BATON ROUGE - The drive to improve Louisiana's public school achievement stalled in the third year of tougher standards, with students in grades 3-8 showing little change in their standardized test scores.

  

The Advocate reports results released by state officials Wednesday show one in three students statewide achieved the "mastery" benchmark in math, English and science. That's the same outcome as last year.

  

Results on the LEAP tests taken by students in grades 3-8 are put into one of five achievement levels: advanced, mastery, basic, approaching basic and unsatisfactory.

  

Students will have to average mastery, and meet other academic targets, for schools to earn an A rating in Louisiana's public school grading system starting in 2025.

  

Forty-two percent of students achieved mastery in English, 32 percent in math and 24 percent in science.