Education

The number and percentage of New Orleans Public Schools in the "Academically Unacceptable" category has declined dramatically since 2005.

On the math and English subject tests at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, substantial gains in test scores have been made over the past two years. Source: Louisiana Department of Education, as reported in The State of Public Education in New Orleans, 2010 Report by the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives Note: The LEAP test is administered at the 4th and 8th grade levels while the GEE test (Graduate Exit Exam) is administered to high school students.

After falling precipitously after Hurricane Katrina, enrollment in New Orleans public schools has steadily risen to 58% of pre-Katrina enrollment. Source: Louisiana Department of Education, Public Student Counts

One of the most dramatic changes that New Orleans has experienced since Katrina is the profile of its public schools. The governance structure of the school system has been completely re-organized with some schools falling under the direction of the locally elected Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), other schools being governed by the state-run Recovery School District (RSD), and other schools operating as independent charter schools. Collectively, the performance of the schools has improved dramatically, though as a whole, New Orleans’ schools still perform below the statewide mean. A smaller enrollment since Katrina has created an opportunity to re-think the physical profile of the school system as well. New Orleans Public Schools have embarked on a $1.8 billion capital campaign over the next 10 years—an initiative that will ensure a state of the art learning environment for every student in the school system.