- Mississippi’s graduation rate up and dropout rate down.
The Mississippi Department of Education on Tuesday released new accountability assessment scores showing more school districts than ever received a grade of C or higher.
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Lance Evans shared that during the 2023-2024 school year, more than 85 percent of schools and 93 percent of districts in the state earned a grade of C or higher.
Evans, who took over as the new state superintendent of education this July, added that the department has noticed all-time highs in proficiency of mathematics, English Language Arts and science. However, there was a half of a point decrease in U.S. History proficiency this year.
Students in grades 3 through 8 are tested for proficiency in mathematics, science and ELA. High school students are assessed based on ACT results and tested for proficiency in Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History.
Evans notes that the improvements are indicative of students returning to class after the COVID-19 pandemic when schools shifted to an online learning model to protect children and families.
“Online learning is definitely not the best alternative for all of our students,” Evans added.
Other improvements include the state’s graduation rate. According to MDE, the graduation rate for the 2024 school year was 89.4 percent, a half-a-point increase from the previous year’s rate of 88.9 percent. Just five years prior in 2019, that rate was 84 percent.
“So, we’ve seen lots of very positive things,” Evans said. “Our graduation rate is at record high levels.”
As a result of a record setting graduation rate, the dropout rate has been in decline. MDE reports that the dropout rate was at 10.1 percent in 2019, which has gradually decreased to 2024’s rate of 8.5 percent. The latest report indicates that in 2022, the rate was 8.5 percent and rose to 9 percent in 2023 before dropping back to 8.5 percent in 2024.
Now that a large percentage of districts are receiving a C or higher on the statewide assessment, Dr. Evans said an adjustment will be made to the assessment standards in an effort to continue the growth.
During a virtual meeting with reporters on Monday, MDE Chief of Accountability Dr. Paula Vanderford noted that adjustments to the standards are not expected to affect classrooms at the local level because there will not be a major overhaul, yet the bar will be raised. There is consideration to add workforce readiness indicators within the accountability model.
Top Districts and Schools
On the district level, Ocean Springs School District received the highest assessment score at 798. The other top four school districts include Petal (791), Long Beach (782), Clinton (780) and Bay St. Louis-Waveland (772).
The top five high schools across the state that scored the highest out of a maximum of 1000 points include Poplarville High School (888), West Harrison High School (872), Ocean Springs High School (858), Lewisburg High School (856) and Pass Christian High School (855).
The top five schools from the previous school year graded on a 700 point scale, including elementary and middle schools, are Beach Elementary in the Pascagoula-Gautier School District (687), Ida B. Wells APAC School in the Jackson Public School District (628), Clinton Park Elementary in the Clinton School District (618), Madison Avenue Lower Elementary in the Madison County School District (611) and Bayou View Elementary in the Gulfport School District (609).
According to the MDE, Mississippi is now ranked 35th by the national Quality Counts ranking system, a stark change from 2013’s rank of 50th. That improvement moved the state’s education system grade from an F to a C-, closer to the national average of C.
“I am incredibly proud of our students, teachers and school leaders for their academic achievements in the 2023-24 school year,” said Evans. “This year’s school and district grades are a testament to the quality and success of Mississippi public schools. I am confident we will continue to build upon this success to make sure every Mississippi public school graduate is prepared for a successful future.”
Achievement School Districts Show Improvements
MDE also noted that school districts currently under state leadership due to a state of emergency or poor prior performance improved or remained steady.
Yazoo City, one of two Achievement School Districts in the state, improved from an F in 2023 to a C by the end of the most recent school year. The other ASD, Humphreys County, improved from 2023’s D to 2024’s C. In 2022, that district received a grade of F.
Two other districts under state leadership, Holmes County Consolidated and Noxubee County, also showed improvement. Holmes improved its 2023 grade of a C to a B in 2024. Holmes was an F-rated school in 2021 when the state took over. Noxubee maintained its grade of C from the prior school year. Starting in 2016, Noxubee received a grade of F each year until 2021, when it was graded a D in 2022.
To read the full School- and district-level accountability results click here.
Jeremy Pittari
