NEWS RELEASE

Release Date: September 13, 2004
Contact: Dr. Susan Rucker, Associate Superintendent for Innovation and School Improvement, (601) 359-3768
Caron Blanton, Public Relations Director, (601) 359-3033

90 percent of Mississippi schools rated Successful, Exemplary and Superior-Performing

Students Making Progress in Mississippi!

Now in the second year of utilizing the Mississippi accountability model using absolute achievement and academic improvement, Mississippi' s schools are proving that investing in education and accountability pays off. With results approved Friday by the Mississippi Board of Education, 90 percent (754 of 838 schools) of Mississippi's schools were found to be either Successful, Exemplary or Superior-Performing. Student achievement continues to increase. A remarkable 28 percent (233 schools) were found to be Superior-Performing, the highest category a school can be assigned.

“We are making great strides in student achievement,” said Dr. Henry L. Johnson, State Superintendent of Education. “Across almost every grade and subject, student achievement has improved over last year both in the percentage of students scoring Proficient or above and in the average test score.”

Achievement and Growth

Under the new accountability standards, schools are graded individually on improvement and on achievement using scores from the Mississippi Curriculum Tests in elementary and middle school and tests in Algebra I, English II and Biology in high school. Using these scores, the Commission on School Accreditation assigns each school with grades 3-12 a level between 1 (Low-Performing) and 5 (Superior-Performing).

Some of the most significant changes occurred at the middle grades. The improvement in eighth grade mathematics was particularly notable. The percentage of students scoring Proficient or Advanced increased 12 percentage points from 48 percent to 60 percent. We still saw a small increase (one percent) in the percentage of students scoring Proficient or Advanced in seventh grade mathematics.

At the high school level, mathematics is also an area that saw significant improvement. The percentage of students passing Algebra I on their first attempt improved by nearly nine points to 90.7 percent. Four years ago that percentage was about 70 percent.

Fifteen districts had all schools in their district rated level 5 (Superior-Performing). This represents approximately 10 percent of the school districts in the state. The 15 districts are Booneville, Corinth, Enterprise, Long Beach, New Albany, Newton County, Ocean Springs, Pass Christian, Petal, Pontotoc City, Pontotoc County, Richton, Tishomingo County, Union City, and Union County.

The number of schools rated one of the lower two levels has decreased dramatically. Only 76 schools were rated level 2 (Under-Performing) and only 8 were assigned level 1 (Low-Performing). These two categories combined represent less than 10 percent of Mississippi's schools. Last year, 17 percent of Mississippi's schools were rated level 1 or 2, representing 137 schools. The reduction of this number to 85 represents a drop to less than 10 percent. The number of level 1 schools decreased from 31 to only eight.

Compared to last year, 80 more schools were rated level 5, a nine percent increase. Only 2 districts had 100 percent of their schools rated level 5, compared to 14 districts this year. Of schools with achievement level 5 this year, 151 schools met or exceeded expected academic improvement. Of level 4 schools, 81 met or exceeded expected academic improvement. Of level 3 schools, 125 met or exceeded expected academic improvement. Even 18 of level 1 or 2 schools met or exceeded expected academic improvement. In 2004, 44.7 percent of 838 schools met or exceeded their growth expectations.

Priority Schools

Schools that do not meet achievement goals or show expected academic improvement receive a ranking of Level 1 (Low Performing) with the lowest of these deemed Priority Schools. Last year's Priority Schools received a year of intense assistance and monitoring by the Mississippi Department of Education and others and have demonstrated remarkable improvement. Eight of the 10 schools have improved enough to be removed from Priority status entirely, including Ruleville Central Elementary, which attained a level 4 (Exemplary). Principal Bessie Gardner led the Sunflower County School, with students in kindergarten through fifth grade, in exceeding their academic growth goal for the year.

“We analyzed test scores and disaggregated the data to determine our plan of action,” said Gardner. “We met periodically to discuss what we were doing and what we needed to do. We kept components of a program we were already utilizing and combined them with the Mississippi's Choice program.”

The school motivated students through pep rallies and offering bicycles, which were hanging in the school as a reminder throughout the school year, to the students who read and summarized the most books. Students who needed individualized attention were tutored during the last period of school and after school. The computer lab was also available to students after school.

