The Mississippi Board of Education is seeking public comment on the proposed elimination of the U.S. History end-of-course assessment as a requirement for graduation, effective with the 2025-2026 school year. All comments will be presented to the board for consideration before a final vote is taken on ending the assessment. You can find the proposed change in red text on PDF pages 2-49 here.
If this revision is adopted, students still will be required to take and pass the U.S. History course to complete graduation requirements. Written comments regarding the proposal to end the U.S. History subject area test should be emailed to Ms. Wendy Clemons, Associate State Superintendent, at secondaryeducation@mdek12.org by 5:00 p.m. on May 19, 2025.
The board also requests public feedback on a few proposed changes to the Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. You can find the proposed amendments to the accountability model highlighted in red text on PDF pages 2-20 here. Your written comments should be emailed to Mr. Alan Burrow in MDE’s Office of District and School Performance at accreditation@mdek12.org by 5:00 p.m. on May 23, 2025.
Proposed changes to the accountability system include shifting the 50 points currently assigned to the U.S. History assessment to a 3-part College and Career Readiness component totaling 150 points. Other changes to the Readiness component of the system include:
- using the highest available ACT Superscore, ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) score, SAT, or ASVAB score for each student by the end of month nine in the 12th grade
- awarding points based on a graduated system (0, .25, .50, .75, and 1) for a range of scores on each of those assessments
- using a similar graduated scale to award points for various diploma types and endorsements
Your voice is important! Please take time to read about the proposed changes at the links above and, if you have feedback to share, submit comments.
We still are awaiting word on when Gov. Reeves will call the Legislature into a special session to adopt the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, which legislators failed to do during the regular session. School districts are not required to notify teachers of contract renewals until 10 days after the PreK-12 appropriations bill is signed by the Governor, so many teachers are left in limbo and school districts are unable to plan for the coming year until the Legislature completes its work. We hope that happens soon and will let you know when a special session is announced.
