Beauregard Parish saw its overall performance improve for the last school year, with the state Department of Education giving the district a B.

The district earned a score of 97.6, just a few points shy of an A. The district score reflects eight B and four C schools.

DeRidder Junior High School saw the biggest improvement, jumping from a C to a B, with a 14-point improvement. Singer High also saw a marked increase in score, earning more than six points over last year.

East Beauregard High, South Beauregard High, South Beauregard Elementary and East Beauregard Elementary all saw overall improvements from the previous school year.

The state transitioned to a new scoring system last school year. It uses a 150-point scale that measures growth in various categories.

Elementary schools are evaluated solely on test scores; middle schools are evaluated on 95 percent test scores and 5 percent high school credits earned by the end of the freshman year. All high schools are evaluated based on 25 percent ACT composite scores, 25 percent end-of-course test scores, 25 percent graduation rates and 25 percent quality of diploma.

“Our scores indicate that Beauregard Parish schools remain strong,” School Superintendent Tim Cooley said in a news release.

“We are committed to helping our students succeed; therefore, we are constantly assessing how to improve even as the Department of Education’s criteria for evaluating schools and districts undergoes significant change.”

The parish saw some schools fall behind. Carver Elementary had a more than 11-point loss from the previous school year as a B-level school and fell to a C school. K.R. Hanchey Elementary had an identical loss, moving from a B to a C.

Both schools that earned A’s last year fell below the mark. Merryville High and South Beauregard Upper Elementary both saw significant losses to bring them down to B grades.(MGNonline)