VIDALIA, La. – According to figures released this week by the Louisiana Department of Education, Ridgecrest Elementary consistently ranked the highest on the Iowa Test taken last spring.

Six out of 10 parish public schools that took test were ranked below the national average, while the rest scored average or above average. Scores ranged from the 20th percentile for Ferriday Upper Elementary fifth graders to the 74th percentile for Ridgecrest sixth graders.

Districtwide figures were released in May.

For the district as a whole, students in third grade scored 48, up from 39 the previous year; fifth-graders ranked 36, down from 39; sixth-graders ranked 44, up from 41; seventh-graders ranked 42, up from 39; and ninth-graders ranked 38, the same as the previous year.

&uot;We weren’t pleased with the fifth-graders’ scores, but we were pleased overall,&uot; said Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman.

This is the first year the State Department of Education has kept school-by-school scores on the Iowa Test.

Last year’s scores for individual schools were not available from the Concordia Parish School District as of Friday.

Unlike the LEAP test, which compares students’ performance with what the state expects them to learn, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills is a national test of student achievement.

In Louisiana, students in the third, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth grades take the Iowa Test.

Their scores are then ranked nationally by percentile, with a percentile of 50 representing the national average.

Depending on what grade a student is in, the Iowa Test quizzes him or her in a variety of subjects, including reading, language arts, math, social studies, science and use of reference materials.

To help improve scores, Peterman plans to present to the board several areas in which new goals will be set, such as assessment, reading and writing.

He added that a new reading program to be started this school year should also help scores.