%20(5).png)
Upper Elementary Program
In third grade, learners deepen their academic foundation by engaging directly with grade level texts, tackling more complex problems, and exploring scientific and social concepts through hands-on inquiry.
English Language Arts
-
Comprehension & Inquiry: Ask and answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about key details in both narratives and informational texts.
-
Recount & Theme: Recount stories and determine their central message or lesson, using key details from the tex.t
-
Character & Point of View: Describe characters’ traits and analyze how a character’s point of view influences conflict.
-
Vocabulary in Context: Determine the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases as they are used in text.
-
Fluency: Read at the high end of the Grade 2–3 complexity band independently and proficiently.
-
Writing: Produce opinion, informative, and narrative pieces with supporting details and appropriate structure.
Mathematics
-
Operations & Algebraic Thinking: Interpret and solve products and whole-number quotients within 100, and identify arithmetic patterns.
-
Number & Place Value: Understand place value of hundreds, tens, and ones; add and subtract within 1,000 with regrouping.
-
Fractions: Understand a fraction 1/b and a/b as parts of a whole; use fraction models to recognize equivalence.
-
Measurement & Data: Measure lengths using rulers, tell and write time to the nearest minute, and represent data with bar graphs and pictographs.
-
Geometry: Identify and describe attributes of two- and three-dimensional shapes; partition shapes into equal parts.
Science
-
Life Cycles: Develop models to describe birth, growth, reproduction, and death in organisms.
-
Forces & Motion: Investigate how forces affect motion and relate speed to energy in objects.
-
Earth Systems: Explain rapid events (e.g., landslides) versus slow processes (e.g., erosion) and model Earth’s surface changes.
-
Earth–Sun–Moon: Use observations to describe patterns of the Sun, Moon, and stars and seasonal daylight changes.
Social Studies
-
Historical Thinking: Sequence events on timelines and distinguish primary from secondary sources in research.
-
Geography: Use cardinal directions, map keys, and scales to locate continents, oceans, and Louisiana landforms.
-
Civics: Identify citizen roles, rights, and responsibilities; explain functions of local government.
-
Economics: Differentiate producers and consumers; describe how goods and services are exchanged in markets.
-
Culture: Explore traditions and cultural contributions within Louisiana and diverse communities.
Fourth graders analyze texts for figurative language and organizational structures, draw inferences, and produce clear opinion, explanatory, and narrative pieces. In mathematics, they interpret multiplication as comparison, generate and operate with equivalent fractions, solve multistep word problems, and understand angle measure. Science studies focus on energy transfer, waves, organism structures, and weathering and erosion, while social studies explores ancient civilizations, mapping geographic influences, and the origins of government and economy.
English Language Arts
-
Vocabulary & Figurative Language: Determine meanings of general academic and domain-specific words, including metaphors and similes.
-
Text Structure: Explain differences among poems, drama, and prose; identify chronology, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution structures.
-
Inference & Evidence: Summarize texts, draw inferences, and cite supporting details from a variety of genres.
-
Writing: Produce organized opinion, explanatory, and narrative texts with clear supporting details.
-
Speaking & Listening: Engage effectively in collaborative discussions and present information clearly.
Mathematics
-
Multiplicative Comparisons: Interpret multiplication as comparison and solve word problems with two-digit factors.
-
Fraction Equivalence & Operations: Recognize and generate equivalent fractions; add and subtract fractions with like denominators.
-
Measurement & Data: Represent and interpret data; understand angle measure as a geometric attribute.
Science
-
Energy & Motion: Explain how the speed of an object relates to its energy and demonstrate energy transfer by sound, light, heat.
-
Waves & Signals: Investigate how sound and light carry energy through mediums.
-
Organism Structures: Model how plant and animal parts function to survive and grow.
-
Earth Systems: Examine weathering, erosion, and how natural resources shape the land.
Social Studies
-
Ancient Civilizations: Analyze political, cultural, and economic characteristics of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and other early societies.
-
Geographic Skills: Map ancient world features; explain how physical geography influenced settlement.
-
Government & Law: Describe roles of rulers and laws in early governments and draw connections to modern structures.
-
Trade & Economy: Explain barter systems, the development of currency, and resource distribution.
-
Cultural Achievements: Compare advances in writing, architecture, and arts across ancient cultures.
In fifth grade, learners integrate and apply knowledge by synthesizing complex texts, mastering advanced calculations, designing scientific models and tracing U S history from exploration through Reconstruction..
English Language Arts
-
Analysis & Evidence: Compare and contrast characters, settings, and events; cite textual evidence from literature and informational texts.
-
Theme & Point of View: Determine theme, analyze author’s purpose, and evaluate how point of view shapes text meaning.
-
Research & Synthesis: Integrate information from multiple sources to build and present knowledge on a topic.
-
Advanced Writing: Compose opinion, explanatory, and narrative texts with multimedia and technology.
-
Language Conventions: Master complex grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary to enhance clarity and style.
