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The new school rating system has generated a lot of questions over the last few weeks. The Parents’ Campaign Research and Education Fund has developed tools that shed light on why some schools will see ratings this year that vary significantly from those in years past. The 2016 ratings are the first under the new […]

After receiving 139 comments from parents, educators, and concerned citizens, the State Board of Education has voted to adopt several changes to the rules that govern the accountability system that determines school and district ratings. We are proud to say that the majority of respondents were parents. Thank you for being attentive and for speaking up

The State Board of Education has voted in favor of a dramatic change to the school rating system, one that sets in stone the number of schools and school districts that can be rated in each of the A through F categories in a given year. Exactly 10% of schools will be allowed an A rating,

State superintendent Dr. Carey Wright has announced a “listening tour” to solicit input from parents, educators, and others about the way Mississippi assesses student learning and rates schools and school districts. Meetings are scheduled in seven cities around the state. The feedback provided will be used to devise a state accountability plan that will be

Mississippi public school students and teachers had another good year, continuing the trend of better achievement and higher test scores. That is great news for our state! You can see here how schools and districts scored on the 2016 Mississippi Assessment Program (MAP) tests. This was the first administration of the MAP assessment. The true year-over-year comparison in

Get this: if your third grader is reading at a seventh-grade level, Mississippi does not consider her to be “advanced.” She won’t hit the advanced mark unless she reads at the nationally-normed 8.1 grade level, according to the cut scores set for Mississippi’s 2015 state test. To be considered proficient, your third grader had to perform at

Wow! What a terrific start to the school year! We have loved seeing the amazing back-to-school photos and videos lighting up Facebook and Twitter: colorful classrooms, creative getting-to-know-you games, and brain-stretching learning activities. Teachers are fired up and ready for another outstanding year. Be sure to check out your own school district web site for

School ratings for 2015 are out. See district ratings here and school ratings here. “Yep, just what we thought.” That’s the likely response to today’s ratings from Mississippi parents and educators who feel their public schools have been set up to fail by a hostile legislature. While our national test scores are steadily rising, ratings governed by state officials

School district ratings for 2015 are coming later this week. And it just got a whole lot harder to make a good grade. This is the first set of grades for schools using a new assessment (2015 PARCC) and the first state test given online. Both are likely to drive down district grades. Fewer than one percent