Statewide Assessment Results Show Impact of Pandemic Disruptions The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) released statewide results from the 2020-2021 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) in September, which provided the first statewide measure of student performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time since MAAP tests were first administered in 2016, student proficiency decreased in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA). Students were last tested in 2019 and reached an all-time high for proficiency in mathematics and ELA. Statewide proficiency levels fell in all grades except grade 8 ELA, which increased 0.1% (35.6%) since 2019 (35.5%).
environments to all students, including full-time virtual learners who took assessments at schools. The overall participation rate for assessments was 96.9%, close to the 98-99% rates of previous years.
Due to COVID disruptions, grade 3 students were not required to meet a passing score on the reading assessment to be promoted to grade 4. “The disruption and stress caused Students still had to meet all by COVID-19 has had an impact on other district requirements student performance in every state for promotion. Students who took required endin the country and the impact has of-course high school been more marked in mathematics assessments, including than in English Language Arts. I Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History, were not am proud of the way Mississippi required to meet a passing students, families, teachers and score. Students had their school year cut short in spring 2020 when
school leaders persevered through the most challenging school year of their lives.”
MAAP measures students’ progress toward academic goals that equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college and the workforce. MAAP measures student performance in ELA and mathematics in grades 3-8 and in high school English II and Algebra I. Mississippi teachers helped develop MAAP tests, which align with the learning goals for Mississippi classrooms.
“The disruption and stress caused by COVID-19 has had an impact on student performance in every state in the country and the impact has been more marked in mathematics than in English Language Arts,” said Dr. Carey Wright, the state School Focus
superintendent of education. “I am proud of the way Mississippi students, families, teachers and school leaders persevered through the most challenging school year of their lives.”
- Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education
the pandemic shut down school buildings in Mississippi and the U.S. Though most Mississippi students had access to in-person learning most of the 2020-2021 school year, hybrid learning, quarantining and numerous weather-related school building closures created obstacles to teaching and learning. The MDE provided districts pandemic-related flexibilities to administer the assessments. Schools provided safe testing 8
“This year’s statewide assessments provide valuable information about the impact of the pandemic on learning and will help identify where accelerated learning opportunities for students are most needed,” Wright said.
Though overall statewide proficiency levels dropped, proficiency levels did not drop in every grade, subject and school. Notably, Ocean Springs School District (OSSD) improved its districtwide ELA proficiency level since 2019. “For our students to show continued growth and improved proficiency during such a difficult time in their lives is such an outstanding accomplishment,” said Dr. Bonita Coleman, superintendent Spring 2022
