BATON ROUGE- The state's top school board has approved a policy that would allow schools where about 5,000 students skipped Common Core tests to avoid any penalties.
    
Jane Smith, a member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and longtime Common Core critic, praised the plan approved on Tuesday.
    
Michael Faulk, superintendent of the Central Community Schools District, including one school where nearly 12 percent of students skipped the exams, praised the state's plan.
    
The policy will be in place for one year.
    
In most cases, the state will rely on 2013-14 LEAP results instead of Common Core assessments when all-important school letter grades are issued this month.
    
For schools where more than 10 percent of students skipped, letter grades for 2013-14 will remain unchanged for 2014-15.