Providing All Louisiana Students with Opportunities to Learn

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Welcome to the Louisiana Department of Education

The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) serves over 800,000 students in a growing portfolio of educational settings. As the state agency that oversees early childhood and K-12 education in Louisiana, the LDOE is committed to providing every child with the opportunities they need to graduate high school ready to succeed in a career, college, or service. The LDOE is responsible for a variety of services such as policy and regulations, funding, school oversight, research, and training.

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About the Louisiana Department of Education

The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) provides guidance and support to all publicly funded early childhood centers and elementary and secondary schools in Louisiana. Specifically, the department provides tools and resources to schools and school systems to support classroom instruction, assessments, workforce development and college and career preparation. Additionally, the department provides families and the public with transparent reporting of center, school, and school system performance and quality through the Louisiana School Finder.

To stay connected with the LDOE and receive updates on our work and our resources, visit our newsroom and our newsletter subscriptions page.

Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)

The LDOE is the administrative arm of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). BESE was established by the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. The Board is composed of 11 members: eight elected by the citizens of Louisiana’s eight BESE districts, and three appointed by the governor of Louisiana to represent the state at-large. Together, these members adopt and enact policies governing the elementary and secondary schools of Louisiana.

Louisiana's Education Priorities

Louisiana's education priorities maintain a clear focus on what matters most for academic achievement.

Early childhood leading to kindergarten readiness
Literacy instruction aligned to the Science of Reading
Math instruction from foundational to advanced skills
Opportunities ensuring a meaningful high school experience
An effective teacher for every student
Expand educational choice for students and families

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If you have questions, including public records requests, questions about licensure, or other types of inquiries, please see our contact us page.

Louisiana State Superintendent

Dr. Cade Brumley

Dr. Brumley is a Louisiana native who has dedicated his career to serving children, parents, and educators.

Meet Dr. Brumley

Back to the Basics

Louisiana's Education Priorities

From being ready to learn on the first day of kindergarten to thriving in a career, college

Learn about our priorities

Employment Opportunities

Careers at LDOE

Join the Louisiana Department of Education as we strive for excellence.

View current openings

Policy Guidance

State Advisory Groups

The LDOE facilitates over a dozen councils, committees, task forces, and other groups.

Learn more about our education groups

HIGH PARTICIPATION RATES PRODUCING RICH ACADEMIC DATA LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR HIGH IMPACT INITIATIVES TO ACCELERATE STUDENT LEARNING

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) today announced the release of new Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP 2025) data. For the last two school years, Louisiana faced extraordinary challenges ranging from catastrophic hurricanes to a global pandemic.

“In the face of immense adversity, students, teachers, administrators and parents showed unwavering resiliency, demonstrating a deep commitment to both safety and learning,” said State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Cade Brumley. “This LEAP 2025 data will be invaluable in guiding our instructional, policy, and resource allocation decisions as we recover and accelerate from this unprecedented interruption to student learning.”

Dr. Brumley will address this information and future recovery and acceleration plans at a press conference onAugust 11th at the Knock Knock Children’s Museum in Baton Rouge at 9:00 a.m.

LEAP 2025 Results

Grades 3-8
- From 2019 to 2021, the number of students scoring Mastery or above saw a decrease of 5 percentage points. This decrease was felt across all grade levels, content areas and student subgroups.
- Simultaneously, learning gaps deepened, as evidenced by a 5 percentage point increase in the number of students scoring Unsatisfactory. This disproportionately impacted:
  - Economically disadvantaged students
  - Students in the earlier tested grades (e.g., grades 3 and 4)
  - Scores earned in mathematics

Grades 9-12
- Across all subjects, the number of students scoring Mastery and above declined by 5 percentage points since 2019.
- In each individual subject, the number of students scoring Mastery and above has decreased since 2019.
- Algebra I saw the greatest decline (-9 percentage points) from 2019 - 2021, and English II had the smallest decline (-2 percentage points).

Participation Rates

Overall, Louisiana’s combined participation rate in LEAP 2025 was 97.5 percent. 98.5 percent of students, grades 3-8, participated in state testing. 93.4 percent of high school students participated in state testing.

LDOE implemented a variety of tactics to spur high participation rates, including:

Extended testing windows
Provided extended hours testing
Offered remote testing availability

Recovery Programs

Since the beginning of the pandemic, LDOE provided direct guidance and support to school systems, aiming to improve academic achievement and life outcomes for students. These initiatives included, but were not limited to:

2020 Cohort Graduation Rate

Due to COVID-19, student seat time and assessment requirements were waived beginning March 13, 2020 through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. As a result, data from the 2019-2020 school year is not directly comparable to results from prior or future school years and should be interpreted with caution, especially when making comparisons with results from other school years.

The cohort graduation rate increased to 84.0, up 3.9 percentage points from 80.1 in 2019 and up 11.7 percentage points from 72.3 in 2012.
Cohort graduation rates for all student groups increased from 2019.
English Learners had the most growth in the short term (from 2019-2020) increasing by +7.2.
Students with disabilities showed growth in both the long- and short-term, with the most growth happening over the long-term from 2012 (+38.3). From 2019, students graduating with their cohort grew (+6.6).

Next Steps

School systems have already begun sending student reports for LEAP 2025 ELA, math, science and social studies to families and students, along with a copy of the Parent Guide to the LEAP 2025 Student Reports. Translated versions of the Parent Guide are available in the Family Support Toolbox library on the Department's website.

School systems will also use LEAP 2025 results as one source of information with which to design data-driven supports and targeted interventions for students. Under state law, students, who have not met proficiency standards, must receive intensive support over the summer or throughout the year.

About the LEAP 2025 Assessments

LEAP 2025 includes assessments of ELA, math, science, and social studies for grades 3-12. The tests measure the knowledge and skills defined by the state’s content standards for each grade. Student scores are reported on five levels: Unsatisfactory, Approaching Basic, Basic, Mastery, or Advanced. Students scoring Mastery and Advanced are considered proficient, or ready for the next grade level.

LEAP 2025 assessments have evolved as the state's standards have been revised to more accurately reflect what knowledge and skills students need to be successful.

See results for grades 3-8 and grades 9-12.

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