Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Louisiana do better on math and reading in 4th and 8th grade tests than MD and VA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

Why do you need to retain them to get interventions?

[Anonymous]

That's probably because those states are all so racist that anyone who can afford it, sends their kids to private schools. Schools are still segregated in the South, people just have to pay for the privledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

MD hired Dr. Carey Wright, the current Maryland State Superintendent, who was the architect of Mississippi's successful reforms.

The reality is if you break the scores by race white students are tied, black students are slightly lower but Hispanic students are much lower.

Terrorizing their community and making it scary to go to school and leaving them without parents isn’t going to help the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

Why do you need to retain them to get interventions?

DP. You're assuming that every kid who is struggling is attending school and is trying their best. In many cases, the kids aren't trying and are frequently truant. Why would they or their families even care if they're below grade level, since there are no real consequences. If there's a threat of retention, kids may try harder and miss less school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

MD hired Dr. Carey Wright, the current Maryland State Superintendent, who was the architect of Mississippi's successful reforms.

The reality is if you break the scores by race white students are tied, black students are slightly lower but Hispanic students are much lower.

Terrorizing their community and making it scary to go to school and leaving them without parents isn’t going to help the issue.

Why are Asians always left out of these debates? In many cases Asian parents don't speak fluent English, haven't gone to school in America, nor are they affluent or even middle class. This was even more pronounced in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Yet, their kids outperform every group including UMC whites. Literacy is more than just some stereotype of non-white and/or poor. Pouring endless amounts of money or theories without fixing the roots of the problem isn't the answer. That money could be better used elsewhere or just not taxed into existence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

MD hired Dr. Carey Wright, the current Maryland State Superintendent, who was the architect of Mississippi's successful reforms.

The reality is if you break the scores by race white students are tied, black students are slightly lower but Hispanic students are much lower.

Terrorizing their community and making it scary to go to school and leaving them without parents isn’t going to help the issue.

Why are Asians always left out of these debates? In many cases Asian parents don't speak fluent English, haven't gone to school in America, nor are they affluent or even middle class. This was even more pronounced in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Yet, their kids outperform every group including UMC whites. Literacy is more than just some stereotype of non-white and/or poor. Pouring endless amounts of money or theories without fixing the roots of the problem isn't the answer. That money could be better used elsewhere or just not taxed into existence.

Not really. Huge levels of income inequality in this population. Looking at average academic performance in this population obscures the needs of Asian communities with lower incomes that are definitely struggling academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

Why do you need to retain them to get interventions?

It jolts the parents into paying attention and gives the kid more time for developmental maturity. 3rd grade is a critical reading turning point, and it’s a good idea for the kids to redshirt/redo. Then they let the kid advance whether it worked or not.

Judging by Mississippi’s test scores it seemed to work quite a bit.

As for comparing drop out rates, you do realize Mississippi has much higher poverty than the DMV? If you’re going to make excuses for Baltimore or DC due to poverty then Mississippi is playing with a similar hand. They’ve done well with what they’ve got.

[Anonymous]

😁 DMV is being run to the ground.

[Anonymous]

I keep reading that FCPS is a system in decline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep reading that FCPS is a system in decline.

I keep reading that trolls love to troll.

[Anonymous]

I was a third grade teacher for 8 years before moving on to middle school. It was amazing to me how many students could not read. I am talking about basic sight words. Retaining in third grade, to me, does not solve the problem. Students showed a consistent pattern of not being able to read in those foundational years of k-2. Hold them back then. Giving students intervention in third grade but they still have to meet the third grade standards for the year is so pointless. If they are reading on a kindergarten level in first, second and third, then they should have been held back in first. But we don’t do that. The go to is always, well let’s wait and see, they will catch up, the parents don’t agree so we have to move them on. Primary years are k-2 and intermediate years are 3-5. All students should have to test out of primary years before moving into the intermediate years or in other words, this grade. Children should be held back no more than two years with intensive interventions before deciding to move them on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

MD hired Dr. Carey Wright, the current Maryland State Superintendent, who was the architect of Mississippi's successful reforms.

The reality is if you break the scores by race white students are tied, black students are slightly lower but Hispanic students are much lower.

Terrorizing their community and making it scary to go to school and leaving them without parents isn’t going to help the issue.

Why are Asians always left out of these debates? In many cases Asian parents don't speak fluent English, haven't gone to school in America, nor are they affluent or even middle class. This was even more pronounced in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Yet, their kids outperform every group including UMC whites. Literacy is more than just some stereotype of non-white and/or poor. Pouring endless amounts of money or theories without fixing the roots of the problem isn't the answer. That money could be better used elsewhere or just not taxed into existence.

Not really. Huge levels of income inequality in this population. Looking at average academic performance in this population obscures the needs of Asian communities with lower incomes that are definitely struggling academically.

It's not income that's the distinguishing factor. Some Asian societies place more emphasis on education than others as a means of vertical mobility. It's why the performance strata cuts more significantly between origin and not socioeconomic class.

Asians aren't all the same and unfortunately the societal stereotypes hurt both ends of the Asian spectrum negatively at different points in time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Mississippi is

Highest scoring state 4th grade reading socially disadvantaged - 212
(Virginia 201 / MD 196 / MINN 197))

3rd highest states for Black Students - 206
(Virginia 199 / MD 201 / MINN 195)

Tied with Florida for highest scoring state for Hispanic Students - 215
(Virginia 198 / MD 198 / MINN 197)

LOL. Look it up. Mississippi held back a ton of kids and gave the test a year later.

While most states were allowing schools to teacher Lucy Calkins /balanced literacy junk, Mississippi mandated 10 years ago students had to be taught phonics. Then Mississippi began holding back students who couldn't read and gave them intensive reading intervention. There is nothing more important in elementary school than to learn to read. The results prove that it works.

Mississippi Retention Data: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 6% of third graders were retained, along with 8.2% of kindergarteners and 7.8% of first-graders. It is cruel to continually pass along students who are illiterate.

Move to Mississippi, then. See how that works out for you.

We should learn from Mississippi instead. They did well. No harm in admitting it.

You want to start retaining a lot of 3rd graders?

NP. If you retain them to get interventions so they can learn to read, rather than passing them to a grade where there's a lot of work they can't do, why is that bad?

+1 for a small group of targeted 3rd graders, this could be very beneficial. The key would be to identify which students would benefit and to increase capacity for the 3rd grade teachers and reading specialists serving these students.

I agree with PP. No harm in admitting that MS did well. The state of Maryland knew this in 2023 when they hired Carey Wright from Mississippi to be State Superintendent of Schools. If you want to learn more about Wright, watch this Planet Word event from last year.

Eyes on Reading: Maryland State Superintendent Carey Wright in Conversation with Emily Hanford
https://planetwordmuseum.org/events/eyes-on-reading-maryland-state-superintendent-carey-wright-in-conversation-with-emily-hanford/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how much of this could have to do with quickly getting kids back into school in person during Covid?

Unrelated to that.

It was the use of literacy curricula that do not work to teach reading. See the "Sold a story" podcast.

Nah, in many southern areas kids were only out of school for 6 weeks during covid.

It was the curriculum. Lucy Caulkins or whatever it was called. Left Va for a smaller area down south (red) and the education is 1,000x better. They still teach the basics and haven’t succumbed to woke BS. All we ever heard was how great LCPS was and found it to be lacking across the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how much of this could have to do with quickly getting kids back into school in person during Covid?

In my county in Florida kids were only home for about 4 weeks during Covid. Then almost everyone returned to school. This was common throughout the south.