BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) joined Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) officers in endorsing the thoughtful and comprehensive accountability framework crafted by the Louisiana Department of Education. The formula released today at BESE’s accountability council meeting will provide much-needed clarity to parents, students, teachers and schools after more than a decade of vague and misguided standards for evaluating educational quality.

“For far too long, Louisiana’s current K-12 approach to accountability has been complex and ambiguous. Louisiana businesses aren’t the only ones suffering—everyone feels the effects of a poor accountability system,” said LABI President and CEO Will Green. “The formula proposed today by Superintendent Cade Brumley is simple, easy to understand, and, most importantly, brings a crucial focus on work-based learning.

The new evaluation consists of a simple, 100-point grading scale that equally measures eleven foundational elements. It will reward student growth, proficiency, and college or career readiness. The revisions will place special emphasis on the growth of the lowest-achieving students, in addition to measuring proficiency in math and English. They will account for students graduating on time and their readiness to move to the next level—be that post-secondary education or entering the workforce.

“LABI member companies rely on a skilled, qualified workforce to grow their businesses, which supports our state’s economy,” said Green. “Better preparing our state’s students to be well-equipped workers following graduation begins with accountability. I applaud the Department of Education and BESE for raising the bar for Louisiana students and school systems alike and look forward to getting the new proposal across the finish line.”

While progress has been made in recent years, Louisiana remains in the bottom 10 states for education. Until there is a concerted effort to evaluate performance fairly and objectively, that won’t change. This framework took shape following a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation that included input from a wide range of stakeholders. Once in action, these standards will allow the state to rise from the education basement and compete with neighboring states that have harnessed the power of education to fuel the workforce of the future.

“These much-improved standards, focused on growth and workforce preparedness, come at a critical time for Louisiana families and businesses,” said Arthur Dupre, Chairman of LABI’s Education Council. “Across the board, from Kindergarten through graduation, we must make sure our students are reaching benchmarks that we can evaluate in a clear and approachable standard.”

The new formula will be voted on during BESE’s June 11 meeting.

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