Overview

The Lafourche Way 

Lafourche Parish School District has a longstanding commitment to standards-driven assessments. Katy McCarthy, Instructional Technology Coordinator, recently shared the district’s assessment philosophy with other educators at LACUE Technology Leadership Summit. McCarthy recalled creating paper-and-pencil tests that looked like the LEAP test ten years ago, remarking, “We’ve grown significantly from there.” 

Their assessments are aligned with the verbiage of the standards, from format to content, ensuring they mirror the structure of high-stakes tests. Although Lafourche Parish developed a robust and vigorous district-wide assessment system, it still fell short of their aspirations. Recognizing the need for a more effective solution, the district explored various options and ultimately chose OnCourse for its assessment platform. 

District-Wide Assessments 

Lafourche Parish administers district-created assessments to all students from third through twelfth grade (the district’s enrollment is 14,000+ students from K-12). These assessments are developed by dedicated teams each summer, ensuring their alignment with state standards. The district’s emphasis on online testing from third grade onward is part of their strategy to prepare students for LEAP and ACT testing.  

Embracing Technology and Innovation 

The transition to OnCourse was driven by Lafourche Parish’s innovative spirit and the desire to streamline its assessment processes. The district needed a platform that offered the flexibility to create diverse question types and accurately score complex items. 

OnCourse provided these capabilities, eliminating the need for manual scoring and reducing the time teachers spent on administrative tasks. Katy highlighted the importance of data-driven decision-making in Lafourche Parish. The district trains teachers to analyze assessment data down to individual items, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. The alignment of assessment items with standards is a top priority, and the district diligently tracks student performance to ensure high standards are maintained. The district has transitioned 13,000 unique items into their item bank in OnCourse.  

Eliminating Spreadsheets and Manual Data Entry 

Lafourche has a unique adjustment formula to better align their heavier secondary district assessments with state standards, making grading more consistent and improving transparency for students and parents.  

The district currently uses a masterfully designed and painstakingly managed spreadsheet that tracks lead scores and individual Common District Assessments (CDAs), which requires teachers to manually input scores. Despite its genius, it poses challenges for those less familiar with Excel. 

Now, with the new system, Lafourche’s adjustment formula is automated, and there are no spreadsheets to send around, further lightening teachers’ already heavy workloads. 

Piloting and Implementation  

Katy shared the district’s approach to piloting the new assessment platform. They began with fourth and fifth-grade social studies students, a strategic choice given the introduction of a new curriculum. This pilot allowed the district to identify and address any issues before a full-scale rollout. The feedback from teachers and students was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing relief at the ease of use and reliability of the new system. 

Here are some features the district is excited about: 

• How quickly teachers can access and analyze data. 
• Detailed insights into student performance, including standards analysis and item analysis, helping teachers tailor their instruction to meet students’ needs. 
• OnCourse supports diverse question types, such as drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, and map-based questions. These interactive question types are particularly beneficial for subjects like social studies, where students need to engage with content in a more dynamic way. 

Lafourche’s goal is to make life easier for their teachers, allowing them to spend more time teaching and less time on administrative tasks. The introduction of OnCourse Assessment has streamlined their processes, making data analysis more accessible and improving the overall testing experience for students. Learn more here.