LOOK HOW FAR WE HAVE COME; NOW WHAT’S NEXT FOR MISSIS- SIPPI’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS? For years, Mississippi educators put in the hard work to increase achievement in public schools even before expectations for students were raised. State legislative support has funded myriad initiatives to improve student outcomes, and the Mississippi State Board of Educa - tion (SBE) has used its Strategic Plan to guide the work of the Mississippi Depart - ment of Education (MDE). In turn, the MDE has worked to serve and support districts throughout the state to help students achieve at higher levels. Our collaborative efforts have paid off. The last Quality Counts report in 2023 ranked the state 35th in education, improving from 50th in 2013. Nationally, the state is also now ranked 35th in education by U.S. News and World Report and 30th in education – our highest ranking ever – by the 2024 Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT® Data Book. KIDS COUNT rated Mississippi 49th in 2014. Furthermore, the 2023-24 accountability results revealed 93.9% – the largest per - centage ever – of Mississippi school districts were rated A, B or C, and of those, 70% were rated B or higher. For schools, 85.7% were rated A, B or C. In 2016, the SBE set a goal that all schools and districts be rated C or higher. At that time, the percentage of schools and districts meeting this goal was 62% for both. These achievements have been described as outstanding, historic, and even miracu - lous by some education stakeholders. At the MDE, we have proudly celebrated this success, and we thank all the dedicated and professional Mississippi educators who made it happen in classrooms all over the state.
So, what’s next for Mississippi public schools? By law, the standards for student, school, and school district performance must be increased since at least 65% of schools and/or school districts are earning a grade of B or higher. This is detailed in Miss. Code Ann. 37-17-6(5)(c), which also calls for increased standards when student profi - ciency is 75% or higher. The Accountability Task Force (ATF) meets regularly and has been considering multiple options for resetting accountability stan - dards. Two primary changes being consid - ered are incorporating more measures of workforce readiness in the accountability system to incentivize districts to focus more on career readiness and exploring the methodologies of assigning letter grades. There are three general approaches under consideration: norm-referenced, criterion- referenced, and a hybrid of the two. The hybrid approach seems to have the most interest. See details below: Norm-referenced • Standards are based on the desired distribution of performance for schools or districts • For example: Only 10% of schools should get an “A” Criterion-referenced • Standards are based on a perfor - mance definition or profile • For example: To get an “A,” 75% of students must be proficient or meet growth targets. Hybrid • Combines elements of both norm and criterion-referenced approaches • For example: Comprehensive Sup - port and Improvement (CSI) schools will include all high schools with graduation rates less than 67% (criterion) • CSI schools are in the bottom 5% (normative)
A timeline of events for meeting this legisla - tive requirement has been shared with su - perintendents at meetings across the state. The ATF hopes to complete the proposed revisions to the model this fall, finalize the business rules in spring 2025, set the stan - dards in summer 2025, and communicate the changes to districts in fall 2025. By fall 2026, the new standards would be utilized to measure schools and districts. Before being presented to the SBE for ap - proval, everything will be processed and reviewed by the ATF, then the Technical Advisory Committee, and then the Com - mission on School Accreditation. Public comment will be gathered through the APA process as well. I trust the individuals in all the various groups will do what is best for Mississippi public schools. Everyone’s input, especially yours, will be invaluable to this process. You have already demonstrated how to teach and guide our students to excel, and I believe we will collaboratively continue the trend. As always, the MDE stands ready to support you in any way we can. Thank you for all you do. e Dr. Lance Evans State Superintendent of Education
PAGE 8 MPE Journal - Winter 2024
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