In Reply to: Look at the reading scores. MS scraping the bottom of the barrel... posted by Born2BBruin on May 13, 2026 at 08:56:35
First, let's make sure we're not slipping into the chatboard tactic of claiming someone said something they didn't, and then arguing against what someone didn't say.
I said that Mississippi being 50th in education is old news. I didn't say Mississippi is great. And, for reference, I said compare Mississippi to California. In 4th grade reading, Mississippi's NEAP score for 2024 was 219 (9th in the country), California's was 212 (39th in the country) Mississippi placed 30 spots higher than California. This should link to reading scores for 4th grade for 2024. If you go to that page, make sure it's 2024 4th grade reading.
https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/profiles/stateprofile?sfj=NP&chort=1&sub=RED&sj=&st=MN&year=2024R3
For 8th grade reading, Mississippi drops to 40th. CA is 37th.
Not so stellar for Mississippi. But, again, pretty comparable to CA. And, what I said was Mississippi is not 50th in education.
This site doesn't have data for most states for 12th grade. If you have data, please post it.
If you're interested, here's the wikipedia article on what has hyperbolically been dubbed the Mississippi Miracle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Miracle
Here's a link to a recent essay in the Atlantic. It's blocked, but the first paragraph or so is readable, if you don't subscribe to the Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/mississippi-education-miracle/686731/
Both the Atlantic article and the Wikipedia entry talk about "1st if you adjust for demographics." I'm not making that assertion. Don't come back here saying "you said they're first" I haven't I said they're not last. And, I said compare the scores to California.