Posted on 06/02/2023 1:58:26 PM PDT by JSM_Liberty
The refrain across much of the Deep South for decades was “Thank God for Mississippi!” That’s because however abysmally Arkansas or Alabama might perform in national comparisons, they could still bet that they wouldn’t be the worst in America. That spot was often reserved for Mississippi.
So it’s extraordinary to travel across this state today and find something dazzling: It is lifting education outcomes and soaring in the national rankings. With an all-out effort over the past decade to get all children to read by the end of third grade and by extensive reliance on research and metrics, Mississippi has shown that it is possible to raise standards even in a state ranked dead last in the country in child poverty and hunger and second highest in teen births. ...
Mississippi’s success has no single origin moment, but one turning point was arguably when Jim Barksdale decided to retire in the state. A former C.E.O. of Netscape, he had grown up in Mississippi but was humiliated by its history of racism and underperformance.... With the support of Barksdale and many others, a crucial milestone came in 2013 when state Republicans pushed through a package of legislation focused on education and when Mississippi recruited a new state superintendent of education, Carey Wright, from the Washington, D.C., school system. Wright ran the school system brilliantly until her retirement last year, meticulously ensuring that all schools actually carried out new policies and improved outcomes. ... Perhaps the most important single element of the 2013 legislative package was a test informally called the third-grade gate: Any child who does not pass a reading test at the end of third grade is held back and has to redo the year...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
WOOOWA....WOOOOWA (sounds of emergency sirens)
Teachers Unions to the field .... WOOOWA....WOOOWA
Battle stations....man the cannons, batten down the bilge boilers, NO quarter ....
This sounds like a good idea. It’s by the third grade someone cannot read how can they properly advance to higher grades? All education depends on reading in one way or another.
Mississippi and New Mexico are in constant competition for “worst education outcomes” in America.
Jeez… Baltimore city “educators” are making Mississippi students look like the 1960’s MIT student body when the Mississippi students’ achievement scores are compared to the Baltimore students’ scores.
“ Mississippi and New Mexico are in constant competition for “worst education outcomes” in America.”
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Have you RECENTLY looked at Mississippi state’s recent student achievement standings compared to those of other states?
Wash DC is the very LAST place in the country I would search for a new state superintendant! I'm absolutely shocked that she performed well.
That is so cool that Barksdale returned to his home state and decided to tackle the education problem. I hope he instituted a conservative state curriculum.
Me too.
Perhaps she saw how hopeless the political situation with regards to education is/was in DC and was frustrated. Saw a chance to actually make a difference in MS.
99% of the professional education population would not consider a move from DC to MS. That’s my guess anyway.
But she went. So maybe?
“Thank God for Mississippi!”
The UNofficial motto of the state of Arkansas in the 1950s through 1970s. The official motto back was “The Land of Opportunity!” but only if you left the state for better jobs and wages.
Sadly now NEW MEXICO has beat Mississippi out as having the worst schools. Sixty years ago NM schools were great! What happened?
And by the way, Benton and Washington Counties in Arkansas are doing GREAT! Not like the poverty ridden rest of the state. All that Walmart Money flowing into those two counties counts for something!
Happened: New Mexico fell in battle, in the cultural civil war - language and skin color ascended in leftist directives, and thereupon, social pride followed . . . to the fall.
Phonics and not closing our schools for covid are the primary reasons for Mississippi’s recent real active gains. We are not necessarily doing better, but a lot of places are doing a lot worse. At this point all you need to do to stand out is not do dramatically worse.
Everything is better in Mississippi since Republicans took total control of the state. It takes time to repair the damage 112 years of democrat control caused.
Many years ago 60 Minutes featured AA Chicago teacher Marva Collins who used phonics to teach all her inner city kids to read. I tracked down and used the same Open Court Reading System to teach our girls after seeing that episode.
I would suspect she knew what would not work and what would work and thus got the hell out of the DC School system where she not be allowed to do her job.
States that are bringing by phonics for reading education will soon outpace all other states in student performance.
My dad used to say, “Read, read, read! If you can read, you can learn to do anything!”. He quit school in 8th grade to work on the farm but his family always had books in the house. We grew up poor (although I didn’t realize it at the time), but there was always books in the house and we were expected to read (and work in the garden).
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