Mississippi Board raises grading thresholds in statewide school accountability system

The Mississippi State Board of Education has approved new performance level thresholds for the A-F grading system used in the Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. These updated standards will be implemented for the 2025-26 school year and will be used to assign grades to schools and districts. The grades assigned for this upcoming period will serve as a new baseline, making them non-comparable with previous years' results.

The decision comes in response to state law, which requires that performance standards be raised when proficiency rates surpass 75% or when at least 65% of schools or districts receive a grade of "B" or higher. This threshold was reached in 2023, prompting the Mississippi Department of Education to initiate a process for resetting accountability benchmarks.

The process involved collaboration with the Accountability Task Force and a special standard setting committee facilitated by the Center for Assessment. The committee included district leaders, members of both legislative chambers, staff from legislative and gubernatorial offices, policy organization representatives, and members from both the Commission on School Accreditation and the State Board of Education. The group conducted multiple rounds of review to determine minimum performance thresholds—known as cut scores—needed for each letter grade.

The methodology incorporated established research techniques and input from various education experts and policymakers. Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced data were considered to ensure that the new standards reflect Mississippi’s educational goals.

"It is essential for states to continually raise expectations to ensure student achievement continues to improve," said Dr. Lance Evans, state superintendent of education. "The new standards are attainable goals, and as we meet them, we will raise the bar higher. States that do not increase their expectations see declines in student achievement. As Mississippi continues our educational marathon, we need to keep pushing toward higher goals."

Mississippi’s accountability grades are designed as tools for teachers, school leaders, parents, and communities to understand how well local schools are serving students. Schools accumulate points based on several factors: proficiency and growth rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics; progress among the lowest-performing students; science proficiency; English learner advancement; standardized test results such as ACT or SAT; advanced coursework participation; industry certifications; diploma endorsements; graduation rates; among others.

Elementary and middle schools can earn up to 700 points under this system while high schools can achieve up to 1,000 points. The newly approved cut score for an “A” grade has increased from 442 to 457 points out of 700 for elementary/middle schools and from 754 to 769 out of 1,000 points for high schools.

All members of the standard setting committee supported the process used in determining these recommendations.