Third-graders in the Lowndes County School District once again scored higher than the state average of 77.3% on the first round of the state reading assessment, with 82.5% of students passing on the first try.
While students in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District performed lower than the state average, with 69.9% of students passing, the pass rate did increase from last year by 3.6%.
The pass rate for the Columbus Municipal School District decreased by a little more than 1% from initial scores last year. Only 59.8% of third-graders passed the initial assessment.
Mississippi Department of Education requires third-graders in the state to pass the reading assessment to be promoted to the fourth grade. MDE released the initial test scores Friday in a press release, but there are more to come.
Students who fail the first test have two opportunities to retest before the next school year, with the first having already been given. The second retest is scheduled for the end of June. The average pass rate for each district will likely increase with each retest.
These initial test results don’t account for good cause exemptions. These exemptions are given to third-graders who do not meet the test requirements but can be promoted due to other circumstances, according to MDE. That includes limited English proficient students with less than two years of instruction in an English learner program, students who were previously held back for at least two years or students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program indicates participating in testing is not appropriate.
LCSD
While the overall pass rate for LCSD surpassed the state’s average, the district did see a 6.6% decrease from last year.
Caledonia Elementary School had the highest pass rate in the district at 88.5%, though the score did drop 6.5% from the previous year.
New Hope Elementary followed with a 79.8% pass, and West Lowndes Elementary had a pass rate of 66.7%.
Superintendent Sam Allison said the district is very proud of the work done by students and teachers this year.
“As proud as we are of those who passed, our hearts go out to the students who did not,” Allison wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “We take their progress seriously and begin providing additional support immediately.”
Allison said 11% of the students who did not pass the first test are eligible for a good cause exemption. If the other 6% do not pass the first retest, the district will continue working with them through the summer, he said.
CMSD
While no CMSD elementary school met the state average, two schools did see increases from last year’s initial score report.
Increasing by 7.4% from the previous year, 60% of third-graders at Franklin Academy passed the test on the first try. Cook Elementary posted a pass rate of 69.2%, a 7.4% increase from the first test in 2024.
Stokes-Beard Elementary had the lowest pass rate at 44.3%, a 6.6% decrease from last year. At Sale Elementary, 63% of third-graders passed on the first try, and 63.8% of third-graders at Fairview Elementary met the testing requirements.
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Shernise Wilson said the district is proud of the progress students and educators have made, but administrators also recognize there’s still a lot of progress to make.
“Many of our students face barriers outside of the classroom along with many entering the classroom significantly weak in foundational literacy skills,” she wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “In the classroom, we are working to strengthen our early interventions, align instruction practices with student needs and ensure every teacher has the tools and training necessary to support literacy growth. We are aware of our complex issues, but we are committed to facing them head-on, in partnership with families and the community.”
Wilson said the district has several supports in place to help students who did not pass the test get back on track, including targeted small groups and access to evidence-based reading interventions.
SOCSD
SOCSD was the only district in the region to see an increase in the overall passing rate this year – rising from last year’s 66.3% pass rate on the initial test.
“We can always do better, that’s for sure,” Superintendent Tony McGee wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “But we are happy with the improvement we’ve seen in passage on this first test over the rates from last year, particularly considering that these initial rates do not factor in students who fall within the ‘good-cause exemption’ guidelines. Those students have already received intensive intervention and with good cause factored in, we will see that passage rate increase more.”
Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary saw a nearly 4% increase in its pass rate this year, posting a score of 69.7%. West Elementary saw a marginal decrease, but still had 72.2% of students pass the test on the first try.
McGee credited the students’ success this year to several intentional strategies the district emphasized this year. Teachers and interventionists work together in professional learning communities to ensure instruction is consistent across classrooms, and teachers look at specific data to analyze specific skills students need to improve. Providing intervention as early and as quickly as possible has helped as well, he said.
For students who did not pass the first test, teachers are providing additional instruction in small groups with a more “bootcamp”-style approach, McGee said. The district has also brought in retired teachers to help provide one-on-one time, and school counselors are providing sessions of “strategic encouragement” to help students build their confidence before retests.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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