10/15/2026
The Mississippi Department of Education has released accountability ratings for the 2025-2026 school year. As expected, a number of school districts saw their ratings drop by a letter grade, even in some districts where proficiency rates improved. This is because, in compliance with state law, the public school accountability bar was raised this year, requiring higher scores for schools and districts to be labeled A, B, C, or D.
This year, under the new, more rigorous standards, 82.4% of school districts and 79.7% of schools are rated C or better, with 31 school districts rated A and 44 rated B. Charter schools continue to struggle, with only one rated C and the rest rated D or F.
It’s important for parents and communities to understand that this year’s accountability ratings can’t be compared to past years’ ratings, because they are based on a different standard.
It’s like comparing the grades of students who took the same test at the same school but in different years with different grading scales. Say, in Year One, grades of 90 to 100 were considered an A. In Year Two, grades of 95 to 100 earned an A. If both students answered 94 percent of the test questions correctly, the Year One student would have earned an A and the Year Two student a B. The students’ academic performance was the same, but the grades required for an A were different.
You can see a fuller explanation of the increase in standards in an opinion column I authored recently, and you can find this year's ratings for schools and school districts here: https://tpcref.org/school-accountability-ratings-by-year/
The more rigorous accountability requirement came about because of the impressive performance of Mississippi’s public school teachers and students, and because state law demands that students are given new challenges when their academic progress begins to peak. Specifically, state law requires that state academic standards be raised when 65% of public schools or school districts are rated a B or higher. Mississippi’s public schools crossed that threshold in 2023.
Impressive academic gains are nothing new in Mississippi. In fourth-grade reading, Mississippi students’ achievement growth has consistently outpaced that of most other states in the U.S. since assessment scores were first compared in 1992. Those gains have been most pronounced following an increase in resources.
We are proud of our public school teachers and students whose hard work over the course of several decades has earned Mississippi national recognition for our public schools' impressive student achievement! That success is paying dividends for all Mississippians in better job opportunities, higher salaries, and stronger communities.
I am thankful, too, for the work you are doing to ensure that our public schools have the resources and support they need to remain strong and continue their march toward excellence. What a blessing!
Gratefully,
Nancy Loome, Executive Director
