Does the Accountability System put too much emphasis on growth?
The Mississippi Statewide Accountability System awards schools and districts for both proficiency and growth, with added emphasis on the growth of the lowest performing students. In this manner, a school that has a relatively low proficiency rate but is making significant progress may be rated as a high performing school. This provides for more equality in the assignment of grade labels and accommodates schools with different challenges across the state.
Because students that are proficient and maintain proficiency from one year to the next are credited with growth, schools with high proficiency rates need only maintain their proficiency to earn credit for growth.
The added focus on the growth of the lowest performing students forces schools to identify and add additional supports for students that are struggling, regardless of the student’s inclusion in any of the federally – defined, traditionally - underserved subgroups.