WASHINGTON (April 9, 2026) — Throughout the country, Americans are talking about the “Mississippi Miracle” in which the Magnolia State jumped from the bottom of both math and reading NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) rankings in the United States to nearly the top. A new report by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) finds that the dramatic improvement is no miracle, as it took nearly two decades of work by education reformers alongside policymakers to ensure students in Mississippi get the education they deserve.
The report, “Inside the Mississippi Marathon,” authored by Rachel Canter, PPI’s Director of Education Policy, provides an insider’s account of the state’s rise in education rankings. Canter, the founder of education nonprofit Mississippi First, was instrumental in advocating and implementing policy reforms to improve public schools. Before earning a graduate degree in policy and founding Mississippi First, Canter graduated from Mississippi public schools and taught in the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas in the country.
“Mississippi’s progress was not a miracle, and it didn’t happen overnight,” said Canter. “It was the product of nearly 20 years of policy changes and a relentless focus on higher expectations for students, schools, and the education system as a whole.”
While some claim that the reason for the state’s turnaround was simply an adherence to the “science of reading,” Canter credits four policy pillars for the education transformation in the state:
Results on par with Mississippi’s public education system require time, but Canter calls on states nationwide to invest in all of these pillars before expecting results.
“There is no quick fix for the declining student achievement we’ve seen nationwide for the last decade,” said Canter. “Just like we did in Mississippi, policymakers need to embrace a broad agenda rooted in what we know works — like serious standards, accountability, the science of reading, teacher feedback, and coaching — in order to build the public school systems that children deserve.”
Read and download the report here.
The Reinventing America’s Schools Project seeks to refocus national leadership around proven strategies to improve public schools and educational achievement. We believe that American public schools must prepare children academically to be successful adults and citizens; families should have a voice in their child’s education, including a choice within the public system to find a school that best fits their child’s needs; and, though education is the province of the states, the federal government must protect the promise that every child will have access to a quality public education.
Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us at @PPI.
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Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
