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According to the SREB report, which was released this week, Mississippi obtained “the largest percentage-point increase in the nation in reading” between 2007-08 for fourth-graders on the National Assessment of Education Progress.
The state also closed the achievement gap on the NAEP for black students in the fourth and eighth grades. Those are the two years in which students take the NAEP, known as the nation’s report card.
State Superintendent Tom Burnham said the SREB report provides evidence “we are making sustained progress toward meeting the goals set by the Mississippi Board of Education. The academic expectations for our students have been raised, and they are working extremely hard to meet the challenges.”
The state Board of Education has set as goals:
- Making sure all students exit the third grade reading on grade level by 2013.
- Reducing the high school dropout rate, which according to current data is about 16 percent, to 13 percent by 2013.
- Reaching the NAEP average in all areas by 2013.
To reach the goals, the state Board of Education took steps to toughen both the state’s curriculum – or what it is teaching students – and the statewide testing given to students.
“The results of everyone’s hard work are beginning to show as the stars are aligned for vast improvements in education in Mississippi,” said Blake Wilson, head of the Mississippi Economic Council.
“The state is poised to make even greater strides in the future.”
Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds, who served as state superintendent when the new standards were put in place by the board, said, “Our students prove time and time again that when state leaders make sound, data-driven decisions and give our educators at every level the tools they need, they are able to achieve despite any obstacle in their way.”
One of the primary obstacles facing Mississippi, according to the SREB report, is the state’s high poverty level.
According to 2008 data, the state’s poverty rate among children was 12 percent above the national average. Generally, most statistics indicate it is more difficult to educate impoverished children.
But Eric Clark, executive director of the state Community and Junior College Board, said for Mississippi to improve, “it is no longer an option to be educated. It is a necessity. As the SREB report shows, Mississippi is making major educational improvements that will better the lives of our state’s citizens.”
According to the SREB report, students also made a 0.2 percent improvement on the ACT college entrance exam from 1999 to 2009.
The report said each one-tenth of a point improvement “is considered significant.”
Mississippi’s average score of 18.9 is still the lowest in the nation. The next-to the lowest is Washington, D.C., at 19.3, and then Florida and Kentucky at 19.4.
But 93 percent of Mississippi seniors take the college entrance exam, a greater percentage than all but five states, according to the ACT website.
The SREB report said it “was a significant accomplishment” to boost the ACT score while increasing the percentage of students taking it.
On the NAEP, in 2009 for Mississippi there was an increase of 4 percentage points from 2007 and 6 from 2003 to 55 percent of students scoring at least basic level in fourth grade reading.
Increases of seven percentage points for 2009 from 2003 were recorded for fourth- and eighth-grade math. For the fourth grade, 69 percent scored at least the basic level and in the eighth grade 54 percent obtained at least the basic level.
But for eighth-grade reading, there was a drop of 3 percent from 2003 to 2009, and now 62 percent scored at least the basic level.
Education leaders acknowledged Mississippi still trails national averages in most categories – especially among minorities and the poor.
“We still have a lot of work to do to bring our children’s achievement in line with that of their peers across our country and across the world, but we are headed in the right direction,” said Nancy Loome, executive director of the Parents Campaign, a statewide education advocacy group.
I truly feel for poverty students. I know many, and many of them will always mean the world to me. They come from a background where there is often one single parent. This parent may not have finished high school. This parent may have many children. This child takes on the role of an adult early in life because he is to help take care of younger siblings. There is no mentor at home for the child to look to for support or guidance. There are many support systems that are not in place for students in poverty, and this is a major cause of discipline issues or dropping out. How many of you know that many students come to school just to eat? You just have no idea what goes on within the walls of schools during this day and age unless you are there to experience it. It is a very unfortunate situation. If you have experienced poverty like I have, you understand what it is like.
Many people just don't seem to understand that there are many students who have discipline problems as a result of living in poverty. Teachers are being asked to do "whatever it takes" to help these students graduate. The student often does not try (note: student is well aware that some teachers pass students just to help them get closer to graduation), does not care, has nothing to lose, and seeks negative attention. So in other words, he or she will not pass any classes unless they are "handed" a grade. When you have grown up receiving government assistance, by default you do not learn that you have to earn some things in life. Don't get me wrong - I am not trying to sound hateful here. These children have grown up watching their parent(s), for whatever reason, receive government assistance. They learn by watching the parent that you do not have to do anything to receive things in life. It is not the child's fault that they are in poverty.
Despite the conditions, the teacher is ultimately blamed for the student's lack of progress, sometimes by the parents, the school district, the state of Mississippi, and the federal government. It's absolutely preposterous. With such a high poverty rate, it is unreasonable to think that teachers can cast some magical spell and suddenly have a graduation rate that is one of the highest in the nation. I believe in goals and I believe in having a vision. But by God, I believe in being a realist, first and foremost. I challenge superintendents and assistant superintendents to go into their local high schools and teach students for two weeks. I guarantee, you will have a much better understanding of what our local high schools are like. You will need to thicken your skin before you hit the door of the classroom. (I am using pluralization here, so as not to single out any particular school. I am sure, as an intelligent community, you have a pretty good idea which district I am most likely referring to here.)
I find the following comments very interesting:
“The results of everyone’s hard work are beginning to show as the stars are aligned for vast improvements in education in Mississippi,” said Blake Wilson, head of the Mississippi Economic Council."
“The state is poised to make even greater strides in the future.”
Trying to keep up with the educational "big picture" almost makes me dizzy. Let's see, education budgets have been slashed, teacher/student ratios will increase, schools will lack much that will be necessary to make improvements and help students advance, yet these pipe dreamers are creating an illusion of "greater strides in the future."
I certainly hope improvements happen, but educators have got more than the lion's share of work cut out for them. And at the end of the day they are often "persuaded" to undermine the very integrity of the educational system. Ironically, schools teach students the consequences of violating academic integrity are severe.
Someone please help me find the logic in this. If you are a teacher (presently, not 20-30 years ago), please chime in.