Mathematics
-
Operations & Algorithms: Fluently multiply multi-digit numbers and divide up to four-digit dividends by two-digit divisors.
-
Fraction & Decimal Operations: Add/subtract fractions with unlike denominators; interpret and perform operations with decimals.
-
Coordinate Geometry: Plot points in the coordinate plane and classify shapes by properties.
-
Measurement & Data: Convert units, calculate volume of prisms, and analyze data distributions.
Science
-
Matter & Microstructures: Model particles of matter and predict changes from mixing or reactions.
-
Energy Flow: Describe that energy in food originates from the sun and trace energy flow in ecosystems.
-
Space Science: Support arguments about the apparent brightness of stars based on distance and light properties.
-
Earth Systems: Investigate human impacts on Earth’s systems and propose solutions to environmental challenges.
Social Studies
-
U.S. History: Trace American history from early exploration through Reconstruction, highlighting key events and figures .
-
Civics & Government: Explain the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the three branches of government and their functions.
-
Economics: Analyze supply and demand, market systems, and the role of specialization and trade in the U.S. economy.
-
Geographic Inquiry: Use maps and spatial data to describe U.S. regions, resources, and population patterns.
-
Cultural Diversity: Examine contributions of diverse groups to U.S. culture, traditions, and civic life.
The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) is an annual, criterion-referenced testing system designed to evaluate student mastery of state standards in core subjects from Grades 3 through High School, providing a multi-faceted picture of performance that informs instruction, intervention, and accountability
3rd Grade Proficiency
-
Reading & Writing: Independently comprehend grade-level literary and informational texts determining main ideas, recounting key details, integrating information from illustrations, and comparing points of view and produce organized opinion, informational, and narrative responses that explain and connect ideas.
-
Mathematical Fluency: Fluently multiply and divide within 100, understand place value to 1,000, generate and recognize equivalent fractions (denominators 2, 3, 4, 6, 8), and solve one- and two-step real-world problems using all four operations.
-
Scientific Inquiry:
Model life cycles and group behaviors in organisms, explain forces and motion, describe predictable Earth–Sun–Moon patterns, and distinguish rapid (e.g., floods) from gradual (e.g., erosion) Earth processes using evidence.
Historical & Civic Understanding: Sequence events accurately, use maps with cardinal directions and scale to locate features, explain citizen roles in local government, differentiate producers and consumers, and explore Louisiana’s cultural traditions.
4th Grade Proficiency
-
Reading & Writing: Analyze texts for figurative language (metaphor, simile) and organizational structures (cause/effect, problem/solution), draw evidence-based inferences, and produce clear, coherent opinion, explanatory, and narrative writing.
-
Mathematical Reasoning: Solve multistep word problems by interpreting multiplication as comparison, generating and operating with equivalent fractions, and applying angle-measure concepts in geometric contexts.
-
Scientific Understanding: Explain energy transfer (sound, light, heat), model how plant and animal structures support survival, and analyze weathering and erosion’s effects on Earth’s surface.
-
Historical & Cultural Analysis: Investigate ancient civilizations by mapping geographic influences, comparing political and economic systems, and evaluating architectural and artistic achievements across societies.
5th Grade Proficiency
-
Reading & Writing: Critically compare themes, settings, and events across complex literary and informational texts; synthesize information from multiple sources in short research tasks; and craft multimedia-enhanced opinion, explanatory, and narrative pieces using advanced language conventions.
-
Advanced Mathematics: Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers, divide four-digit dividends by two-digit divisors, perform operations with fractions and decimals, plot points in the coordinate plane, and compute volumes of right prisms.
-
Scientific Modeling & Analysis: Model particulate matter behavior, trace energy flow through ecosystems (sun-based), analyze stellar brightness by distance, and evaluate human impacts on Earth systems with evidence-based arguments.
-
U.S. History & Civics: Trace American history from exploration through Reconstruction by constructing timelines, distinguishing primary vs. secondary sources, explaining constitutional principles and government functions, and exploring economic systems and civil rights developments.
LEAP Summary
-
Subjects and Grades: Students in Grades 3–8 are tested in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, while high-school LEAP assessments cover courses including Algebra I, Geometry, Biology, Civics, and U.S. History.
-
Achievement Levels: Each LEAP assessment reports one of five performance levels - Unsatisfactory, Approaching Basic, Basic, Mastery, or Advanced, enabling educators to pinpoint where students excel or require additional support.
-
Administration and Timing: EAP tests are delivered via computer each spring; results are typically released in the summer months, and participation rates exceed 99 percent to ensure comprehensive measurement of all students’ progress.
-
Purpose and Use: LEAP scores are used alongside report-card grades, classroom assessments, and teacher evaluations to guide differentiated instruction, identify students in need of remediation or enrichment, and contribute to school and district accountability metrics.
-
Preparation Resources: The Louisiana Department of Education offers extensive preparation materials including practice tests, a Parent Guide to the LEAP 2025 Tests, Quick Start Guides for the online testing platform, and Technology-Enhanced Item overviews to help students and teachers become familiar with item formats and testing tools.
