The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has announced school and district accountability ratings based on assessment results for the 2024-2025 school year. Despite continued improvement on national assessments, these results showed a slight dip in performance on state assessments, particularly in math, driving a decrease in the number of districts rated C or better and an increase in the number of districts rated D or F.
The good news is that, even with that dip, 87% of school districts and 80% of schools are rated C or better. See your school and district ratings here.
State Superintendent Dr. Lance Evans and his team already have responded to the slip in state assessment outcomes, immediately deploying resources and assistance to schools as needed based on individual schools’ test results. This is precisely how assessment data should be used and why testing is important – to determine where students might be struggling and to respond to those needs accordingly, so that every student can meet his or her potential. Mississippi’s public education system does this well, and it is why Mississippi’s public schools have become a national model for student achievement.
For several years now, education leaders have expected to see declines in school and district ratings as waivers from the COVID pandemic era expired, but those did not materialize. Instead, in the years following the pandemic, achievement in our public schools continued to escalate at impressive rates, and school and district ratings improved likewise. One of the hallmarks of Mississippi’s accountability model is its strong emphasis on academic growth – the degree to which students in a school or school district are moving forward, learning new material and showing academic improvement from one year to the next. While academic growth is the very best indicator of the quality of education provided in a school or district, it can be challenging to maintain a high level of “growth” in a year that follows one with exceptionally high improvement. Mississippi’s public schools have been on an upward growth trajectory for years now, and last year’s results were particularly impressive, so a slight dip in the amount of academic growth this year is not cause for alarm.
The MDE also has announced a plan to expand what has become known nationally as the Mississippi Miracle from elementary grades into middle schools: an extension of literacy resources into grades 4 through 8 and additional math support in grades 2 through 6. The MDE’s forward-thinking approach is why Mississippi has been outpacing the nation in student achievement gains for more than two decades. Our state’s focus on real academic progress, instead of the failed gimmicks employed in too many other states, is a perfect example of why Mississippi has seen remarkable growth in student proficiency, while every single one of the states named by EdChoice as a “Top 10 State for School Choice” declined (see national test scores comparison). Thank you to the terrific teachers, education leaders, and state lawmakers who have worked together to make Mississippi’s public schools a shining example of academic progress. When we put politics aside and make the achievement of all students our top priority, we all win.
The timely and on-target response of our education professionals at the state level, coupled with the hard work and dedication of our wonderful teachers and local public school leaders, the support of parents and families, and a continued investment in public schools by our legislators, will keep Mississippi students on a path to success. Together, we’ve got this!
