Louisiana Senior Project Summary

Senior Project is one of the academic endorsements approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).  According to Bulletin 741, § 2320, “A Senior Project is a focused rigorous independent learning experience completed during the student’s year of projected graduation from high school.”

Senior Project is a performance-based assessment that provides students with a mode means to demonstrate what they know and are able to do as they prepare to graduate from high school.  Senior Project is a student-driven program that provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate problem-solving, decision-making and independent learning skills, skills that are embedded in the Louisiana English Language Arts Comprehensive Curriculum, as well as 21^st Century Skills.  Moreover, it contributes to a strong senior year with challenging courses and practical experiences that prepare students for the next step in higher education or in the work place. 

Senior Project is made up of the following four components, all of which must be completed for the student to receive credit:  Research Paper, Portfolio, Project, and Presentation.  Each of the four components is scored based upon state approved rubrics. 

Senior Project allows each student to select a challenging topic of the student’s choice, to research and gather information related to the topic, to write a research paper, to maintain documents for verification of hours spent on the development of a project, to produce a major product that applies to the research and includes a “stretch,” and to make a formal presentation to a panel of judges. 

Senior Projects are challenging: they require significant effort on the part of each student in demonstrating what the student has learned.  In addition, a first-class senior project requires students to plan well to meet deadlines and to manage the project successfully.  During the process, students will benefit through opportunities to gather information, to integrate academic and career/technical studies, to develop and demonstrate verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and to feel a strong sense of accomplishment for a job well done.