TAP's Elements TAP Outcomes National Louisiana South Carolina Texas Legislation Understanding Value-Added Teacher Quality Resources The Working Group on Teacher Quality
TAP Outcomes
Highlights of TAP Results - Louisiana
There are 28 schools implementing TAP in Louisiana during the 2008-2009 school year. These include nine schools operated by the Algiers Charter Schools Association (ACSA). As seen in the graph, Louisiana TAP schools improved student achievement, with over two-thirds of the schools making at least a year's worth of academic growth.
Over 900 Louisiana teachers received performance payouts this year, totaling approximately $1.96 million.
CASE STUDIES
Algiers Charter Schools Association (ACSA)
New Orleans, Louisiana
The Algiers Charter Schools Association (ACSA), which was formed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to serve a disadvantaged community in New Orleans, incorporated TAP into its charter.
Here are just a few highlights of TAP's impact on the Algiers charter schools:
- Of the eight schools eligible for value-added achievement growth calculations (those with three years of value-added achievement data), five achieved significantly more than a year's academic growth with their students compared to similar schools across Louisiana. Two schools showed "above average" results and one demonstrated a solid year's growth.
- TAP helped reduce teacher turnover rates, from 22% (well above the 13% national average) in the 2006-07 school year, to 14% in the 2007-08 year, and to under 6% in the 2008-09 year.
- A 2009 evaluation of ACSA by Kenneth Leithwood and Doris Jantzi finds that TAP was a vital part of the success of these schools (Leithwood and Jantzi, 2009).
These schools have demonstrated success in moving students to higher levels of achievement on Louisiana state assessments. The Algiers schools have far outperformed the state averages in moving students from "unsatisfactory" to higher levels of achievement. After the first year of TAP implementation, for example, ACSA students scored more than 22 percent higher than their neighboring peers in math and reading.
Forest Hill Elementary School
Rapides Parish, Louisiana
(Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Education)
Forest Hill Elementary School, a Title I school in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, began TAP implementation in 2004 when 84% of the students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. With strong leadership and dedication to TAP, Forest Hill has been able to strengthen its teaching force and make significant academic achievement gains with its students.
According to state LEAP fourth-grade test results, in two years, the number of Forest Hill students reaching basic and above in math proficiency grew from 73% to 90% and from 76% to 85% in English/Language Arts. Similarly, Forest Hill's School Performance Score, based on state assessments, increased from 105.2 to 114.7 after just one year of TAP, and by the end of the 2005-06 year, jumped to 124.5 — the largest growth in the entire parish.
Because of its extraordinary achievements, in 2006 the State of Louisiana selected Forest Hill as a Distinguished Title I School of the Year, an honor presented to only two schools in the state. In 2007, Principal Nancy Rials received Louisiana's Elementary School Principal of the Year. In 2008, Forest Hill was named the top high-poverty school in the state. And that same year, Forest Hill was the first to receive the prestigious TAP Founder's Award, which recognized the school's exemplary implementation of TAP with a $50,000 cash prize.
TAP in the News - Louisiana
Select Stories
Teachers credited for DHS’ national award
Donaldsonville Chief
(Donaldsonville, LA)
March 21, 2013
School earns surprise honor, $5,000 for representing TAP principles beyond campus and offering assistance to others in state and region
Donaldsonville Chief
(Donaldsonville, LA)
March 14, 2013
Editorial: Recognition (with cash) always feels good
Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, LA)
March 12, 2013
Ascension school district receives national honors
The Advocate
(Baton Rouge, LA)
March 11, 2013
NDMS receives national TAP award, cash
Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, LA)
March 08, 2013
Putting the Value in Teacher Evaluation
Kappan Magazine
(Bloomington, IN)
November 01, 2012
Schools make sizeable gains
Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, LA)
October 22, 2012
Career-Ladder Program Centers on Teaching Rubric, Targeted Support
Education Week Teacher
(Bethesda, MD)
October 17, 2012
Report Highlights Ascension School District
The Advocate
(Baton Rouge, LA)
July 16, 2012
Report: Make Improving Teacher Working Conditions a Priority
Education Week Teacher Teaching Now blog
(Bethesda, MD)
June 28, 2012
School system gets award of distinction
Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, LA)
March 09, 2012
Rising Above the Floodwaters
JSD (Learning Forward)
(Dallas, TX)
December 01, 2011
Bonuses paying off for Ascension
The Advocate
(Baton Rouge, LA)
February 13, 2011
Algiers charter schools tout test scores
The Times-Picayune
(New Orleans, LA)
December 02, 2010
Advance Baton Rouge teachers may receive bonuses
The Advocate
(Baton Rouge, LA)
October 28, 2010
La. gets federal grants for teachers’ pay
The Advocate
(Baton Rouge, LA)
September 29, 2010
Teacher Advancement Program raises scores in Ascension
The Advocate
(Baton Rouge, LA)
February 28, 2010
Algiers charters continue gains
The Times-Picayune
(New Orleans, LA)
December 09, 2009
Cover Story: A Louisiana School Leader Answers the Call of Duty
Edutopia Magazine
October 01, 2009
Editorial: Evidence in favor of reform
Times-Picayune
(New Orleans, LA)
February 03, 2009
Progress rewarded at Algiers charter schools
The Times-Picayune
(New Orleans, LA)
February 02, 2009
Charters win $17.6 million grant
The Times-Picayune
(New Orleans, LA)
September 24, 2008
Mark Bonine, Principal, Nellie Stone Elementary, Minneapolis, Minnesota
"We've seen great improvement. We have not only anecdotal evidence, but we also have hard data about both student scores and teacher instructional strategies improving. Master and mentor teachers tell us that when they observe in the classroom, they're seeing [proven] instructional strategies in place across school grades and content areas."