September 17, 2015
JACKSON, Miss. – More than 90 percent of the participants in the Mississippi College and Career-Ready Standards (MCCRS) Feedback Forum approved of the learning goals for students, according to final results presented to the Mississippi Board of Education today. Over 1,300 people visited the site in a 3-month period, providing 8,521 points of feedback.
A closer look at the approval rates among various participants who identified in a particular category showed the following:
- 91 percent of teachers approved
- 83 percent of parents approved
- 96 percent of school administrators approved
- 85 percent of professors approved
- 88 percent of students approved
- 93 percent of community members approved
- 100 percent of business and industry representatives approved
The forum was widely publicized by the department and education partners, as well as in the media. About 49 percent of those who weighed in on the standards were teachers, about 17 percent were parents, 15 percent were administrators or school district staff, and about 6 percent represented the community at-large.
“We greatly appreciate all of the comments, but I am especially pleased to see our teachers and administrators voice their support and concerns. Our schools have implemented these higher standards over the last several years and we greatly value their experience and input as we work to strengthen our standards,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education.
From June 15 through September 15, 2015, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) sought public input on the state's English language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards through the MCCRS Feedback Forum. The forum encouraged stakeholders to read the standards and either submit comments in support of the standards or provide specific, actionable feedback on any standards of concern.
Academic standards define what Mississippi students are expected to learn at each grade level to graduate ready for success in college and career. How the standards are taught – the curriculum or methods and materials used – is decided at the local level, as it was with previous standards.
Of the 10 percent of respondents who indicated they would like to see some sort of change in one or more of the standards, most of the suggested changes (842 total out of 8,521), 65 percent wanted one or more of the standards moved to a different grade level; 28 percent suggested a rewrite of a standard and about 9 percent wanted to see a current standard broken into two or more standards. Respondents could suggest more than one change to the standards.
Other key results were:
- 112 school districts were represented in the comments, or nearly 78 percent of the 144 districts.
- No one suggested removing a standard.
- The ELA standards that received the most feedback were in Kindergarten. Most wanted some standards moved to a higher grade.
- The math standards that received the most feedback were in Algebra I, with requests to either move certain standards to another grade or rewrite the standard.
Teams of content experts, teachers from K-12 and postsecondary institutions, and parents are working with agency staff to review all of the feedback collected as part of the forum. These teams will propose revisions that have merit for improving the overall quality and appropriateness of the standards to promote college/career readiness for all students.
The Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) will facilitate the review committee meetings scheduled for Sept. 21-22. CSAI provides state education agencies and Regional Comprehensive Centers with research support, technical assistance, tools, and other resources to help inform decisions about standards, assessment, and accountability. This organization has provided assistance to Kentucky, Arizona and Indiana when they reviewed their standards.
Proposed changes will be presented to the Board for consideration by December. Any changes to the standards would not be implemented until the 2016-17 school year.
Click on the subject link to view English language arts standards feedback or Mathematics standards feedback.
Media Contact:
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR
Director of Communications
601-359-3706
Jean Cook, APR
Communications Specialist
601-359-3519