• A study by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce awarded Louisiana an A for use of technology in its schools. The report singles out creation of a state virtual school and computer-based assessment (Daily Advertiser, November 2009).
• For the second year in a row, Louisiana has been recognized by a national group for its strong longitudinal data system. Louisiana's Pre-K to 12^th grade tracking system follows the academic growth of individual students from year to year. The data make it possible for states and districts to follow individual student growth, determine the value of specific programs, and identify high-performing classrooms. In its "Annual Progress Report on State Education Data Systems", the Data Quality Campaign evaluated the progress states are making in gathering data to monitor which schools are producing the strongest academic growth for their students (Data Quality Campaign, November 2009).
• According to the Louisiana Department of Education, the percentage of students earning Basic or above increased in 28 of 30 core subject assessments in grades 3-11 on iLEAP, LEAP and GEE tests. In 25 of 30 assessments the improvements exceeded the annual historic gains (Louisiana Department of Education, May 2009).
• Louisiana ranks in the top ten states for its funding of state-funded pre-Kindergarten programs, according to a national study titled "The State of Preschool 2008" by the National Institute for Early Education Research. The state also ranked in the top 15 for the percentage of children enrolled in state-funded pre-Kindergarten programs. The annual survey ranks all 50 states on the percentage of children served and the spending per child for 2007-2008. It also compares the number of quality benchmarks met (National Institute for Early Education Research, April 2009).
• According to a recent report, Louisiana is a national leader in its application of technology to enhance both learning and teaching. Education Week's 2009 "Technology Counts" report gives Louisiana a perfect score of 100 and an "A" in its use of technology in the classroom. Eight other states also made a perfect score and therefore share the number one designation with Louisiana (Education Week, March 2009).
• Louisiana's efforts to align key components of college and career readiness are once again being recognized by a leading national education reform group. Achieve, a non-profit education organization based in Washington, D.C., released its forth annual "Closing the Expectations Gap" report which shows that Louisiana is one of only 10 states meeting three or more critical benchmarks in successfully aligning education efforts with the expectations of colleges and employers (Closing the Expectation Gap, February 2009).
• The Data Quality Campaign named Louisiana as one of six states in the nation having all 10 essential elements of a robust state longitudinal data system for education. The aim of the Data Quality Campaign is to improve the quality, accessibility and use of date in education that is gathered on the same student year to year (Data Quality Campaign, January 2009).
• Louisiana was ranked 2^nd among the 50 states in how it measures education progress and 6^th in its programs to improve teachers in the 13^th annual "Quality Counts" survey, a state-by-state snapshot of public education (The Advocate, January 2009).
• Thirty-nine Louisiana high schools were among the list of schools recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the country's Best High Schools and received gold, silver or bronze medal rankings. Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans, which was ranked 16^th best in the nation, earned a cherished gold medal and was the subject of a feature story in the report, "The High School that Beat Katrina" (U.S. News & World Report, December 2008).
• Louisiana ranked 5^th in e.Republic's Center for Digital Education's survey of states' online learning policy and practice. The survey was conducted to ascertain the overall landscape of online learning in U.S. Schools (The Advocate, November 2008).
• State high school students this year scored an average of 20.3 on the ACT–which is the highest ever for Louisiana. Average ACT scores in the state continue to rise while the national average continues to fall (Times-Picayune, August 2008).
• The class of 2008 in Louisiana earned higher scores on the SAT than the national mean in critical reading, match and writing. The report, issued by the College Board, found a mean score in Louisiana of 566 for critical reading, 564 for math and 558 for writing compared to 502 for critical reading, 515 for math and 494 for writing nationally (CityBusiness, August 2008).
• A new study by the Louisiana Board of Regents' Louisiana Teachers Quality Initiative found that the state's 46, 173 public school teachers are the best they've been in nearly a decade. 99% of the state's education students have passed the Praxis every year since 2003, while 96% passed in 2002, 90% passed in 2001 and 89% passed in 2000 (CityBusiness, May 2008).
• Louisiana ranks 8^th among the fifty states in terms of state financial commitments for preschool education and says Louisiana meets seven or eight of its 10 criteria for high-quality programs. The overall average of 7.8, the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University says, is better than all but 11 states (National Institute for Early Education Research, March 2008).
• Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School has been named one of 22 schools in the nation to earn the distinction of "School of Excellence" from a national association of magnet schools. Baton Rouge Magnet High School earned the "School of Distinction" honor for the third time in five years by the association (Magnet Schools of America, February 2008).
• The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) announced that 181 Louisiana teachers from 42 school districts across the state achieved national board certification after passing a rigorous program. Louisiana now has 1,215 teachers who have achieved national certification and ranks 13^th in the nation for new awards this year (NBPTS, December 2007).
• U.S. News and World Report awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to the "best high schools" across the U.S., including 33 from Louisiana (U.S. News & World Report, December 2007).
• Louisiana's Jobs for America Graduates program has received a national performance award for a graduation rate of above 90% from the national JAG program. Students in the program are high school seniors who typically have academic, personal, environmental, economic and work-related barriers. The JAG program, which began in Louisiana in 1995 with two sites, is one of the most successful at-risk youth programs, having served more than 12,000 students (Monroe News-Star, December 2007).
