- The Mississippi State Board of Education also heard an update on efforts to improve the ClassWallet system for teachers’ classroom funds.
New cut scores for the fifth grade math assessment and an updated excused absence policy were adopted by the Mississippi State Board of Education during a meeting last week.
Establishment of the new cut scores and excused absence policy were mandated as part of the passage of legislation passed by the Mississippi Legislature during the 2026 session.
Mississippi Math Act
The new cut score will ensure the Mississippi Department of Education meets the provisions within SB 2294, known as the Mississippi Math Act.
The adjusted cut score, now set at 560 or lower, will apply to the Grade 5 Statewide Mathematics Assessment. Chief Academic Officer Wendy Clemons said the actual number was established through a collaboration of math teachers across the state along with help from the Center for Assessment.
“They wanted an indicator that reflected an ambition of the state and our students, yet an attainable expectation,” Clemons said.
The cut score will be one of several indicators of a student’s proficiency in math and provide a starting point for educators to determine the level of remediation that may be required.
“I do want to point out that the indicator is not to be used as a criteria for student promotion or retention. This is not a gate in any way. This is a score that helps educators determine the need for intervention or to serve a potential deficiency in a student,” Clemons explained.
The goal is to ensure students are prepared to take Algebra I early on in high school. Clemons would like to see more high school freshmen taking Algebra I instead of waiting until their sophomore or later years.
“Ultimately, we want to make sure that when students leave fifth grade and they go into the sixth grade that we have defined or identified any potential deficiencies that would make Algebra I more of a challenge for them,” Clemons elaborated.
Board member Glenn East reminded his colleagues that control of how to provide remediation remains at the local level with the school districts.
Excused Absences Policy
The Board also approved the policy on reporting unexcused absences during Thursday’s meeting in relation to the passage of SB 2103.
Provisions in the legislation set a standardized method for recording unexcused absences statewide. The policy states any a child who misses 33% of the school day will be considered absent. A child is allowed up to five total excused absences per semester, of which only three can be via a parent’s note. Additional absences after the three will require a written excuse from a medical provider, and after five excused absences all others that semester will be counted as unexcused.
Absences due to suspension or expulsion will not be excused but also will not result in the student being reported as truant. Approved reasons for an excused absence included in the policy are for a student having a dental or medical appointment, a death or illness in the immediate family, and religious events, to name a few.
Other than setting a statewide precedent for absences, the legislation also clarified whether a student engaged in a school-related extracurricular activity should be counted as absent.
In previous years, some districts have counted students attending athletic competitions, band contests or other extracurricular activities as absent, even though they were participating in a school activity. The new policy clearly states students participating in athletic contests, music festivals or contests, rodeo events and school field trips, among others, are to be “considered present for average daily attendance reporting purposes.”
Board member East believes attendance is an important trait to instill in the state’s young people.
“We know that in Mississippi, in any state, not being late, being there every day, good attitude, keeps you a job,” East said. “And if you have some skillset when you get there it makes it better and makes the promotions come quicker.”
ClassWallet Update
In response to several complaints lodged by teachers and local vendors, changes continue to be made to the state’s new electronic system that provides teachers access to their Education Enhancement Funds.
The state appropriated $25 million to be used by teachers to purchase necessary items for their classroom. The state funding provides 34,298 teachers with $748 to purchase the items.
In the past, physical cards were issued to teachers, but the lack of a spending cap on each card and delays in access to funding forced the Mississippi Department of Education to move to the digital-based ClassWallet system. The old system’s clunky nature led to some EEF funds going unspent in previous years, officials said.
While most teachers did get faster access to the funding in the new system, there were some hurdles. Some teachers were initially unable to access the funding and there were complaints about a lack of local vendors on the approved list.
However, spending of the funds is moving faster than last year. State Superintendent Dr. Lance Evans said that as of last week, teachers across the state have spent just over $10 million out of the EEF account. That figure reflects a $1.5 million increase over the $8.5 million spent at this time last year.
“Which was the driving goal, the driving reason why we wanted to make that transition. We want to make sure our teachers are spending their dollars,” Evans added.
The initially small number of approved local vendors in ClassWallet caused teachers to pay out of pocket for some items and seek reimbursement later.
Evans said the department continues to work to rectify those issues. As of last week, 80 additional local vendors were added to the approved list.
“We did not like the fact that teachers had to pay out of pocket and then be reimbursed,” Evans stated. “So we did everything we can to try to decrease the potential for that happening.”
The new system is also giving the department insight into how the funds are being spent, and which regions benefit the most from the EEF program.
