South MS school districts excel on state tests

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI (WLOX) - Many South Mississippi superintendents told WLOX News they are pleased, since their "overall results" on the latest state tests improved over last year. However, several said some scores dropped, because while their students were being introduced to the new Common Core State Standards, they were tested on the MCT-2 curriculum.

Here's a breakdown of the numbers.

The Pass Christian School District has earned its "stars" over the years. Once again, the district has excelled in the latest state test scores. Biloxi also has a strong showing.

Looking at the MCT-2 results for South Mississippi school districts only, Pass Christian third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders all made the highest scores on the Language Arts test. And a majority of the students in the Pass are in the Proficient or Advanced categories. At the fifth grade level, however, Biloxi students made the best grades.

In Math, the scores are also adding up well for students in the Pass. Third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth graders there outperformed the other coast districts. Only seventh graders in Petal scored higher in Math.

In the Subject Area Tests for high school students, there's another impressive showing for Pass Christian. Pass students made the highest marks in English II and U.S. History.

Petal students excelled in Algebra, while Ocean Springs students made the best scores in Biology.

Compared to the rest of the state, South Mississippi districts consistently landed in the top ten. They include Pass Christian, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Long Beach, Bay-Waveland, Petal, and Pearl River County. Scores for the Moss Point School District remain low compared to the rest of the local districts.

There are no scores listed for Gulfport Schools, because the district switched to the Common Core State Standards two years ago. Common Core will be fully implemented in all Mississippi schools in the 2014-2015 school year.

In the spring of 2015, Mississippi students in grades three through eight will take the PARCC Assessments instead of the MCT-2. And PARCC will also replace the Subject Area Tests in English and Math at the high school level.

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