Uh-oh—the LEAP results are here. For many families this all-or-nothing test result can cause as much confusion and heartache as the test itself. Although some students react poorly to the testing situation and do not do as well as expected, there is hope for promotion to the next level.

When a student performs poorly on the LEAP test in fourth and eighth grades, they cannot progress to fifth or ninth grades the following fall unless they attend a remediation summer school program and pass the test on another attempt at the end of June.

Cheryl Arabie, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the St. Tammany Parish Public School System, said the test is very high stakes, meaning it is an all-or-nothing result. Either a student passes, or he doesn’t. Many students and parents around the state are apprehensive during the spring LEAP testing week. In the current system, a fourth/eighth grade student must score at least Basic in English language arts or math and Approaching Basic in the other to continue to fifth/ninth grade.

The summer remediation program will begin May 27, the day after Memorial Day. Testing is scheduled June 25 to June 27, according to Arabie. If the student does not perform well on the summer retest, they cannot go to the next grade.

This year, the majority of students in each grade performed well with 86 percent of all fourth-graders tested meeting the promotional standards set. Only 6 percent scored in the unsatisfactory range in English language arts, and 6.1 percent scored unsatisfactory in math, tying for fifth in the state.

Among eighth-graders, 4 percent scored unsatisfactory in English language arts and 7 percent scoring unsatisfactory in math with 82 percent of all tested meeting the promotional standards, surpassed only by lab schools and the Zachary community school district in the state.

If a child scores Approaching Basic on both portions of the test, they will not be promoted unless either the English language arts or math score is brought up to Basic on retesting.

The WIN and YES programs focus on both English language arts and math for those who were unsuccessful on their LEAP test. These programs are offered during the day at school, WIN for fourth-graders and Youth Educational Success for eighth-graders.

Other forms of remediation available include tutoring and specific programs in each school. The teachers that assist in WIN and YES programs are trained through professional development to assist students in these programs.

There is no charge for the remediation programs or additional testing, said Arabie.