- The new accountability system will be used to assess schools and districts starting this school year.
The Mississippi Department of Education announced the most recent ACT scores across the state and approved a new assessment scoring system for districts and schools during the State Board of Education meeting on Thursday.
ACT scores
According to MDE, just more than 30,000 high school juniors took the ACT test during the spring, scoring an average composite of 17.5.
The score holds steady with average scores from previous years, varying only by a tenth of a percentage point between the previous three years. Nationally, the average ACT score of public school students for that same testing period was 19.4.
Results from this year also indicate that 9.5 percent of juniors met benchmark scores for all four subject areas included in the ACT, which demonstrates an increase from the 8.8 percent recorded the previous year.
Superscores for high school graduates from public and private schools on average came in at 19.4, with average scores for that same category being 17.7 for the 2025 testing period, MDE reports. Superscores are based on the best ACT results in each subject area taken from multiple test attempts.
Sixteen states across the nation, including Mississippi, provide ACT tests free of charge to high school juniors.
Accountability Rating System
At Thursday’s meeting, MDE also approved the long-awaited new A-F accountability system to be implemented statewide.
The need for a new rating system is the result of state law mandating that a revised rating is to be implemented when 65 percent of schools or districts achieve a proficiency score of B or higher. MDE stated that that milestone was reached in 2023.
The new accountability system will be used to assess schools and districts starting this school year and will represent an increase in the points needed to reach rating thresholds. Grades for the current school year will set a new baseline for measuring the performance of schools and districts and cannot be compared to grades for previous school years.
Stakeholders have been advised during previous MDE meetings to expect decreased ratings in some districts and schools.
Elementary and middle schools will be scored on a range up to 700 points, while high schools graded on a scale up to 1,000 points. The points needed for an elementary or middle school to receive an A will increase from 442 to 457 points, while high schools will need to earn 769 instead of the previous 754 points.
“It is essential for states to continually raise expectations to ensure student achievement continues to improve,” said Dr. Lance Evans, State Superintendent of Education. “The new standards are attainable goals, and as we meet them, we will raise the bar higher. States that do not increase their expectations see declines in student achievement. As Mississippi continues our educational marathon, we need to keep pushing toward higher goals.”
The new levels were determined through committee work that included members of the Legislature, district leaders and the State Board of Education, to name a few.
Accountability grades assist teachers, parents and school administrators in determining if schools are effectively serving the student body and their community.
Below are the components MDE reviews when calculating points to determine rating grades:
- Student proficiency and growth rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics in grades 3-8 and high school English II and Algebra I
- Growth of the lowest performing 25% of students in ELA and mathematics
- Science proficiency in grades 5, 8 and high school Biology
- English Learner progress toward becoming proficient in the English language
- Performance on the ACT, SAT, ACT WorkKeys or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
- Student performance in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement, dual credit/dual enrollment courses and career and technical education programs
- Industry certifications, diploma endorsements and on-time and five-year graduates
- Four-year graduation rate
“The standard setting process ensures that our accountability system continues to challenge schools and districts to improve student achievement, while providing a valid and reliable measure of performance,” Dr. Evans said. “The new standards reflect Mississippi’s commitment to raising the bar for student success.”
