The Mississippi Department of Education issued the following statement.
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is announcing that 73.9% of 31,068 Mississippi 3rd graders received a passing score last month on the initial administration of the 3rd-grade reading assessment for the 2021-22 school year.
The passing rate presents a preliminary snapshot of 3rd-graders’ literacy proficiency as schools emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. The last time Mississippi 3rd graders took the assessment in a normal school year was April 2019 when 74.5% of 34,998 students passed the initial test.
“The hard work of teachers, students and parents to overcome academic setbacks caused by the pandemic is paying off. The initial pass rate on this year’s 3rd-grade reading assessment is nearly the same as the pre-pandemic pass rate,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “I celebrate this accomplishment and acknowledge there’s more work to be done.”
In accordance with the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA), 3rd graders who do not pass the initial administration of the reading test are given up to two attempts to retest. After the final retest in 2019, 85.6% of 3rd graders passed the test. Students did not test in 2020 due to the pandemic. The test was given in 2021, but the passing requirement was waived so no retests were administered.
The LBPA became law in 2013 to improve reading skills of kindergarten through 3rd-grade students in public schools so every student completing the 3rd grade is able to read at or above grade level. The LBPA requires Mississippi 3rd graders to pass a reading assessment to qualify for promotion to 4th grade. An amendment to the law in 2016 raised reading-level expectations starting in the 2018-19 school year, requiring 3rd graders to score at level 3 or higher on the reading portion of the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) English Language Arts (ELA) assessment.
Students who did not pass the reading assessment on their first attempt last month were retested May 9-13. The second retest window is June 20 – July 8. Some students may qualify for good cause exemptions to be promoted to 4th grade.
To see the district- and school-level initial pass rate report for 2021-22, go to
mdek12.org/OPR/Reporting/
Final district-level pass rates will be published this fall in the Literacy-Based Promotion Act Annual Report of Performance and Student Retention for the 2021-22 school year.
Kingfish: Don't worry, JJ is digging into the scores tomorrow.
Local School District Scores (2019 scores)
Canton: 62% (72%)
Clinton: 90% (88%)
Hinds County:71% (67%)
JPS: 61% (64%)
Madison County: 90% (91.5%)
Pearl: 87% (89%)
Rankin County:84% (83.5%)
Top Ten Scores
Ocean Springs: 90.8%
Clinton: 90.5%
Webster: 90.1%
Enterprise: 89.9%
Madison County: 89.7%
Union County: 88.9%
Nettleton: 88.9%
Harrison: 88.2%
Grenada: 88%
Bay St. Louis: 86%
Bottom 10 Scores
Humphreys: 29%
Holmes County: 35%
Yazoo City: 36%
Greenwood-Leflore: 40%
North Panola: 41.2%
Clairborne County: 42%
Jefferson Davis: 43%
East Tallahatchie: 44%
North Bolivar: 44.4%
Hollandale: 46%
Dishonorable Mentions
Holly Springs: 48%
West Bolivar: 48.5%
27 comments:
If it weren't so sad these low scoring counties.......I would make classless jokes but today I will just sigh. Our country is about to implode.
I don’t think kids in Mississippi are born any dumber than kids in other states, so this is a cultural issue in Mississippi that celebrates being dumb.
Thank goodness in Mississippi, spelling is our strong soot....
If only we spent more money per student, right administrators?
It must be that fertile Delta topsoil-
I doubt the data is easy to find, but I would be willing to bet the high performing schools have more kids living in a two-parent household than the low-performing schools do.
I don't think any culture celebrates being dumb, but I think there are a lot of parents out there that either just don't give a damn or encourage the child to fail these tests to get the child in special education classes in order to draw a monthly SSI check. Yes, that really happens.
@3:25p- I don’t know about that. There are an awful lot of broken homes in the Clinton district.
Clinton HEAVILY focuses on passing standardized tests. So many other things are sacrificed for these tests. Northside (2nd & 3rd grades (this test is 3rd grade)) does not even give spelling tests anymore. So many fundamentals are pushed aside. The teachers are regimented by administration on how and what to teach. These students are not smarter or more well rounded… their entire education is built around passing these tests. It’s sad and likely won’t change because of these results.
While Northside is one of the highest performing schools, there is currently a MASS exodus of teachers occurring this year (almost half the school.) The scores may be pretty but the school is currently spiraling.
@4:44 - you don't know what you're talking about. There are districts that 'teach to the test' but Clinton ain't one of them - quite the opposite. And Clinton has a waiting list of teachers wanting to teach there. Try again, maroon.
@3:54
Failure of a state test has nothing to do with obtaining a special education eligibility.
And only certain eligibility categories receive SSI supports. So it doesn’t work like that.
@5:40p- I most definitely know what I'm talking about. Your comment proves YOU don't know what you are talking about regarding Northside. The teachers are badgered WEEKLY regarding data. Every single test a student takes is fashioned after standardized tests. No more spelling or vocabulary tests. Every focus is improving data to ultimately improve state test scores. They are taught to apply test taking strategies/skills to every assignment and test they complete. These kids are taught/trained DAILY to be analytical and break down the questions. Not to mention, they are subjected to days and days of practice tests leading up to the actual state test date. It's not a true display of their knowledge, it's a display of their test-taking skills.
