Caddo Parish School Board has released Spring LEAP tests results that show most kids are improving over last year.  Thursday,  Superintendent Gerald Dawkins held a news conference, saying 70 percent of fourth and eighth graders  passed.

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That's important because students in those grades are required to pass the "high stakes" test to be promoted to the next grade. Dr. Dawkins says he's proud of the teachers, principals, students and parents.

Improvement is needed for sixth grade students, though. Those students' I-LEAP results dropped in all areas, scoring basic and above from last year.  But fifth graders scored at their highest levels in the last three years on I-LEAP tests for English, Language Arts, Math and Science.

KEEL news asked educator Antionette Turner about a seemingly lower percentage - only 56 percent -  of children in eighth grade who passed math.

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She said it's consistent with statewide test results and that improvements will be made in getting teachers ready to teach high school Algebra to middle school students.

Ms. Turner says education is shifting to where teachers are having to teach subjects that used to be taught in high school to younger children.  That requires more work on the part of the teacher as well as tutoring and remedial programs being offered to the students.

Here's a video of some of the news conference with Dr. Dawkins.

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