Twenty Years Later, New Orleans Continues to Show Generational Education Improvements Are Possible

Key Takeaways

• Before Hurricane Katrina, more than 60% of schools were considered “academically unacceptable” and ranked 67^th out of 68 districts.
• New Orleans schools now rank in 39^th place and higher than some of the state’s other major school districts.
• The progress is real, but the work is far from finished. For statewide leaders, the lesson is that sustaining improvement requires persistence, investment and consistent commitment.

It was 20 years ago, in August of 2006, that the first large group of students returned to school in New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It was a totally new experience.

Almost a year earlier the Legislature passed Act 35 which had allowed the state’s fledgling Recovery School District to assume oversight for almost all of New Orleans’ public schools. It was a bold move, but at the time, bold action was needed.

By almost any measure, student academic performance in New Orleans at that time was seen as abysmal. More than 60% of schools were considered “academically unacceptable” by the state’s accountability system, and the district was in financial shambles with political corruption adding to all the districts educational woes.

At the time, no one was sure where the ultimate decision to convert the city’s traditional public schools to charter schools would lead, but there was little doubt that the massive intervention the state undertook was worth pursuing.

Now, two decades later, data continues to show the effort paid off. A couple of recent releases validate that conclusion.

A study from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University released earlier this year was just updated with new information. It shows that New Orleans students are leading the nation in academic growth – registering in the 99^th percentile in reading and 98^th for math improvement.

The study went on to say that students in New Orleans learned almost 34% more in a school year than the national average from 2022-2025. That also exceeded the state rate.

Another analysis of state level data delivered a similar message for high schools.     

It showed that combined English and math scores in New Orleans schools have improved by 20 points since 2005 while major districts such as East Baton Rouge and Caddo actually saw declining scores. In fact, New Orleans schools now place higher in state rankings than some of the state’s other major school districts moving up from 67^th of 68 districts to 39^th.

That of course does not mean that student achievement in New Orleans is where we want it to be. And the same could also be said about state scores. Despite recent improvements that have focused national attention on state progress in reading and math, fewer than half of Louisiana students have reached the state’s goal of mastery or above in any subject.

But the direction remains positive, and that is important. In the case of New Orleans, it continues to stand out as one of the top-growing school systems in the state according to data from the Louisiana Department of Education.

That carries a message that should be top of mind: Generational improvements in student achievement are not impossible. They are within our reach. We have seen it in New Orleans and hopefully we are seeing the beginning of that across the state.

The lesson to learn is that persistence is critical. Now more than ever we must keep our foot on the accelerator and not let up.

It is and has been through a combination of smart policies, investments, accountability, and educators that have placed us on our current positive trajectory. We will need all of those if we are to continue the very encouraging growth we are currently seeing.