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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public schools make it very hard to retain a child. I’m assuming it’s money but I don’t know all the reasons. It’s HARD.

Mississippi does not merely retain students unable to read. Those retained students are given extensive special literacy teaching supplements to get them caught up.

[Anonymous]

I copied this in elementary forum but too much reading I think.

The way it was written here I got confused and thought the states listed were the only ones who adjusted scores. In 2022 all NAEP scores have been adjusted accounting for demographics, gender, age, race, ethnicity, special ed, low income. Incredibly Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Texas rose to the top. Massachusetts is still the GOAT, number one for 20 years.


In order to compare states in a fair way, the NAEP scores have been adjusted, accounting for differences in student demographics, including gender, age, race or ethnicity, receipt of free and reduced-price lunch, special education status, and English language learner status. In using this new way to score, top-ranking states across the four tests are Massachusetts, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

Scores increased with the NAEP adjusted for the degree of student disadvantages in the state. Mississippi has been widely recognized for its rapid climb to 1st in the country in 4th-grade reading on this adjusted new way to score. While Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana have improved they still have a long way to go to compete with the top states.

Massachusetts has been the top-scoring state in both 4th- and 8th-grade reading and math for more than 2 decades, ranking 1st in both adjusted and unadjusted scores in 8th-grade reading in 2024—meaning that it outscores other states both overall and when student demographics are taken into account.

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/improving-student-achievement-what-red-and-blue-states-are-doing-right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools make it very hard to retain a child. I’m assuming it’s money but I don’t know all the reasons. It’s HARD.

Mississippi does not merely retain students unable to read. Those retained students are given extensive special literacy teaching supplements to get them caught up.

Which could be given without retaining the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I copied this in elementary forum but too much reading I think.

The way it was written here I got confused and thought the states listed were the only ones who adjusted scores. In 2022 all NAEP scores have been adjusted accounting for demographics, gender, age, race, ethnicity, special ed, low income. Incredibly Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Texas rose to the top. Massachusetts is still the GOAT, number one for 20 years.


In order to compare states in a fair way, the NAEP scores have been adjusted, accounting for differences in student demographics, including gender, age, race or ethnicity, receipt of free and reduced-price lunch, special education status, and English language learner status. In using this new way to score, top-ranking states across the four tests are Massachusetts, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

Scores increased with the NAEP adjusted for the degree of student disadvantages in the state. Mississippi has been widely recognized for its rapid climb to 1st in the country in 4th-grade reading on this adjusted new way to score. While Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana have improved they still have a long way to go to compete with the top states.

Massachusetts has been the top-scoring state in both 4th- and 8th-grade reading and math for more than 2 decades, ranking 1st in both adjusted and unadjusted scores in 8th-grade reading in 2024—meaning that it outscores other states both overall and when student demographics are taken into account.

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/improving-student-achievement-what-red-and-blue-states-are-doing-right

“Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey all undertook major reforms of their school finance systems several decades ago—increasing funding for schools and equalizing funds to bring more resources to districts serving higher-need students—and all saw dramatic gains in achievement with reductions in achievement gaps within a decade thereafter.”

“Connecticut was the first state to leverage major changes in teacher salaries, preparation, and ongoing training as part of its funding strategy, along with a major literacy initiative rooted in a comprehensive view of the science of reading, and a significant curriculum effort in other subjects as new standards were adopted.

Massachusetts tackled new standards, curriculum, and assessments focused on 21st-century learning goals in a major way, adopting rigorous expectations and tests requiring open-ended responses demonstrating critical thinking and writing skills. Like Connecticut, it developed a comprehensive literacy approach long before a science of reading conversation swept the country, coupled with more rigorous preparation for teachers. And it launched statewide preschool and child health initiatives. Connecticut and Massachusetts were also pioneers in developing strong supports for students with special education needs and, later, for English learners.“


Compared to VA which has historically underfunded its schools (legacy Jim Crow policies).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I copied this in elementary forum but too much reading I think.

The way it was written here I got confused and thought the states listed were the only ones who adjusted scores. In 2022 all NAEP scores have been adjusted accounting for demographics, gender, age, race, ethnicity, special ed, low income. Incredibly Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Texas rose to the top. Massachusetts is still the GOAT, number one for 20 years.