• The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has issued a report that lists Louisiana as the only state in the 16-state southern region to achieve promising progress in every category essential to developing a school leadership preparation system. The report, titled "Schools Need Good Leaders Now: State Progress in Creating a Learning-Centered School Leadership System" was designed to encourage states and school systems to inspire and train a new generation of school leaders who put curriculum and instruction first (SREB, Nov 2007).
• Louisiana is one of three states recognized by the Southern Regional Education Board for showing exceptional progress in narrowing the achievement gap among black, Hispanic and white high school students on the state's comprehensive exams required for high school graduation. Louisiana has seen a 24% jump in achievement by black students since 2002. Hispanic students showed 22% improvement, and white students improved by 13% (Southern Regional Education Board, July 2007).
• Louisiana ranks among the best states in delivering economics and personal finance education through its K-12 public schools, according to the National Council on Economic Education. The council's 2007 Survey of the States identifies Louisiana as one of only 9 states to require a course with personal finance content and to require testing on it; one of 17 states to require a course with economics content; and one of 22 to require testing of economics (National Council on Education, June 2007).

• The Louisiana Department of Social Services last year set a record for the collection of child support in our state, bringing in more than $346 million and earning the recognition as the "Most Improved Program" in the nation by the National Child Support Enforcement Association (Shreveport Times, April 2009).
• A national health organization says Louisiana is better prepared now more than ever for a hurricane, bioterrorism, or any other health emergency. In its seixth annual report, "Trust for America's Health" gives Louisiana a perfect score of 10 out of 10 for health emergency preparedness. This is a significant improvement over the past two years: Louisiana received an 8 out of 10 last year and a 6 out o 10 in 2006 for emergency readiness (Trust for America's Health, December 2008).
• The Better Government Association announced that Louisiana's overall ranking improved from 46^th in 2002 to 5^th this year in the organization's BGA-Alper Integrity Index. The Index states that Louisiana would be 1^st in the nation once the state's entire ethics reforms are included in their ranking process (Better Government Association, October 2008).
• The Louisiana Department of Social Services has received DM Review's 2008 Innovative Solution Award in the Business Intelligence/Analytics category for its use of mapping technology to help detect faudulent activity in the state's Food Stamp Program (DM Review, February 2009).
• The 2008 Recognition Award for Excellence in Human Services Technology was presented to the Louisiana Department of Social Services for its use of Geographic Information System technology to track the information of children taken into custody because of abuse and neglect (The Advocate, August 2008).
• The National Association for Government Training and Development, a nationally recognized professional association for public sector trainers and developers, has named the Louisiana Department of Civil Service 2008 "Program of the Year". The award, which is given out annually to the highest performing governmental agencies participating in the field of training and development, recognizes the Department of Civil Service for its efforts in implementation and design of the State of Louisiana Mandatory Supervisory Training Program (National Association for Government Training and Development, June 2008).
• The Center for Public Integrity has given Louisiana 99 out of 100 points on a survey for its new laws concerning elected and public officials' financial disclosure (CityBusiness, March 2008).
• Louisiana scored above the national average in "Grading the States 2008", an assessment released by the Pew Center which ranks states on how well they manage their public resources. Louisiana scored a "B" based on a range of performances and conditions, from budget and finance to roads and bridges (Governing Magazine, March 2008).
• The Daily Reveille Web site, lsureveille.com, won a 2008 Eppy Award from Editor & Publisher Magazine as the nation's best collegiate Web site (The Advocate, May 2008).
• The Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton rouge is one of 13 projects in the nation to win the 2008 American Institute of Architects' Institute Honor Awards. The awards were given to projects that were aesthetically appealing and had social impact (Baton Rouge Advocate, January 2008).
• The Center for Public Integrity ranks Louisiana 3^rd in the nation–with a strong grade B–for its law requiring governors and gubernatorial candidates to disclose their personal financial dealings (Center for Public Integrity, July 2007).
• Louisiana was only one of five states to receive an "A" for its legal representation provided to abused and neglected children. The report assigned grades based on several criteria, most importantly whether legal counsel for children is mandatory and whether that attorney is required to advocate for the child's expressed wishes. Other criteria included requiring specialized training in child-advocacy law, the attorneys' ethical responsibilities, and the child's right to attend key court hearings (First Star, April 2007).
• Louisiana ranks in the top tier of 16 states with strong highway safety laws designed to save lives, according to a study by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a coalition of insurance, consumer, health, safety and law enforcement agencies. The ranking is a credit to state officials who have worked to improve state traffic safety laws. As a result, last year, Louisiana Highway fatalities dropped by 3% (AHAS, January 2007).
• Randy Raggio, a professor of marketing at LSU, was presented with the President's Volunteer Service Award by President George W. Bush for his work with the Desire Street Academy, which was started to help New Orleans to help educate at-risk African-American males (The Advocate, April 2008).
• Tommy Stryjewski of Baton Rouge, was featured as one of only 20 members nationally of USA Today's "2008 All-USA College Academic Team". Stryjewski's resume stands out for his work as an EMS volunteer ambulance first-responder, which he started doing in high school, and later for his cornea transplant work at the Baton Rouge Regional Eye Bank, from which he started Tigers for Donating Life at LSU (Baton Rouge Advocate, February 2008).

Updated December 2, 2009