Educators, area legislators support waiving pass requirements this year for high-stakes testing
Mississippi legislators are considering a Senate Bill that would allow third graders who fail this school year’s state-required reading assessment to move on to fourth grade, and area educators say they support the move.
Miss State, Ole Miss football programs plan to shoulder combined $600K in COVID testing costs for 2020 season
Mississippi State football players’ post-practice routines are consistent. Student-athletes place their pads in their respective lockers before heading to the dining room in the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex for a team meal, snack or drink.
As COVID testing increases, some see nearly two week delays on results
When a person tests for COVID-19, the first thing they want to know is whether they have contracted the virus.
More and more, the answer is yes. On Monday, Mississippi State Department of Health reported 1,635 new cases, shattering the previous high single-day case record.
Given the increase, the next logical question posed at a lab, clinic or drive-in test site is how long it will take to get the results.
UMMC, MSDH to set up drive-thru testing site in Columbus
Lowndes County residents who complete a health screening with a University of Mississippi Medical Center clinician over the next two days will have a chance to be tested for COVID-19 coronavirus at a state-sponsored drive-thru testing site at Fairview Baptist Church on Saturday.
State’s uninsured hit hard by COVID-19: Tests cost hundreds out-of-pocket, adding to medical debt or deterring residents from seeking care
Within days, the cough quickly escalated into a burning chest pain that dropped 30-year-old Brittany Marie Wells to her kitchen floor.
“I started crying,” Wells said. “My mom ended up calling my dad, telling him that we needed to go to the hospital.”
But she refused to go.
Chaos, inconsistency mark launch of drive-thru virus testing
Drive-thru sites have been opening around the United States to make it quicker and safer to test people for the new coronavirus. But much like the rest of the U.S. response to the pandemic, the system has been marked by inconsistencies, delays, and shortages.
Celebrities get virus tests, raising concerns of inequality
Celebrities, politicians and professional athletes faced a backlash this week as many revealed that they had been tested for the coronavirus, even when they didn’t have a fever or other tell-tale symptoms.
Opioids dangers force police to abandon drug field tests
Police who find suspected drugs during a traffic stop or an arrest usually pause to perform a simple task: They place some of the material in a vial filled with liquid. If the liquid turns a certain color, it’s supposed to confirm the presence of cocaine, heroin or other narcotics.
CMSD students perform poorly on state assessments
The majority of Columbus Municipal School District students failed end-of-year assessments in 2016-17, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.
10 students who graduated thanks to testing errors will keep diplomas
State education officials said Wednesday that 10 Mississippi high school students were allowed to graduate only because of testing errors in their favor, but the state won’t revoke their diplomas.
Miss. Dept of Education fires testing firm after exams wrongly scored
The Mississippi Department of Education is firing a testing company, saying scoring errors raise questions about the graduation status of nearly 1,000 students statewide.
Testing time: Starkville-Oktibbeha looks to strengthen rating
Lining the halls of Starkville High School, names emblazon yellow-and-black-painted cinder blocks above the classroom doors.
Testing time: Lowndes schools aim for an A rating
Caledonia Elementary Principal Roger Hill saw his school lose something during the 2015-16 school year. Next week, his students have a chance to earn it back — a fact he hasn’t let them forget.
Analysis: Once called soft, some ask if state tests too hard
Beneath the back-and-forth last week over how many Mississippi public schools should get As was the undertow of another question — has the state gone from grading its kids too soft to grading them too hard?
Board of Education sets score levels on new Mississippi test
Mississippi will remain a hard grader of its students, as state officials adopted test-score standards that mirror those used on a multi-state test students took in 2015.
High school WorkKeys testing sees growth
The Golden Triangle Early Workforce Initiative is seeing an increase in positive results in its second year, according to Golden Triangle Development LINK officials.
Hickman addresses CMSD’s poor test results
On a night when it faced the grim results of state testing for math and English in grades 3-8, the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees were presented with some more encouraging news on several other fronts during its regular board meeting Monday.
Outdated education law up for major makeover in Senate
The way the nation’s public schools are evaluated — teachers, students and the schools themselves — is in store for a major makeover, with a sweeping shift from federal to state control over school accountability and student testing.
No Child revision easily clears House, heads to Senate
Long outdated and widely criticized as unrealistic, the 2002 No Child Left Behind education law is on track for a major revision after the House voted to dramatically limit the federal government’s role in education policy but keep the annual testing requirements for the nation’s public schoolchildren.
House to vote on No Child Left Behind rewrite
The House is ready to vote today on a long-sought rewrite of the 2002 No Child Left Behind education law that would roll back the federal government’s authority to push academic standards and tell schools how to improve.