The third-grade reading exam results Superintendent Stanley Ellis presented Monday to Columbus Municipal School District trustees did not give the full picture of the students’ performance.
Results the Mississippi Department of Education released Thursday did.
Only 60.9% of CMSD third-graders passed their first attempt on the 2024 reading gate, according to results the State Board of Education approved Thursday morning. That’s 3.8% lower than last year and almost 2% lower than results Ellis presented at Monday’s board meeting.
Ellis explained the discrepancy by saying his Monday report did not include third-graders who had been held back after failing the test three times in 2023.
“The reason our original numbers we reported didn’t match the MDE final report is because we calculated out numbers based on the first-time test takers, whereas MDE combined our first-time takers with the third-graders who repeated the grade from last year,” he said in an email to The Dispatch. “… Even with our calculations when compared with (MDE), there is not a significant difference.”
The official scores for each of the district’s schools were also marginally lower than the results the district provided Monday.
Fairview Elementary had the highest pass rate at 69.8%, followed by Sale, where 67.4% of students passed on the first try. Stokes-Beard had a pass rate of 50.9%. Of students at Cook, 63.9% passed. Franklin Academy had the lowest pass rate in the district with 52.6% of students passing on the first try.
The state average was 75.7%.
MDE’s report only includes initial test results. Students who fail the first test have two more opportunities to pass the test before the next school year. The first retest was given last week, and the final retest will be given June 17 through June 28. The average pass rate for each district will likely increase with each retest.
The initial test results also don’t include good cause exemptions. These exemptions are given to third grade students who do not meet test requirements but can be promoted by the district due to other circumstances, including limited English proficient students with less than two years of instruction in an English learner program, students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program indicates participating in the testing is not appropriate, or students who were previously held back for at least two years.
LCSD
Nearly 90% of third-graders in the Lowndes County School District passed the state reading assessment on the first try, outpacing the state average.
LCSD had an overall pass rate of 89.1%, according to the MDE report.
Each of the district’s three elementary schools in LCSD surpassed the state average by at least 6.7%.
Caledonia Elementary School had the highest pass rate at 95%. West Lowndes posted a pass rate of 83.8%, followed by New Hope Elementary at 82.4%.
Superintendent Sam Allison said the district is proud of the initial test results.
“We are immensely proud of the hard work of our students and teachers,” Allison said in a press release to The Dispatch. “… Reading is a crucial skill for success in academics and life. While we are proud of our results, we recognize there is still work to be done for those who did not meet the assessment requirements. Our hope is that over the next couple of weeks, all of our third-grade students will fulfill these requirements.”
SOCSD
Two-thirds of Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District third-graders passed the reading assessment on the first attempt.
SOCSD’s pass rate of 66.3% trailed the state average. As for campus scores, Henderson Ward-Stewart posted a pass rate of 65.8%, down 8.5% from last year. The smaller West Elementary posted a 73.1% pass rate, up almost 10% from last year.
Superintendent Tony McGee said the district is working to prepare students who didn’t pass the first test.
“We are working to create individualized plans that address each student’s specific needs and improve their opportunity for success as we approach the second testing window,” he wrote in a text to The Dispatch.
West Point and Noxubee
West Point Consolidated School District had 71.6% of third-graders pass the initial exam. West Clay Elementary had a pass rate of 84.6% while South Side Elementary fell just short of the state average with a rate of 71%.
Only 48.4% of students at Noxubee County School District’s one elementary school, Earl Nash Elementary, passed the test on the first try.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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