In a report released Tuesday by the Louisiana Department of Education, the St. Tammany Parish school system is still surpassing all districts except two in performance scores.

Leading the state is Zachary community school district, with five schools, at 116.8; and West Feliciana Parish, which also has five schools, at 110.9. St. Tammany, with over 50 schools in the district, has a score of 109.6, up from 105.7 last year.

Nine schools in the parish scored over 120, with the highest score achieved by Pontchartrain Elementary at 141.2, followed by Magnolia Trace Elementary at 129.9. The highest scoring middle school was Tchefuncte Middle at 127.7. Mandeville Junior High has 122.5 and the highest high school score was Mandeville High at 120.6. These scores are a combination of student test scores (90 percent) and attendance (10 percent) for grades kindergarten to eighth; attendance (5 percent), dropouts (5 percent) and test scores (90 percent) for schools with only seventh and eighth grade; and high school grades nine to 12 are based on test scores (70 percent) and graduation index (30 percent).

The 10-year goal set in 1999 was for all districts in the state to reach 100. The state performance score this year, the end of that period, is 91, up from 69.4 of 1999. In addition, growth from 2008 of 86.3 reflects a 4.7 gain.

The new state goal, set last year, is 120 by the year 2014.

In 1999, there were 388 schools in the state, or 32.7 percent, with a score below 60. In 2009, the number has dwindled to 55, or 4.3 percent.

The 100 goal was achieved by 361 or 28 percent of schools in the state.

In baseline school performance scores, the parish had seven 4-star schools with a baseline score of 120-139.9: Madisonville Elementary, Mandeville High, Mandeville Junior High, Pontchartrain Elementary, Tchefuncte Middle, Magnolia Trace Elementary and Lake Harbor Middle schools.

Obtaining 3-star status were Abita Springs Elementary, Abita Springs Middle, Bonne Ecole Elementary, Boyet Junior High, Clearwood Junior High, Covington Elementary, Lee Road Junior High, Little Oak Middle, Madisonville Junior High, Mandeville Elementary, Mandeville Middle, Slidell High, Northshore High, Woodlake Elementary, Honey Island Elementary, Whispering Forest Elementary, Cypress Cove Elementary, Fontainebleau High, Fontainebleau Junior High, Monteleone Junior High and Little Pearl Elementary.

Schools with 2-stars were Abney Elementary, Bayou Lacombe Middle School, Brock Elementary, Carolyn Park Middle, Chahta-Ima Elementary, Covington High, Fifth Ward Junior High, Florida Avenue Elementary, Folsom Elementary, Folsom Junior High, Lyon Elementary, Pearl River High, Pine View Middle, Pitcher Junior High, St. Tammany Junior High, Creekside Junior High, Sixth Ward Elementary, Slidell Junior High, Bayou Woods Elementary and Riverside Elementary.

Alton Elementary and Salmen High School received 1-star ratings.

There were no “unacceptable” schools in the parish.

Lakeshore High and Marigny Elementary were not included in any of the figures, since they were not open last year.

The weakest area in the school district was in cohort graduation rates. The criteria used to determine graduation rates are set nationally to conform to the No Child Left Behind, or NCLB act. To be considered, a student must complete high school in four years.

A student that leaves high school with one of the following is not considered in the cohort graduation rate by the NCLB act and national standard: GED only; a GED and industry-based certification; certificate of achievement; failure of GEE or incomplete Carnegie units or both; non-completer; industry-based certification only; local skills certificate; and five year seniors.

Using the above criteria, the graduation rate in St. Tammany was 77 percent in 2009, or 11th in the state. The highest graduation rate in the state was Zachary Community School District with 87.8 percent.

The state average was 66.6 percent.

The state’s cohort graduation rates does not reflect the dropout rate, since many students graduate, but not in four years or with a Certificate of Achievement or GED. The state’s dropout rate is at 5.2 percent.

State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said, “LDOE and much of the education community have begun to focus on raising graduation rates to 80 percent unofficially over the last three years.”

Cohort graduation rates in surrounding parishes were Washington Parish, 84.5, third in the state; Tangipahoa, 67.1; Jefferson, 58.9; and St. Charles Parish, 84.5, second in the state. Figures were not available for Orleans, St. Bernard or Plaquemines parishes.

Performance scores for surrounding parishes are Washington Parish, 90.7; Tangipahoa Parish, 85.4; Jefferson Parish, 78.4; Orleans Parish not including the recovery school district, 104.3; St. Bernard, 92.3; Plaquemines 105; and St. Charles Parish 104.9.