Tutoring in Louisiana
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Louisiana, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
LEAP is given every spring in grades 3 to 8, and it covers four subjects in each of those grades: English language arts, math, science and social studies. The window runs from the start of April to mid-May. Testing is on computer, with a paper form available in third grade only. In high school LEAP follows the course. There are exams at the end of English I, English II, Algebra I, Geometry and Biology, plus Civics and U.S. History, with fall and summer sittings as well as the spring one. Juniors take the ACT at school in February or March, and that is also the test the state TOPS scholarships ask for.
What Louisiana tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | LEAP | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- LEAP (Louisiana Educational Assessment Program): reading and writing, math, science, grades 3 through 8
- Main testing window
- early April to mid-May
- Standards
- Louisiana Student Standards
- Paid for by the state
- ACT, grade 11, on a school day
- Exams tied to a course
- English I, English II, Algebra I, Geometry, Biology, Civics and U.S. History (High school LEAP)
Third-grade promotion does not run on LEAP. It runs on the end-of-year literacy screener: a third grader who scores at the lowest level in April gets two more tries, at the end of May and after summer learning, and is not promoted to fourth grade without clearing it or qualifying for an exemption.
Is there a graduation test in Louisiana?
Yes. A student must pass one high school LEAP test in each of three pairs: English I or English II, Algebra I or Geometry, and Biology or the social studies test (Civics for students who started ninth grade in 2024-25 or later, U.S. History before that).
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for LEAP. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.