Carey M. Wright, Ed.D., State Superintendent of Education
Office of Communications & Legislative Support
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR, Director of Communications *601-359-3706 *FAX: 601-359-3033
Jean Cook, Communications Specialist * 601-359-3519
NEWS RELEASE
Immediate Release: November 5, 2015
MDE Releases First Set of Statewide Results for Tests Aligned to Higher
Standards
Algebra I, English II Scores Establish New Starting Point for Students’ College and Career
Readiness
JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) released today high school
results from the first assessments that measured Mississippi’s students’ progress toward the
academic goals laid out in the Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards, which were
designed to ensure students have the skills and knowledge they need in jobs and college.
As anticipated, student performance dropped from previous years’ performance levels in
Algebra I and English II. For the 2014-15 school year, assessments from the Partnership for
Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) replaced the Subject Area Testing
Program (SAPT2).
Statewide, nearly half of high school students (49 percent) met or exceeded expectations for
English II and less than a third of students (27 percent) met or exceeded expectations in Algebra
I. However, about 2,500 middle school students took the Algebra I test and 70.9 percent of
those students scored at the top two performance categories.
“The PARCC assessments were more demanding than previous state tests. The test results today
mark a new starting point for our students and we expect test scores to increase over time. These
tests required students to solve problems and explain their answers at a much higher level than
previous state tests that were mainly multiple choice,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state
superintendent of education.
Wright also praised students and teachers. “I’m proud of our students who performed as well as
they did on new assessments with this level of rigor, and of our teachers who have worked
incredibly hard over the past few years to help students reach these higher standards. Our
teachers should be commended for getting our students off to a strong start on their journey to
college and the workforce,” she said.
According to PARCC, the students scoring at Level 4 or 5, the top two performance categories,
are meeting or exceeding expectations. The scores suggest that students have a thorough
Central High School Building  359 North West Street  P.O. Box 771  Jackson, MS 39205-0771
Carey M. Wright, Ed.D., State Superintendent of Education
Office of Communications & Legislative Support
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR, Director of Communications *601-359-3706 *FAX: 601-359-3033
Jean Cook, Communications Specialist * 601-359-3519
understanding of grade-level content and are on the right track to being ready for college-level
coursework. Students scoring at Level 3 are approaching expectations and know a significant
amount of content, but may need additional assistance in mastering all aspects of the standards.
Students scoring a Level 1 or 2 need more assistance in learning the content and are in need of
greater supports.
The statewide results from PARCC provide parents and educators information on one measure
of determining whether students are learning what they need to learn. When combined with
student grades and teacher reports, annual assessments provide important information about
student progress.
Like the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Mississippi assessments now
require students to reach a higher bar than on former state tests. As with any change in
standards and assessments, there is a period of transition as students adjust to higher
expectations.
Mississippi
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Algebra I
English II
11.6%
11.6%
30.4%
15.8%
30.5%
23.3%
26.3%
36.6%
1.1%
12.8%
Test
Takers
40,536
32,498
School districts performed better on the English II assessment, with 61 districts exceeding the
state average in Levels 4 and 5. A study was conducted several years ago where Mississippi’s
previous English language arts (ELA) standards were compared to the more challenging
standards for college and careers.
“The differences were the higher standards placed a greater emphasis on writing and on reading
more complex texts. I think our teachers did a wonderful job of increasing the level of rigor in
ELA,” Wright said.
Almost 62 percent of students at Lafayette High School scored at Levels 4 and 5 on the English
II assessment. Marisa Atkinson, an English and Journalism teacher at Lafayette High School,
said her students read and studied rigorous texts in the form of nonfiction books, speeches,
classic literature and poetry.
“Within those texts we delved deeper into the meaning of words, ideas and purpose. My
students were also encouraged and challenged to think, analyze and argue. They were further
encouraged and challenged to express their thoughts in writing and to be able to support those
Central High School Building  359 North West Street  P.O. Box 771  Jackson, MS 39205-0771
Carey M. Wright, Ed.D., State Superintendent of Education
Office of Communications & Legislative Support
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR, Director of Communications *601-359-3706 *FAX: 601-359-3033
Jean Cook, Communications Specialist * 601-359-3519
thoughts and ideas. With such rigor, thinking and written expression taking place in the
classroom, hopefully students will be college and career ready,” Atkinson said.
In Algebra I, about 55 school districts met or exceeded the state average in Levels 4 and 5. An
alignment study between Mississippi’s previous math standards and standards for college and
careers showed the standards were significantly different.
Mississippi high school students were asked to apply their mathematical understanding in new
ways that they haven’t necessarily done before, Wright said.
“Mississippi’s current standards dive deeply into understanding math concepts at an early grade
and challenge students to think critically and apply their mathematical knowledge. They are
much more challenging than in previous years,” she said.
Wright commended districts for their efforts in identifying middle school students across the
state who could be successful in Algebra I. Teachers also evaluated the standards to locate gaps
in content and worked to provide content that would prepare middle school students for higher
standards.
Rankin County School District had three middle schools where more than 95 percent of students
met or exceeded expectations. Lavonda White, middle school math specialist in the Rankin
County School District, said teachers were diligent in preparing students for what was expected
of them.
“We asked our teachers to teach the college and career ready standards. We were told by MDE
that the assessment would assess the standards and that’s what we told our teachers. We
provided professional development sessions to give our teachers the resources they needed to
teach the standards deeply,” White said.
The MDE has offered numerous opportunities for professional development to teachers since
the standards were adopted five years ago. Wright said that with continued professional
development for teachers, students could move up to meeting expectations over time with the
proper support and assistance.
“We are continuing to support teachers across our districts through professional development
on the standards so that they can further strengthen instruction,” Wright said.
In the 2015-16 school-year, Mississippi will be administering the Mississippi Assessment
Program (MAP) – which will replace the PARCC test. MAP will continue to provide meaningful
Central High School Building  359 North West Street  P.O. Box 771  Jackson, MS 39205-0771
Carey M. Wright, Ed.D., State Superintendent of Education
Office of Communications & Legislative Support
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR, Director of Communications *601-359-3706 *FAX: 601-359-3033
Jean Cook, Communications Specialist * 601-359-3519
feedback to parents, teachers, and students and let them know students’ progress on the path to
college and careers.
“We remain committed to student success and anticipate a smooth transition because the
assessment will be aligned to the same standards for college and careers,” said Dr. J.P.
Beaudoin, MDE chief of research and development. “We will make sure our MAP assessments
provide critical information to students, teachers and parents.”
For more information about the new assessments, parents should visit
http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/MCCRS/parcc.
For additional information about the test scores, click here.
NEXT STEPS

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MDE plans to release results for grades 3-8 on Dec. 17.
Districts are scheduled to receive individual paper take-home reports for high school
students in November, while student score reports for elementary and middle school
students are expected to arrive in districts by early December.
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Central High School Building  359 North West Street  P.O. Box 771  Jackson, MS 39205-0771