Lincoln Parish sees biggest leap in state in new test scores
Graphic by Louisiana Department of Education
Lincoln Parish is now the fastest growing school district in Louisiana when it comes to academic achievement, according to new results from this spring’s standardized testing released today.
The new data from the Louisiana Department of Education reveals 43% of parish students in grades 3-12 showed proficiency in core subjects on their LEAP tests at the end of the school year, up six points from the 37% proficiency rate in 2022.
Those six points of growth made Lincoln Parish the most improved district in the state this year, as no other district went up by more than four points.
“That’s something we’re really proud of,” schools Superintendent Ricky Durrett said. “It shows our teachers, students, and families are working hard. We’ve recovered from where we were before the pandemic and even improved.”
Aside from its growth, Lincoln Parish’s 43% proficiency level is itself tied for 7th in Louisiana and the best in the north region.
The scoring improvement permeated through the district’s major subgroups of students.
The proficiency rate among Black students in the parish rose from 20% to 25% — the fastest growth among that population in the state.
Among students with disabilities, the proficiency rate rose from 9% to 11%.
Seeing improvement in those groups has been a focus of the district’s academic team in recent years.
“Proficiency” in Louisiana standardized testing means scoring Mastery or Advanced, the top two categories out of five, in core subjects English, math, science and social studies.
See Friday’s edition of the Ruston Daily Leader for more details from this newly released data.
