Testing dates moved

BATON ROUGE – The Department of Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) have approved a new test schedule for the LEAP, iLEAP and GEE for the 2008-2009 school year.

Under the new plan, which was approved by BESE during their April 2008 meeting, the tests will be given April 1-3 and 6-7, 2009. Makeup testing will take place April 8-9.

The change comes after years of concern about the testing dates, which usually fall during the second or third week of March. State Education Superintendent Paul G. Pastorek charged the Department to provide a better solution. The Department staff then immediately started working to develop a new plan for the 2008-09 school year.

This change means that testing will occur in April for the first time since the State’s accountability system began in 1999. It also means that the tests will be administered over two weeks rather than one week as in years past, and the number of makeup days will be reduced from three to two.

The new dates may allow for an additional three weeks of instructional time prior to testing, depending on district calendars. In addition, it will shorten the time between testing and the end of the year, which should reduce the “post test slump” that occurs often. “I am pleased with the work that went into developing this new schedule,” said State Education Superintendent Paul G. Pastorek. “I know that this is an important issue and the Department is taking steps to address it in the best way possible. Our goal is to better serve our students, and I believe that we are headed in the right direction.