The 2022-23 accountability ratings from the Mississippi Department of Education show Columbus Municipal, Lowndes County and Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated districts all maintained their ratings from the prior year.
MDE released the ratings on Thursday for public school districts and their individual campuses statewide.
CMSD is a C, SOCSD is a B and LCSD remains the only A-rated public school district in the region.
Each district is graded on an A-F scale by MDE, with accountability scores based on several factors. MDE weighs proficiency and growth rates in English Language Arts and mathematics in grades 3-8; growth of lowest performing 25% of students in ELA and math; science proficiency in grades 5 and 8; English learner progress towards becoming proficient in the English language.
High school accountability includes the four-year graduation rate; performance on the ACT and Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History assessments; and student participation and performance in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement and dual credit/dual enrollment courses.
Columbus Municipal School District
CMSD earned an overall C rating for the second year running.
On the individual school level, saw improvements at three campuses: Franklin Academy and Sale Elementary both rose from Ds to Bs, and Fairview improved from a D to a C.
However, Cook Elementary fell from a B to a C. Columbus High and Stokes-Beard Elementary both held at C. Columbus Middle School remained an F, the only school to be below a C rating.
Assistant Superintendent Shemise Wilson said the district’s successes came down to training.
“We spent a lot of time training our teachers on how and what we teach using our new ELA curriculum,” Wilson said. “There was a lot of collaboration, sharing, planning, and refining lessons among teachers this past school year. Our teachers, principals, and academic coaches along with additional support were a big part of the gains we made this year.”
She also credited Dennis Dupree and Craig Chapman, both of whom served stints as interim superintendent during 2022-23, for their help.
“Additionally, Dennis Dupree played a pivotal role in leading the administrative team throughout the last school year,” she said. “Craig Chapman who also served as interim superintendent picked up where Mr. Dupree left off. CMSD’s rating is a direct reflection of the strong leadership we had throughout the year. ”
In spite of dropping a letter grade, Cook is still a successful school, Wilson said, and the district is working hard to turn the middle school around.
“We will continue to work with our teachers and administrators to provide the support needed to move them back to a high-performing rated school,” Wilson said. “We understand the challenges of our middle school and we are working with administration and teachers on how we can improve the rating of CMS.”
Lowndes County School District
LCSD remained an A district, with all schools but one maintaining their previous grades.
The one school to change was New Hope High School, which increased from a B to an A.
New Hope Middle School and West Lowndes Elementary School both remained at a B, and West Lowndes High School remained a C.
All three Caledonia campuses are rated A.
“We showed improvement in all areas except science and history proficiency,” said Superintendent Sam Allison. “Although our proficiency dropped slightly in these areas, it had little negative impact on our overall score.”
Allison credited the district’s teachers for its continued success.
“We are proud of the progress made in all our schools,” Allison said. “Our teachers go above and beyond to reach our students each day to prepare them for their future. An A accountability rating is a great achievement for the district, and it is a reflection of what takes place in our schools every day.”
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District
SOCSD retained its B rating overall, but had two schools improve and two schools fall, each by a letter grade.
Sudduth Elementary and Henderson Ward Stewart each improved from a C to a B. Those gains were counterbalanced by West Elementary and Partnership Middle. West declined from an A to a B, and Partnership from a B to a C.
Overstreet Elementary and Starkville High School both maintained a B rating, while Armstrong Junior High held at a D.
“We are very excited about the growth our students and teachers have shown at Henderson Ward Stewart,” said Communications Director Haley Montgomery. “We’ve worked hard over the last year to build in more strategic lesson planning, opportunities for professional development, and we’ve seen a lot of parent engagement and support for learning at home.”
Success at Sudduth leads to success at Henderson Ward Stewart, she said.
“The positive results at Sudduth represent the growth students have achieved as they moved from second grade into performance in third grade at Henderson Ward Stewart,” Montgomery said. “It’s a tribute to the strong foundation our youngest students are getting. We’re excited to see how they grow moving forward.”
The district is working to provide more resources to teachers at schools that suffered over the past school year, she said.
“Accountability is based in part on testing of individual students, and there are always variations as new cohorts move into specific grade bands,” she said. “We expect some shifting with schools that are on the bubble. Partnership, in particular, was just shy of their B rating by less than 10 points. We are continuing to work with teachers and students at PMS and West to provide professional development and resources that support growth.”
West Point, Noxubee schools
West Point Consolidated School District remained a C.
West Point High School climbed from a D to a B; South Side Elementary climbed to an A from a B and West Clay Elementary increased from a D to a B. Fifth Street School fell from a B to a C, while East Side Elementary and Church Hill Elementary both remained a B.
Noxubee County School District rose from a D to a C overall.
Noxubee High School rose from a C to a B, but both Earl Nash Elementary and B.F. Liddell Middle School remained a D.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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