By Kyle Roberts
Lincoln Parish School Board superintendent Ricky Durrett was beyond pleased Wednesday morning when the LEAP results came in, showing the Lincoln Parish school district as the highest increase in mastery and advanced improvement in the state.
The jump from 37 in 2022 to 2023’s 43 percent in proficiency is a six point increase, two points higher than the next best parishes.
Proficiency scores are students who scored in mastery or advanced categories in LEAP testing in English, Science, Math and Social Studies.
“Today was a proud day for Lincoln Parish Schools, for our teachers, administration, students, and parents,” Durrett said on Wednesday. “It shows the hard work they have all put in over the past year. We’re not where we’d like to be yet, but the student growth and continuing to grow each year shows that we’re moving in the right direction.”
The 43 percent mastery and advanced score for Lincoln Parish was good enough for seventh overall in parish scores in Louisiana.
“We have a goal by 2026 to be 55 percent proficient in our parish,” Chief Academic Officer Dana Talley said. “What the last two years have shown is that we are moving, fairly quickly, in the right direction. We feel good about the things we have in place at schools, along with the supports we have for students and teachers that are in place.
“Again, we are trending in the right direction. We’re on target for our 2026 goal, and if we hit that earlier, we will look at setting that goal even higher.”
More information on statewide LEAP scoring can be found here.
