{"id":3214,"date":"2025-01-29T08:49:28","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T14:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/?p=3214"},"modified":"2025-01-30T14:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T20:42:09","slug":"mississippi-4th-graders-no-1-in-the-nation-for-naep-gains-over-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/2025\/01\/29\/mississippi-4th-graders-no-1-in-the-nation-for-naep-gains-over-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Mississippi 4th graders No. 1 in the nation for NAEP gains over time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For Immediate Release: January 29, 2025<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mississippi 4th graders No. 1 in the nation for NAEP gains over time<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Rising scores follow state\u2019s major education reforms enacted in 2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3215 aligncenter\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2025\/01\/news20250129-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2025\/01\/news20250129-1.png 584w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2025\/01\/news20250129-1-300x221.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Mississippi\u2019s 2024 NAEP highlights:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Highest-ever<\/strong> rate of students scoring <strong>proficient or advanced<\/strong> in <strong>all<\/strong> <strong>four tests<\/strong>: 4th and 8th grade reading and math<\/li>\n<li><strong>No. 1 <\/strong>in the nation for achieving <strong>highest score increases<\/strong> in <strong>4th grade reading and math<\/strong> since 2013<\/li>\n<li><strong>No. 9<\/strong> in the nation for <strong>overall 4th grade<\/strong> <strong>reading scores<\/strong> and <strong>No. 16<\/strong> for <strong>4th grade math scores <\/strong>(up from No. 49 and No. 50 in 2013)\n<ul>\n<li><strong>African American <\/strong>4th graders rank <strong>No. 3<\/strong> among their peers nationally for <strong>reading<\/strong> <strong>and<\/strong> <strong>math<\/strong> <strong>scores<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Hispanic <\/strong>4th graders rank <strong>No.<\/strong> <strong>1<\/strong> among their peers nationally for <strong>reading scores<\/strong> and <strong>No. 2<\/strong> for <strong>math<\/strong> <strong>scores<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Economically disadvantaged<\/strong> 4th graders rank <strong>No. 1<\/strong> in the nation among their peers in reading and <strong>No. 2 <\/strong>for math.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>8th grade<\/strong> <strong>scores<\/strong> hold steady since 2013 as scores nationally dropped<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mississippi is one of only 13 states with gains in 4th grade math<\/strong>, which is the only subject and grade nationally that showed statistically significant improvements since 2022<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>JACKSON, Miss. \u2013 The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results show Mississippi 4th graders lead the nation for gains over time, ranking No. 1 for score improvements in reading and math since 2013. Over the same period, Mississippi 8th graders held steady in reading and math as scores nationally dropped.<\/p>\n<p>The 2024 NAEP results also show Mississippi\u2019s highest rates of students scoring proficient or advanced in all four tested grades and subjects. Known as the Nation\u2019s Report Card, NAEP measures student performance in 4th and 8th grade reading and math in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. NAEP is administered every two years.<\/p>\n<p>Mississippi is one of only 13 states with gains in 4th grade math, which is the only subject and grade nationally that showed statistically significant improvements since 2022. The percentage of Mississippi 4th graders scoring proficient or advanced in math increased from 32% in 2022 to 38% in 2024, which is statistically tied to the 2024 national rate.<\/p>\n<p>Mississippi 4th graders continue to stand out in reading, with the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced reaching 32%, higher than the national rate of 30%. Only one state, Massachusetts, achieved higher 4th grade reading scores than Mississippi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 2024 results prove that the education reforms the state has been implementing over the past decade work. They also validate the historic gains Mississippi students first showed in 2019,\u201d said Dr. Lance Evans, state superintendent of education. \u201cWhen we keep academic standards high, focus intensely on literacy, and ensure a strong accountability system for schools and districts, student achievement improves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mississippi enacted three major education reform laws in 2013 that established the state\u2019s first state-funded pre-K program, made reading instruction a major focus in pre-K through grade 3, and mandated that schools and districts earn annual A-F grades based on their students\u2019 progress and achievement. At that time, Mississippi 4th graders ranked No. 49 in the nation for NAEP reading scores and No. 50 for NAEP math. Today, NAEP\u2019s unrounded rankings show Mississippi 4th grade reading scores rank No. 9 in the nation and 4th grade math scores rank No. 16.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, African American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged Mississippi 4th graders outperform their peers nationally. African American students rank No. 3 in the nation for reading and math scores, Hispanic students rank No. 1 for reading and No. 2 for math, and economically disadvantaged 4th graders rank No. 1 in reading and No. 2 for math.<\/p>\n<p>As Mississippi 4th graders score at or above the national average, 8th graders continue to score below the national average.<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, Mississippi 8th grade scores ranked No. 50 for reading and No. 49 for math. In 2024, 8th grade scores rank No. 41 for reading and No. 35 for math.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile Mississippi has made tremendous progress, we need to build upon our momentum to close achievement gaps and ensure all students are proficient,\u201d Evans said. \u201cWe have more work to do, particularly in middle school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Mississippi Department of Education&#8217;s (MDE) latest initiatives to boost student achievement include deploying math coaches to strengthen classroom instruction and providing educators support to identify and implement high-quality instructional materials. The math coaching initiative mirrors MDE&#8217;s proven literacy coach model, which has demonstrated success in improving student outcomes. MDE is also launching an adolescent literacy initiative targeted to improving outcomes in grades 4-8.<\/p>\n<p>NAEP scores have been falling over the past decade in most states. Despite this national trend, Mississippi is one of only a few states with improved NAEP scores over the past decade.<\/p>\n<p>Mississippi\u2019s statewide assessments support the state\u2019s NAEP results. Student achievement has improved steadily since the current state assessments were first administered in 2016. Since that time, the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced on state assessments increased from 32.6% to 47.8% in English Language Arts and from 31.1% to 56.3% in math.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3216\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2025\/01\/news20250129-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"653\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2025\/01\/news20250129-2.png 653w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2025\/01\/news20250129-2-300x244.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 653px) 100vw, 653px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>View <a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2025\/01\/NAEPRankings-OnePager-2025-0115-JC-v02.pdf\"><u>document<\/u><\/a> that highlights Mississippi&#8217;s 2024 NAEP results<\/p>\n<p>View national NAEP results: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationsreportcard.gov\/\"><u>nationsreportcard.gov<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Find all MDE news releases at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/category\/news\/\"><u>mdek12.org\/news<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">###<\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jean Cook, APR<br \/>\nChief of Communication<br \/>\n601-359-3515<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:jcook@mdek12.org\">jcook@mdek12.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Shanderia Minor<br \/>\nPublic Information Officer<br \/>\n601-359-3515<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:sminor@mdek12.org\">sminor@mdek12.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JACKSON, Miss. \u2013 The 2024 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) results show Mississippi 4th graders lead the nation for gains over time, ranking No. 1 for score improvements in reading and math since 2013. Over the same period, Mississippi 8th graders held steady in reading and math as scores nationally dropped.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3214"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3237,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214\/revisions\/3237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}