Forrest County School Superintendent Brian Freeman said he is pleased with the state test scores that were released recently showing student proficiency in English and mathematics.
Forrest County Schools Superintendent Brian Freeman
“We don't have a final number yet, but based on our proficiency numbers we do expect a nice increase,” he said. “But, we're still holding to see kind of what happens.”
Dr. Donna Boone, superintendent of Forrest County Agricultural High School District, said the test scores show “an opportunity.”
“Our proficiency dropped a little bit in English II,” she said. “In Algebra I, we’ve got some work to do.”
Statewide, test results show student achievement has reached an all-time high in English Language Arts and mathematics. The 2018-19 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program measures student performance in ELA and mathematics in grades 3-8 and in high school English II and Algebra I, the only two tests at FCAHS.
Boone said the loss of experienced math teachers around the state has had an impact on everyone’s MAAP scores.
Forrest County Agricultural High School Superintendent Donna Boone
“It’s a real concern,” she said. “As math teachers retire, I think you’re going to see more of this. We’re losing those experienced math teachers along the way. Sometimes, you have to look at the data and see an opportunity.”
Forrest County’s Freeman praised his students’ scores in math.
“Of course, we’ve still got a lot of work we're working on,” he said. “But, our math did have some great growth in a few areas. We did have some marks that were really good there. We had some areas of language arts we weren't really excited about; we thought we'd have a little more growth than we did.”
Weaknesses at certain levels may signal a curriculum change, Freeman said.
“There was one grade – sixth grade English Language Arts – that wasn't as well as we had anticipated,” he said. “So, we're going to go back and look at some of our instruction that area. When you have it widespread districtwide, then that's not a teacher issue; that's probably a curriculum issue, so we're going to see what we're missing and not meeting the mark on that.”
In Forrest County, test scores in the proficient and advanced results combined by subject were:
Third-grade Language Arts (District, 53.7 percent) – Dixie, 56.0 percent; Earl Travillion, 25.8 percent; North Forrest, 61.7 percent; Rawls Springs, 51.8 percent; South Forrest, 62.3 percent.
Fourth-grade Language Arts (District, 50.8 percent) – Dixie, 71.7 percent; Earl Travillion, 19.5 percent; North Forrest, 51.4 percent; Rawls Springs, 60.0 percent; South Forrest, 51.6 percent.
Fifth-grade Language Arts (District, 39.9 percent) – Dixie, 49.1 percent; Earl Travillion, 12.9 percent; North Forrest, 32.6 percent; Rawls Springs, 33.3 percent; South Forrest, 52.3 percent.
Sixth-grade Language Arts (District, 28.2 percent) – Dixie, 36.8 percent; Earl Travillion, 16.7 percent; North Forrest, 18.5 percent; Rawls Springs, 24.0 percent; South Forrest, 35.1 percent.
Seventh-grade Language Arts (District, 42.7 percent) – Dixie, 44.2 percent; Earl Travillion, 16.1 percent; North Forrest High, 36.0 percent; South Forrest, 58.7 percent.
Eighth-grade Language Arts (District, 40.5 percent) – Dixie, 44.5 percent; Earl Travillion, 19.0 percent; North Forrest High, 33.4 percent; South Forrest, 49.3 percent.
English II (District, 49.2 percent) – North Forrest High, 49.2 percent.
Third-grade Math (District, 50.0 percent) – Dixie, 49.3 percent; Earl Travillion,32.3 percent; North Forrest, 73.6 percent; Rawls Springs, 51.8 percent; South Forrest, 36.1 percent.
Fourth-grade Math (District, 44.4 percent) – Dixie, 67.4 percent; Earl Travillion, 22.0 percent; North Forrest, 34.3 percent; Rawls Springs, 44.0 percent; South Forrest, 48.4 percent.
Fifth-grade Math (District, 29.5 percent) – Dixie, 40.7 percent; Earl Travillion, 19.3 percent; North Forrest, 37.2 percent; Rawls Springs, 10.0 percent; South Forrest, 28.1 percent.
Sixth-grade Math (District, 53.3 percent) – Dixie, 59.6 percent; Earl Travillion, 33.3 percent; North Forrest, 50.0 percent; Rawls Springs, 24.0 percent; South Forrest, 72.4 percent.
Seventh-grade Math (District, 54.5 percent) – Dixie, 46.5 percent; Earl Travillion, 33.3 percent; North Forrest High, 46.9 percent; South Forrest, 74.3 percent.
Eighth-grade Math (District, 47.7 percent) – Dixie, 35.2 percent; Earl Travillion, 28.6 percent; North Forrest High, 51.0 percent; South Forrest, 60.8 percent.
Algebra I (District, 50.7 percent) – North Forrest High, 50.7 percent.
At Forrest County Agricultural High School, test scores in the proficient and advanced results combined were 40 percent in English II and 28.8 percent in Algebra I.
“Mississippi students are outpacing the nation in learning gains thanks to their hard work and the hard work of teachers, school staff, school leaders, and parents,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “Education in Mississippi is part of our state’s success story.”
MAAP tests have five levels. Students scoring at Levels 4 and 5 are considered proficient or advanced in the subject.