Last school year was a turning point for K-12 education in Louisiana.

The state's students led the country in post-pandemic reading recovery and made big gains on a national fourth-grade reading test, surging to 16th place nationally from 42nd place just two years earlier. On Monday, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is scheduled to visit a Baton Rouge school to celebrate that academic progress.

Suddenly, Louisiana is being cited as an education leader, not a laggard. The question this school year: Will it last?

“We’re coming off a historic year for education in Louisiana,” said state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley. “We just need to continue with that momentum.”

To do that, Brumley wants to apply the state’s reading-reform strategies to math. He's also hoping that a

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