Third-graders in Lowndes County School District scored higher than the state average on the first round of the state reading assessment, while Columbus Municipal and Starkville-Oktibbeha school district students fell short of that mark.
LCSD posted an overall pass rate of 86.8%, according to results the Mississippi Department of Education released Thursday. At SOCSD, 73.7% passed the test, while CMSD’s pass rate was 64.7%.
The state average pass rate was 76.3%.
Since 2013, third-graders have been required to pass the reading portion of the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program English-language arts assessment to advance to fourth grade. The test was not administered in 2020, and the requirement to pass was waived in 2021, both due to COVID-19.
Students who did not pass the first time have up to two more chances to take the test before the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. The first retest was given May 8-12, and the final retest window will be June 19-30.
LCSD
Third-graders at each of LCSD’s three elementary schools surpassed the state average by at least 3%.
Caledonia Elementary led the way with a 92.7% pass rate, followed by West Lowndes Elementary at 91.3%. New Hope Elementary posted a pass rate of 80.4%.
LCSD Superintendent Sam Allison said district administration is proud of the first round of scores.
“The hard work of our students and teachers is very evident in these results,” Allison told The Dispatch in an email. “Our teachers do a great job of creating a path of success for our students. This success is a collaborative effort, and I cannot commend our teachers enough for setting the expectations and communicating those expectations to students and their parents. Our goal is always to achieve a 100% pass rate, and we will continue working with those students who did not meet the requirement.”
CMSD
Of the five elementary schools in CMSD, Franklin Academy third-graders carried the district with a pass rate of 89.7%. No other school managed to get more than two-thirds to pass the first time.
Fairview Elementary had a pass rate of 66.7%, followed by Cook Elementary at 64.4% and Sale Elementary at 60%. Stokes Beard posted the lowest pass rate at 49.1%
“We are proud of the gains we have made when comparing last year to this year,” Assistant Superintendent Shernise Wilson wrote in a text message to The Dispatch. “We are going to continue to make improvements to better the district.”
SOCSD
Third-graders at Henderson Ward-Stewart Elementary had a pass rate of 74.3%, with West Elementary trailing at 63.2%.
“We are excited about the initial pass rates for the third grade reading assessment,” SOCSD Superintendent Tony McGee wrote The Dispatch in an email. “Each year the district has seen growth both at West Elementary and Henderson Ward Stewart. The initial pass rates do not include ‘good cause exemptions’ for students who have an opportunity to retest this school year.”
Good cause exemptions are given to third-grade students who do not meet the academic requirements for promotion to fourth grade but can be promoted by the district due to other circumstances, such as English-limited students who have had less than two years of instruction in an English learner program, students whose Individualized Education Program states they do not have to take the state assessments or for students who were held back previously for at least two years, according to MDE.
West Point and Noxubee
At West Point Consolidated School District, 77.3% of third-graders passed on the first try – just more than the state average. West Clay Elementary has a pass rate of 78.6%, followed closely by South Side Elementary at 77.1%.
Only 43.4% of third-graders in Noxubee County School District’s lone elementary school, Earl Nash Elementary, passed the exam on the first try.
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