JACKSON — Mississippi’s fourth grade reading and math scores improved on the latest Nation’s Report Card, bucking a national trend of declines.
The results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress were released Wednesday. The exams, given to a cross-section of students nationwide, are considered one of the most reliable ways of comparing academic performance across the state.
Mississippi’s scores remain near the bottom among states on 4th and 8th grade tests of reading and math, and 8th grade scores were flat in both subjects from 2013 to 2015. However, Mississippi was the only state to show significant improvement since 2013 in both reading and math scores among fourth graders. The District of Columbia also showed increases in both.
“It’s good news for our state,” state Superintendent Carey Wright said. “It’s obviously not where we want to be, but this is significant progress and we can’t ignore that.”
As is true nationwide, there remains a significant gap between the scores of black and white students in Mississippi. The average black student remains below the basic score level in fourth and eighth grade reading and eighth grade math, while the average white Mississippi student scores in the basic range but below proficient in all categories.
Gov. Phil Bryant credited the increase in reading scores to Mississippi’s increased focus on reading instruction in elementary grades. Bryant has been a supporter of a requirement that third-graders pass a reading test before being promoted to fourth grade. Last year’s fourth-graders didn’t have to meet that requirement, but may have gotten some benefit from changes to instruction while in third grade.
“The state has placed a special emphasis on literacy to ensure that children across the state have the opportunity to succeed,” Bryant said in a statement. “The NAEP results show the positive results of that work and make a strong case for state-led reform efforts.”
Scores were flat or down nationwide. William Bushaw, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which runs the test, said it was too soon to know why that was. However, he said the drop might have stemmed from “an implementation dip” during the changeover to the Common Core state standards that Mississippi and most other states have adopted.
Wright said she thought the focus on literacy in early grades was one factor, but said she thought teacher training and Mississippi’s Common Core-derived standards also helped. She noted that last year’s fourth graders had only been taught under the standards.
“You have teachers around the state who have been faithful about implementing the standards,” Wright said.
Wright said that although much of the attention had gone to improving reading, she said the state has been working to improve math instruction as well. She also said that improved reading and math performance could go hand-in-hand.
“Reading is the key to accessing all other subject areas,” she said.
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