Mississippi schools and districts will earn new grades for the first time since 2019 when the Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) approves accountability grades Thursday, Sept. 29, for the 2021-22 school year. The grades reflect how student achievement has improved after declining during the early part of the pandemic.

Approximately 81 percent of schools and 87 percent of districts will be rated C or higher for the 2021-22 school year. Though overall grades appear to have improved since 2019, state officials advise caution when interpreting score changes between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 school years. In particular, substantial shifts in performance may be temporarily influenced by factors associated with pandemic disruptions.

“The pandemic not only disrupted teaching and learning, it also impacted the state’s accountability system that evaluates the effectiveness of schools and districts,” said Dr. Kim Benton, state superintendent of education, interim. “While we are encouraged by the tremendous growth, it is especially important this year to look at all the components that make up each school and district grade to get a complete picture of student growth and achievement.”

Jefferson Davis County School District had an overall accountability score of 594 out of 700. This is the equivalent to the performance level “C” based on the Mississippi Department of Education’s data release

“Students, faculty, and staff are to be celebrated by our entire community for their zealous performance on the 2022 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) assessments,” said Jefferson Davis County Superintendent Ike Haynes. The district is six points away from being a ‘B’ district.

“Our results indicate the intense work and dedication exhibited by our students and instructional staff throughout the 2021-2022 school year. Despite challenges such as COVID-19, Jefferson Davis County Schools persevered, which is a clear indication that we are blazing the right academic path to continue to improve student achievement.”

Both elementary schools in the district , J. E. Johnson and G. W. Carver scored a C, as did Jefferson Davis County High School.

“As the leader of our great school district, this data has ignited an immeasurable motivation within me to continue to steer our district in the necessary direction to achieve its highest academic rating in the future, an ‘A’ performance level .”

Mississippi’s schools and districts are graded on an A-F scale. The grades are part of the state’s accountability system, which helps teachers, school leaders, parents and communities know how well their local schools and districts are serving their students.

The calculation of the state’s A-F accountability grades relies heavily on the amount of progress students make in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics from one year to the next, particularly the lowest performing 25 percent of students.

Overall, students made significant progress between 2020-21 and 2021-22, as schools focused on accelerating learning after the first year of the pandemic.

In addition, the passing requirements for high school Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History assessments were waived in 2020-21, which will affect the graduation rate until all students who tested under the waivers graduate.