State’s grad rate reaches all-time high; rate climbs to 79.5 pct. in Evangeline

Louisiana’s public high school graduation rate reached 77.5 percent in 2015, an all-time high, according to the state Department of Education.
The four-year high school gradation rate increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2015.
The state’s graduation rate increased 2.9 percentage points over 2014 and is the second largest annual gain in the past 10 years, and significantly higher than the national gain of only 0.9 percent, the education department announced Monday.
The same graduation statistics show St. Landry Parish’s graduation rate was 69.3 percentage points in 2015, down from 74.6 in 2014. Since the 2006, the parish’s graduation percentage rate has averaged 67.
Acadia Parish’s graduation rate in 2015 was 85.1, down from 85.2 in 2014.
In Evangeline Parish, the 2015 graduation rate was 79.5, up from 67.1 in 2014. Evangeline Parish was one of 10 top growth school systems with a 16.6 percent increase in its graduation rate from 2012 to 2015.
Superintendent Edward D. Brown, in an email, stated, “The St. Landry Parish School System is working diligently to increase its high school graduation rate at all high schools in the district. As defined by the Louisiana Department of Education, a graduation cohort includes all students who entered grade nine for the first time in the state of Louisiana in a given academic year. With this definition, the district has several efforts underway to ensure that each cohort of students is able to attain a high school diploma in four years.
“The St. Landry Parish School System’s high schools are continually reviewing course work of students in a given cohort. This annual review is done twice each year in May and August to allow ample time for necessary schedule changes for students entering the fourth year of the cohort. In addition, student assessment data is carefully reviewed each year to ensure that students are on track for meeting graduation exit requirements.
“Throughout the years, the district has worked to maintain a steady increase in its graduation rate. Having been on an incline for several years, the district has experienced a slight decrease which will be closely scrutinized to determine root causes. Each high school’s individual graduation rate will be examined upon its release by the Louisiana Department of Education.”
State Superintendent John White said, “A 2. 9 percent increase in the cohort graduation rate is a momentous occasion for students their families and for our public education and schools. At the same time we have to continue raising the bar. There is evidence today in front of all of us that when you do raise the bar you see great things happen for kids.”
White held a conference call Monday to announce the graduation rates.
Gains by African-American students outpaced the state as a whole, increasing 3.5 percentage points from 67.9 in 2014 to 71.4 in 2015. Since 2010, the cohort graduation rate of African-American students has increased 12.5 percentage points, from 58.9 percent.
“Because of the hard work of students, families, and educators, thousands more young people are achieving opportunity for life after high school,” White said. “At the same time, we must recognize that in today’s economy; simply having a high school diploma is not enough to achieve upward mobility and high wage employment. Therefore, we are committed to increasing the graduation rate while making sure a Louisiana high school diploma is the springboard to college, career, and life success.”
The class of 2015 was the first cohort of students to participate in the state’s LA-4 pre-kindergarten program.
The class of 2015 achieved the highest-performing ACT average composite score of any class since the state required all students to take the ACT, posting an average of 19.4, making Louisiana the most improved state in the nation that assesses all students;
More than eight percent of 2015 graduates achieved college credit on an Advanced Placement assessment, a state record, and greater annual improvement than in any state other than Massachusetts.
Proficiency in core high school subjects exceeded that of any previous graduating class on all End-of-Course tests, with 6.5 percent more students achieving Good or Excellent than in the class of 2014.
“We are going to continue raising the bar for what it takes to graduate from high school in Louisiana. Our kids will continue to rise to that occasion and they will make high school graduation what it should be, which is one stopping point along the way of a much larger journey to economic opportunity,” White said.