(The Center Square) — The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously to approve new accountability standards in schools during a meeting on Wednesday.
Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said the accountability system was necessary for three reasons: To create higher expectations, to make the assessment process simpler and more transparent and to promote career and college readiness.
This agreement comes despite opposition from the Superintendents’ Advisory Council during a hearing last week. Two speakers, retired educator Charles Michel and Dr. Lisa Morgan, the principal of LaGrange High School, pleaded against the standards in the LBESE hearing and echoed many of the issues the superintendents had.
Higher expectations were the primary issue. Although superintendents approved of wanting more out of their students, the grading systems made several superintendents feel their schools would be listed as failing when in reality they were improving.
Despite the heated debate in last week’s advisory council hearing and the resistance from outsiders in the LBESE hearing Wednesday, the unanimous vote came with no debate amongst the LBESE members.
