NOLA-PS Statement on Release of SPS Scores during COVID-19 Pandemic
(New Orleans - December 3, 2021) – NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. issued the following statement regarding the Louisiana Department of Education's release of the statewide simulated School Performance Scores (SPS) for the 2020-2021 school year as schools and districts faced challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"COVID-19 has impacted student learning across Louisiana, and NOLA-PS was no different as we navigated a challenging year last year," Dr. Lewis said. "Our educators received the data that informed these scores for students at their individual schools over the summer and have done a tremendous job engaging their most vulnerable students, building lesson plans, and implementing intervention strategies to put them back on track to find success in their educational journeys. At the District, we can use these scores as a snapshot of learning during COVID and help our schools continue to lift up students."
As stated by LDOE, this year was unlike any other, and therefore these data cannot be compared with great accuracy to pre-pandemic school years. They represent a new baseline from which schools can improve student performance. Nonetheless, these latest data show that students in the NOLA-PS community endured similar declines in progress and performance seen throughout the state. 71% of districts statewide had a simulated District Performance Score (DPS) that was lower than their 2019 DPS. Among its peer districts with similar economically disadvantaged populations, NOLA-PS saw comparable absolute performance and student growth, with 43% of students making "Top Growth" this year, the same as the statewide percentage. "Top Growth" is defined by student scores that are 1) meeting growth goals toward the Mastery level or 2) falling between the 60th and 99th percentile compared to similar peers statewide.
The LDOE suspended statewide standardized LEAP 2025 testing in the spring of 2020 as school districts across the country grappled with pandemic-related lockdowns and pivots to distance learning options. As the pandemic continued to impact schools, LDOE chose to reinstate LEAP testing in February 2021. Data on student growth represents a comparison between the test taken during the 2018-19 and 2020-21 school years.
In releasing the data, LDOE stated that the data was "for informational purposes only" and did not calculate letter grades for school performance. Because of the unique challenges of the pandemic that undoubtedly hurt school performance, NOLA-PS will use these data as a new baseline to inform future ways to improve the school community's overall performance in delivering high-quality education to all students.
###
About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.
For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.
When you subscribe to the blog, we will send you an e-mail when there are new updates on the site so you wouldn't miss them.
