“Mississippi’s Choice” Schools Outpace State Gains, Meet AYP, Exit “Priority” Lists

The Challenge

• The Mississippi Department of Education identified its 10 lowest-performing schools as “priority” schools. Other low-performing schools were worried that they would be assigned to that list as well because of low performance in reading, language, and mathematics on the Mississippi Curriculum Test.

The Solution

• Mississippi recommended the America’s Choice School Design as a proven approach to school improvement. Forty schools implemented the “Mississippi’s Choice” school design initially, and more followed.  Eight of the 10 “priority” schools joined the America’s Choice network.

The Results

• Over three years, the America’s Choice schools exceeded the state growth rate in reading, language, and mathematics tests.?

• Because of improved performance, v of the eight original America’s Choice “priority” schools were removed from that list after the first year.

Average Annual Growth in the Percentage
of Students Scoring Proficient and Above, 2003-05

Average annual growth in the percentage of students scoring proficient
and above on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2003-05