For the 2009-2010 School Year, LEAP, iLEAP and GEE testing will take place the week of April 12 through April 16, 2010, throughout St. Tammany Parish Public School System.

Students in Grades 4 and 8 will take the LEAP tests.

Students in Grades 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 will take the iLEAP tests.

Tenth and 11th Grade students will take the GEE tests, as will 12th grade students who are retaking parts of the GEE.

LAA-2 Testing will also take place that week.

Standardized testing in the St. Tammany Parish Public School System is linked to the Louisiana Accountability Program.  In 2005-2006, the accountability program was modified to comply with Federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements.  The requirement to test every student using a criterion-referenced test, beginning with the third grade, is one factor that has prompted a major change in the State testing program. 

This test is different from one administered in prior years in that the new test is specially designed to target Louisiana Grade Level Expectations (GLE's). 

The three major standardized tests now used in the State accountability program include the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP), administered in grades 4 and 8; the Graduate Exit Exam (GEE), administered in grades 10 and 11; and the integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (iLEAP), administered in grades 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9.   All these tests are built on the Louisiana GLE's, with the exception of a portion of the iLEAP test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, which is norm- referenced.

Teachers use the results from these tests, along with evaluation of the daily classroom performance of students, to help assess needs and improve learning.