MDE requires third-graders to pass the reading assessment to be promoted to fourth grade. Students who did not pass the first attempt in April were retested two weeks ago, and there will be a third opportunity from June 20 to July 8.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first school year the assessments have affected promotion since 2018-19.
LCSD
Caledonia Elementary notched the highest pass rate at 88.4 percent. West 
Lowndes Elementary followed with an 80.6 percent, and New Hope Elementary registered the district’s lowest pass rate at 75.9 percent, though still better than the state average.
Superintendent Sam Allison said every district has different challenges, and he attributes the percentage of students who did not pass primarily to young students feeling the academic effect of the pandemic.
“We weren’t satisfied, but we were pleased with our results,” Allison said. “It’s been a tough couple of years, and these students have felt the brunt of that, from a four-day week last year, to COVID the year before ending that year in March. So, probably the students affected most are our younger students not having that daily classroom time, but I feel like we did a good job this year to try to help fill in those gaps.”
Fairview Elementary was the closest to the state average pass rate at 71.1 percent, followed by Sale Elementary at 62.2 percent.
Three schools registered less than a 50-percent pass rate, with Stokes Beard Elementary at 49 percent, Franklin Academy at 48.8 percent and Cook Elementary at 47.9 percent.
Superintendent Cherie Labat, also noting the pandemic’s effect on the scores, said other schools can look to Fairview as it uses its resources well and the teachers checked that the children were growing in an effective manner.
“I’ve spoken with each of the principals about making sure that each child’s intervention has been written well, they are progress monitored and they are using resources more effectively,” Labat said. “The last normal year they had was kindergarten, for most of these students. … This is the first full year of them being actively in the classroom, and we’re going to see (low scores). We’re hoping that with the final assessment and those students working through the summer, we’ll see more students passing.”
SOCSD
Henderson Ward Stewart students logged a 69.3 percent pass rate on the April assessment, with West Elementary seeing 60 percent of its third-graders pass.
Superintendent Eddie Peasant is feeling optimistic after the first retest, and he is not alarmed by the low initial test pass rate.
Though the entire state’s retest scores have not been released by MDE, Peasant said SOCSD has seen its retest scores, which are up nearly 20 percent.
“Although we have not seen the state’s average since the first retest, our district average has increased by 18.5 percent after the retest,” Peasant said. “Once the final retest results are returned, we expect our pass rate to surpass the state passage rate at the same point. This is consistent with past years. … Both schools are implementing the same strategies and curriculum. The difference in the percentages are simple numbers. West Elementary tested 25 students while Henderson Ward Stewart tested 277. After the first retest, West now has a 1-percent higher passage rate than HWS.”
West Point, Noxubee
West Point Consolidated School District third-graders had a pass rate of 69.9 percent from its two elementary schools. South Side Elementary had a 69.6 percent and West Clay Elementary had a 73.3 percent.
Noxubee County School District’s lone elementary school for third-graders, Earl Nash Elementary, only had a pass rate of 38.5 percent on the first test.
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