GNO, Inc. Sunday Night Highlight – New Orleans and Louisiana Lead the Nation in Education Improvement 🍎

This week, researchers from Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth released the 2026 Education Scorecard, which analyzes test scores for students in grades 3-8 across more than 5,800 school districts in 38 states. Louisiana ranked first among states in reading growth and second in math progress from 2022 to 2025. More striking: Louisiana was the only state to surpass pre-pandemic learning levels in both subjects.

New Orleans’ improvement is particularly noteworthy:  Orleans Parish ranked in the 99th percentile nationally in reading growth and the 98th percentile in math from 2022 to 2025, placing NOLA Public Schools among the fastest-improving large urban districts in the country.  In 2003, the high school graduation rate barely topped 50 percent. Today it stands at 81 percent.

Harvard professor Thomas Kane said, “While much of the country is still recovering from learning loss, students nationally remain about half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading scores. Louisiana students, meanwhile, are performing just over a fifth of a grade level above their 2022 reading levels. To be the only state above its pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading shows what’s possible when state leaders stick with evidence-based interventions and give districts the support they need to follow through.”

A sustained set of state reforms is credited with the gains in Louisiana and New Orleans:

• Science of reading – Starting in 2021, Louisiana has trained teachers in research-based, phonics-forward reading instruction, modeled after reforms that first drove major gains in Mississippi, and deployed literacy coaches across schools
• Tutoring and intervention – The state has spent nearly $6,000 per child on summer learning and tutoring — well above the national average of $3,700 — providing individualized support for struggling students
• High-quality instructional materials – Louisiana has built one of the most rigorous curriculum review processes in the country and incentivized adoption of top-tier materials through free professional development and funding support
• Accountability – Third-grade reading gates, transparent school performance data, and consequences for persistent underperformance have kept pressure on the system to deliver

Read more about the 2026 Education Scorecard here.
Read the full Orleans Parish scorecard data here.
Read about Louisiana’s education reform playbook here.
Read how the charter school model reshaped American K-12 education here.

Thank you to all the administrators, teachers, parents, and students who have made this remarkable progress possible!