Mississippi continues to raise educational standards, with opportunities ahead

• Mississippi is at a unique crossroads: celebrating what’s already been accomplished and tackling what still needs to be done.

In an era where most states are seeing declines in their educational proficiency, Mississippi continues to shine. The National Assessment on Educational Progress (NAEP) results released this year show Mississippi catapulted to ninth in the nation in fourth grade reading and 16th in fourth grade math. Adjusted by student demographics, Mississippi now leads the nation in fourth grade reading.  

States across the country are looking to copy Mississippi’s success, and the nation’s spotlight on Mississippi is well deserved. Many have called the state’s success the “Mississippi Miracle.” We agree more with the “Mississippi Marathon” moniker. 

Years of hard work and student-centered reforms moved Mississippi from the bottom to the top. Many in policy circles know the story of Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013, a well-planned implementation effort that brought Mississippi’s fourth grade reading scores from 49th in the nation to 21st within a decade. However, Mississippi’s success story goes deeper than those literacy efforts. 

Mississippi has embraced clear and rigorous expectations for all students, enacted life-changing policies to provide students with better access to school and worked to create robust education-to-workforce pathways for all students. While all of these accomplishments should be applauded, Mississippi can’t take its foot off the gas.  

Success is never final, and reform is never complete. Education systems are always evolving and identifying new challenges. Mississippi’s 2026 legislative session presents an opportunity for policymakers to build off their current system to make it even better. Here are three proven policy solutions that should be implemented next year:  

First, Mississippi needs to expand its successful approach to early literacy into the adolescent grades. This year, we saw the depressed turnout of average eighth grade reading scores on NAEP — 8 states declined while Mississippi and 43 other states saw no significant change in scores. 
 
Not a single state saw improvement in eighth grade reading.  

Mississippi —a leader in this space in grades K-3 – can lead on the full K-8 continuum. Give teachers of grades 4-8 more support and training in the science of reading, stronger preparation programs throughout the year and ensuring there is time built in every school day for targeted instruction and intervention. Educational texts only get more difficult as students advance in grade, so it is worth it to ensure they are still keeping up and succeeding with their grade level expectations. 

Second, Mississippi should implement a similar strategy for math. While the number of fourth grade and eighth grade students scoring proficient or higher increased this year, they have not made it back to pre-pandemic levels of proficiency.  
 
To get students over that COVID hump, Mississippi can strengthen math outcomes by placing additional math coaches in the classroom to provide teachers with more support; implementing 60 minutes of math instruction per day; and ensuring high-performing students of all backgrounds are guaranteed access to advanced math courses in earlier grades. 

Finally, Mississippi can bolster their college and career pathway programs. Mississippi created AccelerateMS and deployed career coaches across the state, a great first step to connect education to the workforce. It’s clear state leaders are focused on attracting new business and developing future talent. ExcelinEd’s recently updated Pathways Matter framework provides policymakers with a broader roadmap to strengthen Mississippi’s education-to-workforce system. 
 
Approaches include supporting students on their path to a postsecondary credential, such as a “last dollar” programto provide grant funding for community college tuition and fees once other state and federal grants have been applied. Mississippi should also expand the state’s Return on Investment Analysis policy to include Associate and Bachelor’s degree programs, ensuring state dollars support programs that provide the most value for students. 

The Mississippi Legislature could also expand opportunities for students to access the education that is the best fit for them, especially when it comes to improving charter school access, performance and authorization. 

Mississippi is at a unique crossroads: celebrating what’s already been accomplished and tackling what still needs to be done. Mississippi should embrace and expand the trailblazing efforts in education reform that took them from the bottom of student proficiency to the top.