School Accountability

The Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE’s) Commission on School Accreditation (CSA) has recommended that new accountability cut scores be set and that percentile rankings be used again this year to determine school and school district ratings. MDE officials explained that the cut scores were set artificially high last year. Director of Assessment Walt Drane shared this analogy, […]

Next Sunday, July 16, is the deadline to give your feedback on Mississippi’s new plan for public education in our state: Mississippi Succeeds. Each state is required to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Education explaining how it will comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, the replacement for No Child Left Behind).

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) wants your feedback on its new plan for public education in our state. Each state is required to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Education explaining how it will comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, the replacement for No Child Left Behind). MDE officials

Dr. Carey WrightDr. Nathan OakleyMississippi Department of EducationPO Box 771Jackson, MS 39205-0771 Dear Dr. Wright and Dr. Oakley, Please accept these written comments regarding the proposed Mississippi Consolidated State Plan, Mississippi Succeeds, being considered by the Mississippi Board of Education (MBE) for submission to the U.S. Department of Education in accordance with the Every Student Succeeds

2016 school ratings have been released. You can see here how your school and district fared. Teachers and students are due a hearty congratulations. They have managed to stay focused and yield impressive academic improvement on both state and national measures, especially among our scholars with the most challenges. And they did it while weathering an accountability hurricane, with three

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