Fourth- and eighth-graders in Louisiana public schools have shown "marked improvement" in this year's LEAP promotion tests, state education officials said today.

High school students taking the state graduation exit exam showed smaller gains, according to figures released this morning at a news conference in Baton Rouge.

The improvements included New Orleans schools that were taken over by the state after Hurricane Katrina and placed in the state Recovery School District.

Overall, scores of fourth-graders in the state-run system improved by 12 percentage points. Scores for eighth-graders improved by 4 percentage points.

For information about specific schools and parishes, go to the Louisiana Department of Education website at www.doe.state.la.us

From The Associated Press