WINONA – The Mississippi Department of Education released results of last spring’s Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP), which measures student performance in Mississippi’s public schools. Results showed a drop statewide in student proficiency levels in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA), a drop state officials are attributing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statewide proficiency levels dropped 12.3 percent in mathematics and 6.7 percent in ELA. The last time Mississippi students took state assessments were in 2019, since the 2020 school year was cut short due to the pandemic.
“The disruption and stress caused by COVID-19 has had an impact on student performance in every state in the country and the impact has been more marked in mathematics than in English Language Arts,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “I am proud of the way Mississippi students, families, teachers, and school leaders persevered through the most challenging school year of their lives.”
Due to COVID disruptions, third grade students were not required to make a passing score on the reading assessment to be promoted to fourth grade, however, students still had to meet all other district requirements for promotion. Students who took required end-of-course high school assessments including Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History were not required to meet a passing score by the state department.
For students in the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District, the 2020-2021 school year was extremely challenging, with part of the school year using a hybrid system of face-to-face instruction and remote learning. Although the district was never forced to close schools due to a widespread outbreak of COVID-19, students and teachers dealt with quarantines due to exposure to the virus throughout the school year. In addition, classes were canceled for more than a week due to winter weather in February.
WMCSD students performed well on state assessments in a year where teaching and learning was frequently interrupted by issues related to the COVID-19 global pandemic,” Jackson stated in her weekly column. “We are proud to share that all tested areas scored within five points of the state average with the exception of one grade in science. Students in third and sixth grade math scored higher than the state average. It is important to keep in mind that public schools are required to test students in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics in grades 3 through 8; in the high school subject areas of Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and U. S. History; on the ACT; and in Career and Technical classes.”
Student performance is graded by five levels: Level 1 (minimal) and Level 2 (basic) are considered failing SCORES. A passing score is Level 3 (passing), Level 4 (proficient), or Level 5 (advanced).
At Winona Elementary School, 54.6 percent of third graders received a passing score for ELA, while 66.3 percent of them passed the mathematics assessment. In fourth grade, 50.7 percent of students passed the ELA assessment, while 53.4 percent passed the mathematics assessment.
In fifth grade, 69.2 percent of students earned passing scores in ELA, while 67.8 percent earned passing scores in mathematics. Fifty-one percent of sixth graders earned passing scores in ELA, while 66.1 percent of students earned passing scores in mathematics.
At Winona Secondary School, 50 percent of seventh graders passed the ELA assessment, and 79.5 percent of them passed the mathematics assessment. In eighth grade, 65.7 percent of students passed the ELA assessment, while 50.5 percent of eighth graders earned passing marks on the mathematics assessment.
For students taking Algebra I in 2020-2021, 66.4 percent of students passed the assessment. For those taking English II, 46.4 percent of students passed the state exam.
“This year’s statewide assessments provide valuable information about the impact of the pandemic on learning and will help identify where accelerated learning opportunities for students are most needed,” Wright said.
This year, the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District is back to traditional in-person instruction, while adhering to COVID-19 protocols like mandatory mask use for all students and teachers as well as social distancing.
