Literacy Series: Factors Related to Post-Pandemic Improvement

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a two-part series on third grade literacy achievement. You can find the first part here. *** By Grace Breazeale I K-12 Policy Associate In the first part of this series, we explored the effectiveness of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA) across Mississippi school districts, as well as trends…

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Literacy Series: Factors Related to Post-Pandemic Improvement

Literacy Series: Pre-Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Literacy Achievement in Mississippi

Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a two-part series on the Literacy Based Promotion Act. *** By Grace Breazeale I K-12 Policy Associate Between 2013 and 2019, fourth grade reading scores on the nationwide NAEP test increased by ten points in Mississippi–a larger increase than in any other state during this time period. In…

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Literacy Series: Pre-Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Literacy Achievement in Mississippi

Raising Student Achievement in Mississippi’s Highest-Need Districts

By Toren Ballard I Director of K-12 Policy For the second year in a row, results from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) exams suggest that Mississippi is continuing to defy nationwide trends in educational achievement: proficiency levels across all subjects were at all-time highs in 2023, and Mississippi is now one of just two states…

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Raising Student Achievement in Mississippi’s Highest-Need Districts

Principles for Assessing Curriculum-Related Legislation

Today, we released a statement on American history from our Executive Director, Rachel Canter. In partnership with that statement, Mississippi First has developed the following principles for assessing curriculum-related legislation. These principles are based on our organizational values. Racism is abhorrent in all forms at all times. Slavery was a grave moral sin. So was…

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Principles for Assessing Curriculum-Related Legislation

School Grades: A Few Pointers (Cont.)

Yesterday, we did a thread to explain school grades. Here’s some additional information about growth because it is the hardest part to understand. Usually, when schoolwide proficiency goes up, growth will go up as well, BUT it is possible to have higher proficiency scores schoolwide from one year to the next and still have a lower school…

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School Grades: A Few Pointers (Cont.)

School Grades: A Few Pointers

School grades came out unofficially yesterday, and we’re already seeing (sometimes uninformed) chatter about what they mean. Here are a few pointers: Our state accountability system is based mostly on how well kids do on their end-of-year tests. The end-of-year tests are given in reading and math to all kids in grades 3-8, in science…

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School Grades: A Few Pointers

Mississippi First Releases New Report on District and State Testing

Jackson, MS—Today, Mississippi First released Understanding District and State Testing in Mississippi. This report uses field research on testing practices in four diverse Mississippi school districts to determine how many tests Mississippi students take and how much time they spend taking those tests. It also describes common school district testing practices, such as how testing…

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Mississippi First Releases New Report on District and State Testing