The Webster County School District and all county schools have earned a B rating under the state’s letter grading system.
The accountability ratings reflect tests taken during the 2018-19 school year. The results were released Sept. 17 by the Mississippi Department of Education and formally approved by the state Board of Education Thursday.
The grades show a three-year trend of continuous school and district improvement, according to an MDE release.
The WCSD and all four of its schools — Eupora Elementary, Eupora High, East Webster Elementary and East Webster High — received B ratings.
The district and all of its schools except one maintained their B ratings from the 2017-18 school year. Eupora High School improved a letter grade from a C rating, which itself was a decline from a B the previous year.
Having a B district is a team effort, according to Webster County Schools Superintendent Brian Jones.
“I am very proud of our students, teachers and administrators for their accomplishments this past year,” Jones said. “Everyone worked so hard to increase student achievement. We will continue to work hard and look at areas to improve and also celebrate areas that we did very well in.”
Graduation,
dropout rates
Accountability grades for high schools and districts include the four-year graduation rate, student performance on biology, U.S. history and ACT tests, and student participation and performance in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement and dual credit/dual enrollment courses.
According to MDE data, the Webster County School District’s four-year high school graduation rate is 89.8%, which is the 20th highest in the state and up slightly from 89%. The district’s dropout rate fell from 7.9% to 4.4%.
The statewide graduation rate was 84% and the statewide dropout rose was 10.1%.
Area ratings
School districts in bordering counties received these performance ratings:
• Calhoun County School District: C
• Chickasaw County School District: D
• Houston School District: B
• Choctaw County School District: B
• Grenada School District: B
• Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District: C
• West Point Consolidated School District: C
• Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District: D (after its first year of consolidation
The best scoring school district in Mississippi was Petal and the worst scoring school district was Yazoo City, which is part of the state’s achievement district.
Wright’s comments
The state Education Board set a goal in 2016 that all schools and districts be rated C or higher. Since that time, the percentage of schools meeting this goal has risen from 62.4% in 2016 to 73.5% in 2019. The percentage of districts meeting the goal has increased from 62.2% to 69.7%.
Over the same period, the number of schools and districts earning an A has more than doubled, with A-rated schools jumping from 88 to 196, and A-rated districts increasing from 14 to 31.
Among the 140 districts and five charter schools, 46 increased their letter grade from 2017-18 to 2018-19. Among the state’s 877 schools, 258 increased their letter grade from last year.
“Mississippi schools and districts are achieving at higher levels each year, and their grades demonstrate how well they are serving the children in their classrooms,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education.
“I am extremely proud of our students and their families and every teacher, staff member and leader who work hard every day in our schools and districts across the state. Together, families, communities and educators are preparing students to be successful in college, the workforce and life.”
MAAP achievement
Mississippi’s A-F accountability system evaluates how well schools and districts are performing each year. Accountability grades are based, in part, on how well students perform and progress from year to year on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program tests for English language arts and mathematics.
The tests are aligned to the Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards and are administered annually to students in grades 3-8 and in high school. Overall, students showed statistically significant gains in both ELA and mathematics from 2017-18 to 2018-19.
“Student achievement on MAAP reached an all-time high in 2018-19 because teachers are challenging students to achieve at a higher level,” Wright said. “I am a firm believer that students can and will achieve more when they are challenged and supported by great teachers who help them meet higher expectations.”
The accountability system places an emphasis on the progress students make in ELA and mathematics from year to year, particularly the lowest-performing 25% of students, and factors in how well students perform on science tests in grades 5 and 8.
Wright said the department plans to release a more detailed review of accountability results broken down by subgroups like race and disability status at the board’s October meeting