By combining data, motivation and extra services, the students, teachers, principal and other staff members were able to raise the standard and see the fruits of their labor by reaching Exemplary status.

Three Priority Schools, including Nichols Middle School in Canton, Ida Greene Elementary School in Belzoni, and Quitman County Elementary School in Lambert, improved their performance enough to attain a ranking of Level 3 (Successful). Ida Greene Elementary School met its expected academic growth goal, while both Nichols Middle School and Quitman County Elementary School exceeded their growth goals for the year, resulting in the elevated status.

“The fact that we've made this much progress is indicative of what we can expect in the future, ” said Dr. Susan Rucker, Associate State Superintendent for Innovation and Improvement, who attributes the outstanding progress of the Priority Schools to the tremendous effort put forth by Mississippi educators. “They not only made an effort, but they are sustaining that effort through the years.”

Accreditation

Of the 152 school districts in Mississippi, 97 percent will receive an Accredited Status after meeting 100 percent of the Process Standards as outlined in the Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2003 . Only two districts will be on Advised status based on citations on fewer than 5 of the 37 standards. Only two districts received a Probation status.

The Office of Accreditation has provided technical assistance to several districts in the state which has resulted in them receiving their Accredited Status, including Amite County and Quitman County. Several other districts had deficiencies over the course of the school year, but were able to rectify them before school started this year.

Closing the Gaps

Mississippi continues to make progress in closing the achievement gaps between white students and minority students. Comparing test results from 2001-02 and 2002-03, the achievement gap has decreased while overall achievement has maintained or increased in reading, math and language in the third and seventh grades. The same trend holds true when comparing data from the Subject Area Testing Program assessments in Algebra I, Biology I, History, and English II. Similar outcomes are expected from the 2003-04 results, which will be available soon.

Adequate Yearly Progress

Mississippi's students also showed progress in meeting federal achievement goals under the No Child Left Behind Act. The No Child Left Behind Act requires a certain percentage of students to be proficient each year for a school to meet Adequate Yearly Progress requirements. This percentage is raised incrementally until 2014, when 100 percent of students must be proficient. The school must reach this target percentage both for the overall student population as well as eight sub-groups based on race, economic disadvantage and other factors. Failure to meet the target percentage in just one subgroup results in a school not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress Requirements.

An impressive 76 percent of Mississippi's schools (659 schools) met Adequate Yearly Progress requirements in all three areas, including reading/language arts, math, and other academic indicators.

On the other academic indicators, 98 percent of Mississippi Schools (856 schools) met requirements. Graduation rates for high schools and attendance rates at middle and elementary schools are included in this category.

In reading/language arts, 81 percent of Mississippi schools (709 schools) met requirements, while 83 percent of Mississippi schools (721 schools) met requirements in math.

Only eight percent of Mississippi schools (72 schools) are in some level of School Improvement under the No Child Left Behind Act due to not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress requirements in the same academic area for two or more consecutive years.

Mississippi's Choice

Forty Mississippi schools implemented the Mississippi's Choice School Reform Model last year and have made progress at an even greater rate than the state average. Fourth grade students scoring proficient and above in Mississippi's Choice schools showed a 15 percentage point gain in math, a 10 percentage point gain in language and a five percentage point gain in reading. Seventh grade students scoring proficient and above in Mississippi's Choice schools showed an eight percentage point gain in math, a 19 percentage point gain in language and a five percent gain in reading.

Mississippi's Choice is a comprehensive school reform model that includes performance standards for students, provides teachers with tested curriculum materials and employs a balanced approach to assessment. Along with literacy and math instruction, the model includes cross-age tutoring and instructional routines to promote student citizenship. While supporting leadership focused on results, Mississippi's Choice provides on-site technical assistance and high quality professional development for teachers and administrators and utilizes community/family outreach to strengthen parent involvement.

Sixty-five percent of the participating schools were rated a level 3 (Successful), level 4 (Exemplary) or level 5 (Superior-Performing). Forty percent of the schools met or exceeded expected academic improvement; 75 percent met Adequate Yearly Progress in reading and in math.

We are on the right track in Mississippi. The investment in education is paying off, as evidenced by the strong, steady improvement we are seeing in our test scores and accountability ratings, as well as the reduction in the number of Priority Schools, increase in meeting Adequate Yearly Progress requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act, and the progress we are making in closing the achievement gap.

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