Over 49,000 students attend public schools in New Orleans.
98% of students attend charter schools.
New Orleans is a city unlike anywhere else in the country, and our system of schools is unlike anywhere else too. We are the first city where virtually all public schools are charter schools, each with the agency to create its own unique culture. This system provides city-wide public school choice for students and families, and autonomy and accountability for school leaders, teachers, and staff. Read more below about our students and schools, the amazing progress they’ve made, and the work that remains.
2019-2020 86 public schools
NUMBERS TO CELEBRATE
More students are…
New Orleans ranks 18th out of 69 districts in students enrolling in college—above the state average.
Graduation Rate
2004
2018
College Entry Rate
2004
2018
In 2005, 62% of New Orleans students attended Louisiana’s lowest performing schools – it is now down to 8%.
Percentage of students enrolled in schools performing in the bottom ten percent statewide in 2005 and 2019
2005
2019
The percentage of New Orleans students demonstrating “A”-level growth in math is higher than the state average, and on par with the state in ELA.
Percentage of grade 4-12 students in 2018 demonstrating “top growth” “Top growth” means that a student made significant progress on state assessments from one year to the next. Specifically, the student demonstrated enough improvement to be on track to scoring at the Mastery level, and/or the student outperformed other similar students statewide. on LEAP state assessments from one year to the next
New Orleans
Louisiana
New Orleans
Louisiana
New Orleans’ historically disadvantaged students outperformed the statewide LEAP top growth averages across the board in 2018.
Percentage of grade 4-12 students demonstrating “top growth” “Top growth” means that a student made significant progress on state assessments from one year to the next. Specifically, the student demonstrated enough improvement to be on track to scoring at the Mastery level, and/or the student outperformed other similar students statewide. on state assessments in ELA and math combined
New Orleans was among the top ten districts nationwide for academic growth in a 2017 Stanford University study of the largest 2,000 school districts in the U.S.
The average New Orleans student grew 5.7 grade levels over 5 years.
Grade levels of growth over five school years based on grades 3-8 ELA and math state standardized test scores linked to a common scale, 2009 – 2015
Of the top ten districts, New Orleans serves the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
| SCHOOL DISTRICT | % Low Income* |
|---|---|
| New Orleans | 79% |
| Chicago | 75% |
| Garden Grove Unified | 62% |
| Salem-Keizer | 53% |
| Peoria Unified | 33% |
*Low-income student data from Stanford study; based on free and reduced price lunch eligibility as well as economically disadvantaged classification, averaged across 2008-09 to 2014-15
New Orleans is also outperforming peer districts nationally on the ACT.
ACT Composite scores, 2016
* ACT is not required for all students.
NUMBERS TO MOTIVATE
The percent of students in Louisiana’s top performing schools has remained essentially stagnant since 2013.
Percent of New Orleans students attending schools performing in the top 25% of statewide performance
Student achievement has also remained stagnant since 2014.
Percent of grades 3-8 New Orleans students on LEAP state assessments in ELA, math, science, and social studies combined; % Basic or above in 2015-2018 includes ELA and math only due to data availability
% Basic or Above
% Mastery or Above
Learn more about the New Orleans system of schools and our progress