Schools Get Another Break on Letter Grades

By Jeff Amy/Associated Press

JACKSON – State officials say Mississippi’s public schools will get another year where they get to keep high grades even though test scores indicate lower ratings.

In a news release Wednesday, the state Department of Education said that federal guidelines include a “pause” in state grading systems for one year because of the switch to new tests in most states.

The grades that were assigned in Mississippi last fall had a similar provision, where grades only changed if schools improved, because the state was using its old tests even though schools had switched over to teaching material based on the Common Core State Standards.

Officials have warned that they expect scores to drop sharply under the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests that Mississippi will give this spring.