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High Stakes Testing In Louisiana: An Analysis Of The Disparate Impact On Black And White Eighth Grade Students And The Perspectives Of Parents, Monica L. Mancuso

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Standards based reform (SBR) measured by LEAP for the 21st Century (LEAP 21), the high stakes testing program in Louisiana, was explored across rural, suburban, and urban school community types. Differences in scores of Black and White eighth graders on LEAP 21 were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), revealing race and the interaction of race and community type to be statistically significant at p< .05. Black students did not score as well as White students when scores were analyzed by pass/fail and achievement level differences. The percentage of Black students passing the test increased at rates greater than White students when scores from magnet schools were included. Parents of eighth graders disagreed with the use of a single criterion for promotion. Parents said the instruction students received, pace of instruction, and stress of testing negatively affected student performance with the result that their children considered a Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED) or quitting school. Parents agreed that affluence and the level of family support affected students’ test performance. Some parents also believed it was unfair that non-public school students were not required to take or pass such tests and some parents considered enrolling their child in a non-public school to avoid the consequences of the state testing program.