It’s no secret that Louisiana is struggling to provide a quality education for its students. According to a 2018 policy analysis from the Cato Institute, Louisiana ranked 46 out of 50 in the quality of its schools. This ranking takes into account student demographics as well as National Assessment of Education Progress test scores. Given these results, it’s of little surprise that a state report found “The percentage of eighth grade African-American Students who achieved advanced levels of performance in reading literally rounds to zero.”

8th graders aren’t the only ones struggling. When looking at the scores of 4th graders in both reading and math it’s obvious to anyone that Louisiana is failing to educate its students on the very basics.