High school students in the Golden Triangle generally improved on state assessments last year, but elementary and middle school scores in English-language arts, math and science trended downward.
Mississippi Department of Education released the test scores last week for 2024-2025 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program testing, which measures students’ performance in English-language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8, science in grades 5 and 8 and English II, Algebra I, Biology and U.S. History in high school. The U.S. History assessment will not be given for the 2025-2026 school year.
Test results are separated into five levels. Students who score within levels 1 and 2 did not pass the state assessment, scoring either basic or minimal, while levels 3, 4 and 5 represent a passing score. Scoring in the upper two levels (4 and 5) is considered proficient and advanced, respectively.
The State Board of Education on Aug. 21 approved the scores, which make up a large portion of the state’s A-F accountability ratings for each school district. Accountability grades for the 2024-2025 school year will be released Sept. 25, following approval from SBE.
Columbus Municipal School District
The district saw a decrease in third grade students who passed the ELA assessment, with 54.7% passing, compared to 61.8% last year.
Grades 4-8 all had at least 50% of students pass the assessment, though only 53.4% of eighth-graders passed this year, compared to 60.5% last year. The English II pass rate rose from 46.7% last year to 56.3% this year.
At least 50% of CMSD students passed each of the math assessments, though overall each grade aside from Algebra I and fourth grade saw a decrease in the pass rate compared to last year. Algebra I had a passing rate of 84.6%, an increase to the 79.5% that passed last year.
Only 56.4% of seventh-graders passed, compared to 66.7% last year. About 52.7% of third-graders passed the assessment, a drop from 62.8% last year.
In science, 79.1% of fifth-graders passed the assessment, a slight increase to the 78.4% that passed last year. Eighth-grade science saw only 58.7% of students pass this year, a decrease from 70.6% last year. Nearly 60% passed the Biology assessment, an increase from 58.4% last year.
There was a slight increase in the pass rate for U.S. History, with 83.8% passing this year compared to 81% last year.
Lowndes County School District
At LCSD, sixth-graders had the lowest ELA pass rate, with 78.1% passing compared to 76.5% last year. Third-graders had the largest decrease from last year with only 80.6% passing the ELA assessment, down from 88.6% last year. The English II pass rate had a slight increase from last year, with 88.8% students passing compared to 82.5% in 2024-2025.
LCSD saw slight decreases across the board in the pass rates for math assessments aside from fourth grade, where 77.9% passed this year compared to 71.8% last year. Eighth grade had the biggest decrease, with only 80.2% passing compared to 89.2% last year. For Algebra I, 96.6% of students passed compared to 99.1% last year.
Grades 5 and 8 both saw decreases in this year’s pass rates for science assessments. For fifth grade, 89.2% passed compared to 90.9% last year. The pass rate for eighth grade was 79.6%, down from 85.5% last year. The Biology pass rate had a slight increase with 88.8% passing this year and 87.4% passing last year.
While 87.8% of students passed the U.S. History assessment this year, it was a slight decrease from the 94.8% that passed last year.
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District
Only 54.7% of third-graders at SOCSD passed the ELA assessment, down from the 61.8% that passed last year. Grades 4 and 8 also had decreases in the pass rate. In fourth grade, 70.1% passed compared to 73.4% last year. Only 53.4% passed the assessment in eighth grade compared to 60.5% last year. The English II passing rate increased to 56.3% this year, compared to 46.7% last year.
All but grades 3 and 4 saw a decrease in the math assessment pass rate this year, though 71% passed each test. Eighth grade saw a 12% decrease in its passing rate, with 79% hitting the mark, compared to 88.6% from last year. Fifth, sixth and seventh grades saw slight decreases ranging from 1 to 4%. Algebra I saw a slight increase to the passing rate with 97.6% passing this year compared to 93.2% last year.
At least half of all SOCSD students passed each science assessment. For fifth grade, 83.6% of students passed compared to 88% last year. In eighth grade, 80.5% passed compared to 83.8% last year. Just more than 71% of students passed the Biology assessment, down compared to 87.4% last year.
For U.S. History, 87.2% passed this year compared to 85.6% last year.
West Point Consolidated School District
All WPCSD grades achieved at least a 61.1% pass rate for ELA assessments, though multiple grades saw a lower rate than last year. Only 63.7% of WPCSD third-graders passed the ELA assessment, a decrease compared to 72.3% last year. Fourth and eighth grade also saw decreases ranging from 3 to 8%. Fifth grade saw the biggest jump in the pass rate with 79.3% this year compared to 72.7% this year.
Third grade saw the lowest pass rate for math assessments, with only 65.4% passing compared to last year’s 72.1%. Fourth grade had a 10% decrease compared to last year’s 86.2% pass rate, with only 78.2% passing the assessment this year. The Algebra I pass rate remained mostly steady, with 94% passing compared to 96.3% last year.
In science, 81.4% of fifth-graders and 69.4% of eighth-graders passed the assessment. About 66% of students passed the Biology assessment, a slight decrease from 70.6% last year. For the U.S. History assessment, 90.2% of students passed compared to 93.9% last year.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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