Leaving Last in Line
As any fourth grader knows, last in line is an awful place to be. But for Mississippi’s public school fourth graders, last in line in reading and math achievement isn’t a once-in-a-while woe; it is a recurring nightmare. Mississippi has tied for last nearly every year on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card. Fortunately, as every fourth grader knows, being last in line doesn’t have to be permanent. Working hard in class and being on good behavior can get any child promoted to line leader. Similarly, Mississippi can take action to solve its problem of inadequate school readiness and finally lead the achievement line: forty years of excellent research support the achievement-boosting, life-long benefits of high-quality pre-Kindergarten programs.
Mississippi First released Leaving Last in Line in 2012 to recommend a model for state-funded pre-K. At the time, Mississippi was one of only ten states without a pre-K program. The collaborative delivery model presented in the issue brief was the inspiration behind Mississippi’s pre-K law, the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013.
Leaving Last in Line
Author
Rachel Canter, Executive Director, 2008-2025
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