From CBN News
For decades, Mississippi ranked as one of the lowest US states in overall quality of life.
That included education until recent reforms led to significant gains in literacy rates, taking the state from 49th in 2013 to 21st in 2022.
The dramatic improvement in student literacy rates has been dubbed the ‘Mississippi Miracle.’
Many say the educational wins should be highlighted and shared with other states as models they can follow.
“DIRECT RESULT OF CONSERVATIVE REFORMS”
“I certainly use the term the Mississippi Miracle every chance I get because it catches people off guard,” Governor Tate Reeves told CBN News.
“It is the direct result of passing conservative reforms in our legislature in 2012 and 2013, followed up by a very strong implementation by our Department of Education and a lot of hard work by teachers and students, and parents all over the state,” the Governor explained.
“What you’re seeing now is the fruits of that labour.”
“We went back to teaching reading, utilising phonics. It was the right thing to do for our kids.”
FOCUS ON EARLY LITERACY AND TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
In 2013, Mississippi lawmakers implemented the Literacy-based Promotion Act which focused on early literacy and teacher development.
“We invested in our teachers. We invested in hiring reading coaches,” said Governor Reeves.
The state also mandated holding back students who were not meeting certain reading standards by third grade.
It was an unpopular move at the time.
HOLDING BACK STRUGGLING STUDENTS BOOSTED REPORT CARD
“Many folks said: Look, you can’t do that. If you do that, 50% or 60% of our kids are going to be held back,” the Governor revealed.
“But we had the exact opposite experience. What actually happened is we raised the level of expectations, and Mississippians did what Mississippians do.”
“They rose up and they met those increased expectations.”
The state surpassed those expectations with the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress report card.
HUGE PROGRESS REFLECTED IN 2024 REPORT CARD
It revealed Mississippi fourth graders moving to the top in reading and maths gains, over the past 12 years.
The state scored number nine overall in fourth-grade reading and 16th in maths scores.
African-American fourth graders in the state ranked number three among their peers nationally in those areas.
Hispanic fourth graders ranked number one in reading and number two in maths.
OTHER STATES IMPLEMENT SIMILAR REFORMS
At a time when one in five Americans struggle with reading, other states are taking notice.
In 2019, Louisiana implemented similar reforms, choosing to focus on phonics and invest in training programs for principals and teachers.
Reading coaches were also put in place.
CBN News reported that: “While red states like Mississippi and Louisiana are seeing great strides, blue states like California are seeing an education decline since the pandemic.”
According to the news website CalMatters, 60% of Californian third graders did not read at grade level last year.
MISSISSIPPI’S HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION SURGES TO NEARLY 90%
Governor Reeves said charter schools which are state funded independent schools, are also making a difference.
“Back in 2013, our high school graduation rate in Mississippi was 72.5%. Last year it was 89.9%.”
“So, we have between 3,000 and 4,000 kids in Mississippi today that are graduating high school every year, who wouldn’t have done so 15-years ago.”
“We see this as a huge boom for our economy, and it gives us an opportunity to compete in the future,” the state’s Governor concluded.
