 18 percent unacceptable.

In math, 2 percent were rated advanced, 14 percent mastery, 43 percent basic, 24 percent approaching basic and 17 percent unacceptable.

4In 2009, 1 percent of the parish’s eighth graders were rated advanced in English, while 10 percent were rated mastery, 56 percent basic, 24 percent approaching basic and 9 unacceptable.

In math, 4 percent achieved advanced status, 5 percent mastery, 48 percent basic, 24 percent approaching basic and 19 percent unacceptable.

In 2008, 1 percent of eighth graders were rated advanced in English, 14 percent were rated mastery, 38 percent basic, 38 percent approaching basic and 9 percent unacceptable.

In math, 1 percent were rated advanced, 1 percent mastery, 49 percent basic, 31 percent approaching basic and 17 percent unacceptable.