§391.4.  Pupil proficiency

A.  The superintendent of education shall, by January 1, 1978, establish reasonable minimum levels of pupil proficiency in the basic communication and computational skills which shall be integrated into instructional programs.  The superintendent of education shall, by January 1, 1979, develop and administer a uniform system of assessment based in part on criterion referenced tests to determine pupil status, pupil progress, and the degree to which such minimum proficiency standards have been met.  The grade levels involved in such assessment shall be chosen by the superintendent.  The local school governing bodies shall cooperate with the superintendent and the state Department of Education in the administration of this Section.  

B.  The school board of each district shall for the 1978-1979 school year and annually thereafter prepare a report of the aforementioned assessment results which shall include pupil assessment by grade and subject area for each school in the district, including those grade levels as established by the superintendent; and the board shall file such report with the superintendent of education.  

C.  The state superintendent of education shall make an annual report of the aforementioned assessment results.  Such report shall include, but not be limited to, a report of the assessment results by grade and subject area for each school district of the state.  The superintendent, by January 1, 1980, shall also include in such report an analysis and recommendations concerning the costs and differential effectiveness of instructional programs.

D.  In addition, the state Department of Education shall prepare and submit an annual report to each school district in the state, and to the education committees of both houses of the legislature, containing an analysis, on a district-by-district basis, of the results and test scores of the testing program in the basic skills courses.  The report shall include, but shall not be limited to, an analysis of the following operational factors having a substantive relationship to or bearing on such results:

(1)  Average class size in grades one to three, inclusive.  

(2)  Pupil-teacher ratio in grades one to eight, inclusive.  

(3)  Average transitory factors as derived from dividing the average daily attendance of the district or selected schools by the total annual enrollment of the district.  

(4)  Analysis of compensatory educational needs in each parish and city school system, and

(5)  Provide for an explanation of factors affecting the assessment results.

(6)  Analysis of curriculum, textbooks and/or other teaching material as related to the grade or subject areas tested.  

E.  All test scores of individual students, average scores for individual classes or schools, and average scores for individual school systems shall be exempt from the public records act (L.R.S. 44:1-7).  School boards may choose to release test data if it does not identify individual students, classes, or teachers.  All test scores or test averages released to the public, however, must be accompanied by a complete analysis of socioeconomic factors beyond the control of the school or school system which have an effect on student scores.  

Acts 1977, No. 621, §1.