JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi schools and districts will earn new grades for the first time since 2019 when the Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) approves accountability grades Thursday, September 29, for the 2021-22 school year.
According to the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), the grades reflect how student achievement has improved after declining during the early part of the pandemic.
Approximately 81% of schools and 87% of districts will be rated C or higher for the 2021-22 school year.
“The pandemic not only disrupted teaching and learning, it also impacted the state’s accountability system that evaluates the effectiveness of schools and districts,” said Dr. Kim Benton, state superintendent of education, interim. “While we are encouraged by the tremendous growth, it is especially important this year to look at all the components that make up each school and district grade to get a complete picture of student growth and achievement.”
Mississippi’s schools and districts are graded on an A-F scale. The grades are part of the state’s accountability system, which helps teachers, school leaders, parents and communities know how well their local schools and districts are serving their students. According to MDE, the 2021-22 school and district grades were impacted by key factors involving student achievement decline in 2020-21, testing waivers and one-year adjustments to the accountability system.
Federal law requires all states to assess students annually in ELA and Mathematics in grades 3-8 and once during high school. Mississippi law requires schools and districts to earn annual A-F grades based on student performance and growth.
Mississippi’s accountability system includes the following components:
- Student proficiency and growth rates in ELA and Mathematics in grades 3-8
- Growth of the lowest performing 25% of students in ELA and Mathematics
- Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8
- English Learner progress toward becoming proficient in the English language
- Performance on the ACT and high school Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History assessments
- Student participation and performance in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement and dual credit/dual enrollment courses
- Four-year graduation rate
The SBE temporarily adjusted the statewide accountability system in 2021-22 to calculate A-F grades and determine federally required school improvement designations. They said adjustments were needed because the cancellation of assessments in spring 2020 resulted in some students lacking scores to calculate growth.
Click here to see the school and district-level assessment results.
