[…]
Rachel Canter, one of the experts, directs education policy for the Progressive Policy Institute. She wrote a paper documenting changes over the last 20 years. Although the “Mississippi miracle” is associated with the rise in reading scores, the state has also boosted math scores as part of larger reforms.
“It’s a bigger story,” she said. The state met the national average in reading in 2019 and has exceeded it since COVID-19, a time when many states have struggled, but fourth- and eighth-grade math scores also now exceed the national average.
“If you adjust these data for our demographics, Mississippi is No. 1 in the country at both fourth- and eighth-grade math, and at fourth-grade reading, and we’re No. 4 in eighth-grade reading,” she said.
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