In order to compare states in a fair way, the NAEP scores have been adjusted, accounting for differences in student demographics, including gender, age, race or ethnicity, receipt of free and reduced-price lunch, special education status, and English language learner status. In using this new way to score, top-ranking states across the four tests are Massachusetts, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

Scores increased with the NAEP adjusted for the degree of student disadvantages in the state. Mississippi has been widely recognized for its rapid climb to 1st in the country in 4th-grade reading on this adjusted new way to score. While Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana have improved they still have a long way to go to compete with the top states.

Massachusetts has been the top-scoring state in both 4th- and 8th-grade reading and math for more than 2 decades, ranking 1st in both adjusted and unadjusted scores in 8th-grade reading in 2024—meaning that it outscores other states both overall and when student demographics are taken into account.

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/improving-student-achievement-what-red-and-blue-states-are-doing-right

“Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey all undertook major reforms of their school finance systems several decades ago—increasing funding for schools and equalizing funds to bring more resources to districts serving higher-need students—and all saw dramatic gains in achievement with reductions in achievement gaps within a decade thereafter.”

“Connecticut was the first state to leverage major changes in teacher salaries, preparation, and ongoing training as part of its funding strategy, along with a major literacy initiative rooted in a comprehensive view of the science of reading, and a significant curriculum effort in other subjects as new standards were adopted.

Massachusetts tackled new standards, curriculum, and assessments focused on 21st-century learning goals in a major way, adopting rigorous expectations and tests requiring open-ended responses demonstrating critical thinking and writing skills. Like Connecticut, it developed a comprehensive literacy approach long before a science of reading conversation swept the country, coupled with more rigorous preparation for teachers. And it launched statewide preschool and child health initiatives. Connecticut and Massachusetts were also pioneers in developing strong supports for students with special education needs and, later, for English learners.“


Compared to VA which has historically underfunded its schools (legacy Jim Crow policies).

True. I think it’s Utah that created a system where every town has equal funding which helped small towns with no commercial base and low property values.

If a state like Mississippi can greatly improve their students accomplishments, a state that you know hasn’t cleaned up their Jim Crow policies, then every state can do it.

That’s why we could use a federal Department of Education. They could oversee all of the states progress. They could look into seeing how Mississippi got their tests scores increased and how it could help other states.

Look at Massachusetts and see how their student’s tests scores have been the highest over a 20 year period. Money helps but it’s not all that matters.

Between low property values in Mississippi and corruption from top government leaders stealing and misappropriating funds meant for low income residents, they made the changes with very little money. These changes can be made in states that have dropped in the amount of students in the top categories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools make it very hard to retain a child. I’m assuming it’s money but I don’t know all the reasons. It’s HARD.

Mississippi does not merely retain students unable to read. Those retained students are given extensive special literacy teaching supplements to get them caught up.

Which could be given without retaining the child.

4th grade is "reading to learn", so promoting a student who cannot read sets the student up for guaranteed failure at 4th grade. Not helpful.

Note also that Mississippi's primary change was to their literacy curriculum, not the retention aspect:

a) intensify literacy education starting in K with letters, numbers, and introduction of Phonics

and

b) change the literacy curriculum state-wide from Lucy Calkins to Science of Reading. (Hint: this change alone is known to be the biggest impact)

[Anonymous]

anonymous wrote:Massachusetts has been the top-scoring state in both 4th- and 8th-grade reading and math for more than 2 decades, ranking 1st in both adjusted and unadjusted scores in 8th-grade reading in 2024—meaning that it outscores other states both overall and when student demographics are taken into account.

Massachusetts does many things right.

Another factor in their success is that most school districts are smaller, meaning that school district leadership cannot hide either failures or successes from the parents. Smaller district size is not a panacea but it helps with accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

anonymous wrote:Massachusetts has been the top-scoring state in both 4th- and 8th-grade reading and math for more than 2 decades, ranking 1st in both adjusted and unadjusted scores in 8th-grade reading in 2024—meaning that it outscores other states both overall and when student demographics are taken into account.

Massachusetts does many things right.

Another factor in their success is that most school districts are smaller, meaning that school district leadership cannot hide either failures or successes from the parents. Smaller district size is not a panacea but it helps with accountability.

Massachusetts is also very wealthy and small. Even the “rural” areas are fairly well off.

[Anonymous]

Here's a podcast from NY Times discussing the Mississippi miracle:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/podcasts/the-daily/mississippi-schools-test-scores.html

For the most part it's very positive. In addition to what's already been mentioned, they also hired a cadre of literary coaches that they sent to the classrooms to assist the teachers in class. They expanded preschools. They somehow managed to do both without significantly impacting their budget.