Mississippi Students Struggle On State Exams

Mississippi’s latest set of statewide k-12 curriculum tests results have just been released, and as MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports there’s room for big improvement.

The assessment tests administered to k-12 students across Mississippi each spring attempts to measure students performance on state standards. The 2008/2009 results show a small improvement from last year, but statewide about half of all 3-8 graders are operating on a minimal or basic level in math, and language arts. Only 30% of 8th graders in the state are proficient in science, and only 9% are considered advanced. Kris Kaase, deputy superintendent for instructional programs at the Department of Education says these scores are an indication that more needs to be done,

“We have got to take a big step further. We are trying to do our part in that with training and things we do as school districts, but eventually it gets down to what is happening in each and every classroom.”

Last year a new statewide curriculum was implemented, introducing a new set of standards. Jackson County education superintendent Dr. Barry Amacker says while he is not excusing the scores, he thinks that the new standards may have played a role in them,

“You know for so long, particularly in the old test it was pretty much recall, but the new curriculum, and the new testing is centered more around thinking and application and knowledge, and it takes a little time to get people trained and breaking habits and moving forward.”

Dr. Wayne Rodolfich is superintendent of the Pascagoula school district, he says the scores signal one thing, that there is hard work in front of them,

“We want all of our children to be proficient and advanced. I want to be number one, everybody does, and we just have to continue to chip away until we reach that peak.”

Deputy Superintendent Kaase says the next step will be reviewing the results to determine what kind of instruction it is going to take to get the numbers up next year.