BATON ROUGE - Public schools in Louisiana are improving. Monday the Louisiana Department of Education released statewide school performance scores, which surpass pre-pandemic levels.

The statewide numbers rate student and school achievement, including standardized test scores, and graduation rates.

Louisiana's 2022 to 2023 statewide score is 78.5 points out of a possible 150, which is above the 2018 score of 76.1. The number puts Louisiana at a low B ranking.

Zachary, West Feliciana and Ascension parishes all rank top in the state. Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumly says growth happened across the board.

East Baton Rouge went up 2.6 points, and Baker improved 1.8 points. While both district's improvement surpassed the state average, leaders say there's still work to be done. 

Baker consistently ranks last in the capitol region, but the 1.8 point bump moved their letter grade from an F to a D. Baker School Board member Linda Perkins says the changes there are small. 

"It's very minute growth, but I would like to see something very significant, because the children of the City of Baker deserve better," Perkins said.

She says the changes are not enough considering Baker's neighbor, Zachary, ranked as the highest in the state.

"I would really like to see significant leadership in Baker, as far as the teachers, certified teachers, and teachers being trained properly to be able to make a significant difference in the progress improvements of the children," she added.