Ocean Springs, Stone County lead state in third-grade reading test scores
More elementary school students passed the third-grade reading test this year than last, according to results released Thursday by the Mississippi Department of Education, but a new test was used this year.
The Literacy-Based Promotion Act, passed in 2013, requires third-graders to pass a reading assessment to show they are ready for fourth grade.
The percentage of students with passing grades statewide increased 5 points from last year — from 87 to 92 percent, according to MDE. Last year, the rate rose 2 percentage points from 85 percent in 2014-15.
On the Coast, most districts surpassed the statewide rate. Six of the 15 South Mississippi school districts had 95 percent of students or more pass the test.
The Ocean Springs and Stone County school districts were in the top 10 performing districts in the state. Every elementary school in both districts had at least 95 percent of students with passing grades. MDE did not release exact percentages for schools with a 95 percent or higher passing rate, but did for those with lower percentages.
Third-grade students in the Gulfport, Jackson County, Pass Christian and PascagoulaGautier school districts also had a 95 percent or more pass rate.
The Biloxi, Harrison County, Long Beach and Picayune school districts were close behind with 94 or 95 percent of students passing.
Every South Mississippi school district except Hancock County and Moss Point had a higher pass rate than the state as a whole.
Hancock County was only 0.1 percent lower, at 91.9 percent. Moss Point had an 86.8 percent passing rate, the lowest on the Coast.
Other than Stone County and Ocean Springs, Jackson County and Picayune were the only other Coast districts with most of their schools at or above 95 percent passing.
The state requires a student who fails — or scores at the lowest achievement level — to repeat third grade unless the student meets a good-cause exemption. Next year, the state will require that students score above the lowest two achievement levels in order to move on to the fourth grade, instead of just the very lowest level.
This school year, the reading portion of the Mississippi Assessment Program English Language Arts was used to determine third-grade promotion. In the previous two school years, a reading test developed by Renaissance Learning was used. Both tests assess the Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards of reading for foundational skills, informational text, literature and language, MDE said.
Students are given three opportunities to pass the test. Those who did not pass the first test will be retested this week. The final retest opportunity will take place between June 26 and Aug. 4.
Test measures Mississippi third-graders’ reading skillsIn this January, 2015, video, Jeff Davis Elementary School third-grade teachers talk about what was then the new state reading proficiency requirement for third-grade students to advance.