Law & Courts

Appellate Court Rejects Challenge To Louisiana High-Stakes Testing

By Erik W. Robelen — September 26, 2001 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A federal appeals court last week rejected a challenge to Louisiana’s high-stakes testing system, agreeing with a lower court that the plaintiffs lacked the constitutional basis they claimed for their case.

Neither court ruled on the virtues of Louisiana’s promotion policy, which requires 4th and 8th graders to pass state assessments before moving to the next grade. Rather, the courts said that unlike a diploma, which amounts to constitutionally protected property because it materially affects a person’s earning power, promotion to a higher grade does not rise to that level.

The plaintiffs, Parents Against Testing Before Teaching, based in New Orleans, had argued that because of alleged flaws in Louisiana public education, denying students promotion because of their failure on a state test amounted to a violation of the due-process guarantees under applicable federal and state law. They cited a 1981 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit—the same court that ruled in the current case—that tests tied to graduation do in fact trigger due-process protections.

The three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit, in a unanimous one-page opinion dated Sept. 17, rejected the comparison.

Willie M. Zanders, who represented the plaintiffs, vowed that the legal challenge was not over.

“The case is too important to give up on at this point,” he said. “I knew that it would be tough. These are actions at the highest level.” Mr. Zanders added, “State politicians have stripped teachers of the right to promote students.”

Further Appeals

Mr. Zanders said he plans to appeal the ruling to the full 5th Circuit court and ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.

But state schools Superintendent Cecil J. Picard hailed the ruling.

“I think it was an important decision not only for [New] Orleans and the state of Louisiana,” he said. “I think this is of national significance.”

The New Orleans group, while saying it does not oppose standardized testing, has criticized the Louisiana system as unfair and punitive to students. The group contends that students have not been adequately prepared to pass the exams.

It went to federal court to block the high-stakes testing, requesting a three- to five-year moratorium or suspension of the tests for grade-promotion purposes “until all responsible parties are held fully accountable for their part in maintaining quality public schools.”

But the appellate panel affirmed the lower court’s rejection of that request. In particular, the appeals court noted that the 5th Circuit’s 1981 decision in Deborah P. v. Turlington, cited by the plaintiffs, “pertains to the narrow right of graduating seniors to obtain a diploma, and not to any expectation of promotion in the public schools from year to year.”

Mr. Picard strongly disputed the plaintiffs’ charge that Louisiana’s testing system is punitive.

“What punishes kids is to socially promote them,” he said. “We’re identifying kids ... and providing the resources to help them.”

Part of a Trend

The decision also drew praise from an analyst at Achieve Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based nonprofit group founded by governors and business leaders to encourage school improvement.

“This sounds like another victory for those of us who believe that accountability has a place in the public schools,” said Jennifer L. Vranek, the director of benchmarking and state services for Achieve.

The decision, she said, is part of “a growing body of case law in favor of high-stakes assessments.”

She pointed to recent decisions in Texas and Indiana where courts rejected legal challenges to high school exit exams that students must pass in order to graduate.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Law & Courts Wisconsin Teachers Sue to Restore Collective Bargaining Rights
The lawsuit takes fresh aim at a 2011 law that severely restricted bargaining, and has survived several legal challenges since.
6 min read
Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) vice president Betsy Kippers leads a chant during a rally to protest Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill, at the Brown County Courthouse in downtown Green Bay on February 16, 2011.
Betsy Kippers, vice president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, leads a chant during a rally to protest Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, at the Brown County Courthouse in downtown Green Bay on February 16, 2011.
H. Marc Larson/The Green Bay Press-Gazette via AP
Law & Courts What Sandra Day O'Connor Did to Shape School Law and Civics Education
O'Connor wrote influential opinions on affirmative action, Title IX, and other education issues. Then she tirelessly worked on civics.
10 min read
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor listens as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pays tribute to O'Connor's advocacy work on behalf of civic education, impact on female judges and justice for women and girls worldwide at the Seneca Women Global Leadership Forum at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, on April 15, 2015 in Washington.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor listens to a tribute to her advocacy work on behalf of civics education and women's role in the legal profession at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, on April 15, 2015, in Washington.
Kevin Wolf/Invision for Seneca Women via AP Images
Law & Courts U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Major Gun Case With School Safety in Backdrop
The principle that guns may be barred from schools may bolster a federal law restricting firearm possession by domestic abusers.
6 min read
Gun safety and domestic violence prevention organizations gather outside of the Supreme Court before oral arguments are heard in United States v. Rahimi on Nov. 7, 2023, in Washington.
Gun safety and domestic violence prevention organizations gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court before oral arguments are heard in <i>United States</i> v. <i>Rahimi</i> on Nov. 7, 2023, in Washington.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
Law & Courts What the Supreme Court Had to Say About School Board Members Blocking Constituents
The justices take up a case involving school board members who blocked some constituents from posting comments on public social media pages.
7 min read
The sun rises behind the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 10, 2020.
The sun rises behind the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 10, 2020.
Alex Brandon/AP