Building on the collaborative climate, the linkage to new visions of teaching and learning, and the recognition of the need to consider all parts of the system, the state has made changes in major statewide educational policies. The policies that have the most far-reaching implications at this time include those addressing school funding, teacher salaries, teacher evaluation, student assessment, and school accountability. The legislative or board policy action often requires local implementation to move the reform forward.

Moving toward Equitable School Funding and Higher Teacher Salaries

The inequity of funding for education in different districts has been cause for concern in Louisiana as in other states. School funding comes from federal, state, and local sources. Disparities arise because the local contribution depends on the local tax base; poor districts lack the tax base to generate adequate money for schools. Paralleling similar events around the country, BESE and the legislature were sued in 1991 by a coalition of districts and parents alleging the state funds to local districts were inequitable and inadequate. The lawsuit was dismissed by a state appeals court in 1997, remanded by the state supreme court for clarification, and then dismissed for a second time in 1998. The plaintiffs are taking the case back to the state supreme court for a final ruling.

BESE has revised the state school funding formula to gradually equalize funding (6). The Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) sets the state appropriation formula. The formula has, in the past, been based on the number of teachers allotted and employed, or, later, on the number of students enrolled in a district. The current revised MFP formula provides a specific funding amount for each student based on local needs. Changes in state funding were phased in. In 1992-93, the MFP formula implementation level was 20 percent of new funds owed to school systems. [Simply put, the allocation for a district was calculated using the old funding formula and the new funding formula. The difference between the two is the amount of new money owed to a district.] In 1993-94, the implementation level increased to 25 percent and remained unchanged until 1996.

With a new administration and increases in state revenues, the 1996 legislature provided $109.4 million to "jump-start the funding" for MFP (7, p. 118), with commitment to fund at 100 percent by 1999-2000. School systems can now count on these new funds as they make their plans. The legislature is making "funding for public education a high priority, providing more than $330 million in new funding during the past two years" (9, p. 1). The state sent about $2 billion to local districts in 1998, double the amount of just 10 years ago. This is average for Southern states (9). Louisiana receives more in federal funds than the Southern average, but local funding is less than the average. The state has taken additional measures, as we shall see, to link school funding to accountability, recognizing that previous inequities in educational funding have created districts in desperate need of help. The new systems of funding and accountability are anticipated to work together to ensure that new state money goes to help those districts that need it most.

Low teacher salaries have been a concern throughout the Southern region. In Louisiana, much of the additional state spending has gone to teacher salaries, which were increased in 1996, and then again in 1997 and 1998. In a national comparison, Louisiana teachers received the highest average salary increase in the country (5.8%) during the 1996-97 year (13), although salaries still rank 48th in a national comparison. With the increases in salaries came new demands and expectations--to work longer hours, to attend more trainings, to be part of curriculum development teams, to change teaching methods, and to be held accountable for student performance.

K-12 expenditures (1995-96)	$3.397 billion
Federal Contribution b	12.3%
State Contributionb	50.9%
Local Contributionb	36.8%
Per Pupil Spending (1994-95)a	$4194
Per pupil spending (1996)c	$28,347
U.S. averagec	$38,436
Louisiana rankc	48th

 

Rethinking Teacher Evaluation

Teacher evaluation has been an emotional issue in Louisiana for the past decade. The governor's Children First Act, passed in 1988, included a teacher evaluation plan that required all teachers to be evaluated and recertified every three years by the state. Teachers had to demonstrate competency on 91 indicators, and evaluation by the state was linked to certification (2).

Following an outcry by teachers unions who said the plan was "punitive, unworkable, and focused too heavily on getting rid of poor teachers instead of trying to improve their skills," the plan was suspended in 1991 (12). Under a revised plan, passed in 1994, beginning teachers are evaluated by the state through the Louisiana Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program. A new teacher entering service for the first time in a Louisiana public school is provided assistance (mentoring and professional development) and is assessed on his or her competence on the Louisiana Components of Effective Teaching in order to structure improvement activities and to make decisions about certification. New teachers may remain in the program for up to two years, at which time the teacher is either certified or suspended. Currently licensed teachers are evaluated by their district. The lifetime certification for teachers was preserved in the new bill (12).

Linking Accountability and Assessment to School Improvement

The new accountability system is being phased in over the next several years. It requires every school and district to develop a school improvement plan, identify the lowest achieving schools in the district, and make provisions for assistance to those schools (7).

The proposed accountability system is intended to drive fundamental changes in classroom teaching by helping schools and communities focus on improved student achievement. The system is designed to encourage and support school improvement by Clearly establishing the state's goals for schools and students; Creating an easy way to communicate to schools and the public how well a school is performing; Recognizing schools for their effectiveness in demonstrating growth in student achievement; and Focusing attention, energy, and resources on those schools that need help improving student achievement. (9, p. 1)

Under the new system, school performance grades (0 to 100+) will be calculated according to a formula that assigns varying weights to four indicators of student achievement: criterion-referenced tests (60%), norm-referenced tests (30%), attendance (10% for K-6, 5% for 7-12), and dropout (5% for 7-12). A score of 100 indicates the school has reached the state's ten-year goal. Growth targets will be calculated for each school, indicating how much the school is expected to improve in a two-year interval. The actual performance grade will then be compared to the growth target, and schools will be labeled according to the relationship between the two. Monetary rewards will be given to schools that meet or exceed their growth targets; technical support and resources will be provided for schools that do not (9).

Students in Louisiana had a high passing rate on the state LEAP test and a low passing rate on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), leading the legislature to conclude that the state test is too easy and gives an inflated picture of what students know and can do. New state criterion-referenced tests, the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century (LEAP 21), are being designed to reflect the new state standards, to have more kinds of questions (multiple choice, constructed response, and open-ended questions), and to require students to use more complex thinking skills. The tests will be similar to the NAEP test in that they will have five performance levels-advanced, proficient, basic (on-grade level), approaching basic, and unsatisfactory. They will include science and social studies for the first time. Passage of a graduate exit exam continues to be required for a state-endorsed diploma (1, 9). Louisiana students took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), a norm-referenced test, for the first time in spring, 1998. Prior to 1998, Louisiana used the less-difficult California Achievement Test. Students will now take a standardized test nearly every year. Because of the changes in assessment, teachers are critically examining their curriculum to make sure their classroom instruction is aligned with the test content. Administrators and teachers are predictably nervous about how their students will do and about what will happen if students do poorly.

Table 4: Louisiana Student Achievement Scores

Leap: Percentage of students at or above state standards				NAEP: Percentage of students attaining mathematics achievement levels
1996	Language Arts	Math		1996	4th Grade	8th Grade
3rd Grade	90	89		Below basic	56	62
5th Grade	87	89		Basic	36	31
7th Grade	87	79		Proficient	8	7
HS Exit	86	77		Advanced	0	0

Data from State of the State 1997, Louisiana Office of Planning and Budget.

Table 5. Louisiana Standardized Testing Schedule by Grade

Grade	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Test	ITBS	LEAP 21	ITBS	ITBS	ITBS	LEAP 21	ITBS	LEAP 21	LEAP 21

ITBS--national norm-referenced test
LEAP 21--the new state criterion-referenced test