MS kindergarteners start behind, gain quickly
Literacy tests show Mississippi kindergarteners are still starting behind but catching up quickly.
For the second year in a row, test scores from 142 school districts show a majority of kindergarteners made great gains in literacy during the school year. Nearly 38,000 kindergarteners took the STAR Early Literacy exam in the fall with an average score of 502, below the benchmark of 530 that would indicate a student has basic literacy skills and is prepared for kindergarten. But when taking the test again in the spring, Mississippi students’ average score rose to 703.
The Mississippi Department of Education in a news release said this increase was greater than last year’s, which rose from 501 in the fall to 680 in the spring.
Clarion Ledger
6/16/16