Also, they hadn't filled all those "highly sought after" positions as of earlier this week, but you go ahead and believe what you want to believe. You clearly have no clue the struggle the school has had filling positions the past few months.
BTW, I like the color maroon. I'm guessing you meant to type moron. It appears you could have used a few more spelling/vocabulary tests back in your day.
To 5:40 & 7:42
Been around JJ long enough to know that half of the thesis presented by KF and half of the comments by posters are "rite' & half of them are "rong".
Entertaining read every day... esp after a coupla reds.
"You clearly have no clue the struggle the school has had filling positions the past few months."
And YOU clearly have no ability to admit why the school systems across Mississippi are corrupt to the bone. Teachers are leaving in droves, and no one is recommending working in education because of the disrespect allowed of teachers/staff. Also, "education" is NOT a focus. Its finding reasons for counting them "present", and scoring well on tests to make the schools look good. Nothing more. Funding of bloated payrolls is the mission, not education of youth.
At the end of the day, it’s an extremely low bar.
I travel up hwy one from Greenville ms. to Helena Ark. Abject poverty is visible each mile of the trip. On the other hand, in some ways it is a trip back in time. It is much more interesting than the Leland to Clarksdale route.
@6:44a- Well, you obviously weren’t following or comprehending the conversation.
Yes, I do “have the ability” to understand the problems. I LIVE the problems!
I was responding to the person who thinks people are knocking down the doors to teach in Clinton (specifically Northside.)
Humphreys County is the poster for Charter Schools. Tell me I am wrong.
Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. Just sad no chance, lets try something different Charter schools How could they do worse?
There are some people who would just love to see the Clinton school district crash and burn. That would fit their Jackson narrative so perfectly. But I got news for YOU. Clinton ain't Jackson. Clinton ain't Madison and it ain't Pearl. And Clinton ain't giving up!
@11:21a- I neither live nor work in Jackson, but can tell you from first-hand experience that Clinton schools are being infiltrated by poor academic performers with no family structure and tons of behavior problems from JPS daily. This is not due to people wishing CPSD would crash and burn, it just is what it is.
Parents have to read stories to toddlers through 1st grade with books, not phones, 2-3 times per day and use correct pronunciation. Then, starting in 1st grade, have them practice reading aloud to parents.
This technique enabled my son, at 4, to read aloud the entire "Where the Wild Things Are". At first, he used his memory to recite each page, then connected letters with sounds.
His intelligence was well stimulated and he enjoyed it. He's a Doctor now, with his own children who are scholars and athletes like their father.
11:52 So what so you suggest? Should Clinton surrender? The "infiltration" you focus on has been happening for years but you might also note that it remains an "A" district. Clinton demonstrates what's possible. Let's encourage others to follow it's example. When the going gets tough...
@12:03
Sounds like you suffer from the bias caused by your white male privilege. I had to work 3 jobs, 7 days a week when my kids were growing up. Their father was arrested and imprisoned on bogus drug charges after he stood up to the racism of a white cop in Rankin county. We can’t all have your privileges. We do the best with the world we are persecuted in.
@12:40p- I don't suggest anything. I wasn't attempting to offer solutions nor did I suggest Clinton should surrender. I was simply replying to a comment and stating known facts. However, if you aren't aware that the "infiltration" has significantly escalated in recent years, then you are proving that you have no active knowledge of the situation.
Yes, CPSD remains high-performing. My comments in this thread began by pointing out that the educators in Clinton are forced to teach first and foremost for test performance. This fact is why CPSD continues to test well.
The reality is that Northside, the school reflected in this blog post, experienced a massive exodus of teachers (highly-educated, experienced, and dedicated teachers) this year. Performing well on a state test does not equate to a well run or ideal school/district.
It sounds like there is this one teacher all over JJ who is butt soar from getting fired at CPS.
@3:58p- Lol, not even close. Don’t know of a single teacher that was fired at the school, but you should be able to confirm how many resigned through the school board minutes.
@1:51 I agree. Unfortunately, every one of those top performing districts follows the same plan: use data driven instruction to increase student performance and growth on standardized tests. It’s the ONLY goal, and it’s the only thing that matters to the district. That being said, the data from the 3rd grade reading test has long been used as an indicator for future successes and to inform development decisions of an area. That’s sad news for those underperforming districts, and the cycle of poverty and incarceration will continue for generations to come. It’s also sad for all of the fantastic, life changing teachers whose value to the district is based only on their students test scores. The kicker is, the teachers ability to provide instruction is completely dependent on the administrative support they receive from their school’s administration, which often has their hands tied by the district. I haven’t even gotten to the essential role parental engagement plays in school district decisions. The cycle continues. School success is the number one indicator of economic success in an area. Until Mississippi decision makers recognize the value of public education, we’ll continue to circle the drain.
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