The Mississippi Department of Education released official state accountability results for districts and schools on Tuesday, September 17th.

In Mississippi, public schools and districts follow Mississippi’s accountability model to measure student performance in the areas of English-Language Arts, Mathematics, Science (grades 5 and 8 as well as Biology I), and U.S. History as well as acceleration (Advanced Placement courses and Dual Credit college courses), college and career readiness (ACT and ACT Workkeys), graduation rate, and English Learner performance.

These indicators mainly come from state tests given to students in grades 3-8 as well as Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and U.S. History in high school. Districts and schools get points from proficiency and growth in the model. Once tabulated, results are publicized by an assigned letter grade for both schools and districts.

This year, the Tishomingo County School District earned a “B” rating in the accountability model.

“While we have earned an ‘A’ rating for the past 5 years, this year we fell short by 7 points,” explained Superintendent Christie Holly. “We had schools whose scores improved as well as some whose scores declined. Overall, the performance areas that fell the most were in growth of students, particularly in the low 25%,” Holly said.

Students receive a score by levels of proficiency as well as levels of growth.

“An issue we are seeing is because we have done well in the past, we have high performing students in some schools that are actually in the low 25% due to great past academic performance. I know that doesn’t seem possible, but it is happening in several of our schools. So we are working hard to find ways to continue to grow students who are doing well in the classroom and on the tests,” Holly explained. “This issue isn’t just affecting us. Our neighbors in Booneville are experiencing it as well. While the state’s proficiency increased, many of our schools and districts in our area had overall scores decrease because of the growth component. This is a growth model, so even though we have good proficiency in several areas, we must work to continue to grow our students from year to year to get the results we want.”

Here are the accountability rankings for the TCSD and its schools:

TCSD – B (last year A)

Belmont School – B (last year A)

Burnsville School – D (last year C)

Iuka Elementary School – A (last year B)

Iuka Middle School – C (last year B)

TCHS – A (last year A)

Tishomingo School – B (last year C)

Holly said, “We have great teachers, staff, students, and leaders in our district. We understand this is a snapshot of student performance, and we have identified areas in which we know we must do better. Test scores are just one component of our schools. Our people work tirelessly each day to make sure our kids not only learn but are safe, loved, and appreciated. To me, that is one of the bigger parts of what truly matters in our schools.”