Mississippi
Tennessee looks to ‘Mississippi miracle’ as it grapples with stagnant reading scores
![Tennessee looks to ‘Mississippi miracle’ as it grapples with stagnant reading scores Tennessee looks to ‘Mississippi miracle’ as it grapples with stagnant reading scores](https://chalkbeat.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/85164d0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5508x3144%200%20264/resize/1461x834!/quality/90/?url=https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wEZCCsgJ5V_ly1bB6NrVUvoF2Ho=/0x0:5508x3672/5508x3672/filters:focal(2754x1836:2755x1837)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22488269/Chalkbeat_20210503_EDUImages_AllisonShelleyEDUImages_050.jpg)
Tennessee, which as soon as counted on Mississippi’s worst-in-the-nation studying scores to raise its personal nationwide rating for literacy, is now trying to its neighbor to the south as a task mannequin for how one can enhance.
In a turnaround dubbed the “Mississippi miracle,” the state noticed its fourth-grade studying scores on a nationwide take a look at rise dramatically between 2013 and 2019, even for traditionally marginalized teams like Black and Hispanic college students. Mississippi additionally maintained its studying positive factors in 2022, whereas scores in most different states declined after the pandemic induced unprecedented disruptions to education.
Now underneath a number of 2021 legal guidelines, Tennessee is using lots of the similar techniques that Mississippi did underneath its 2013 legislation. Amongst them: prioritizing studying enhancements and investments in grades Ok-3, coaching lecturers on the “science of studying,” together with an emphasis on phonics, and — most controversial of all — requiring third graders to move a state studying take a look at to get promoted to the fourth grade.
Carey Wright, Mississippi’s training chief from 2013 to 2022, praised Tennessee throughout testimony Wednesday earlier than state lawmakers in Nashville who’re contemplating whether or not to make modifications to Tennessee’s insurance policies for holding third graders again.
“You’re actually to be recommended for the excellent nature by which you’ve approached this subject,” she mentioned, noting that Tennessee has even required its trainer coaching applications to vary how they train studying instruction, which Mississippi didn’t.
Wright cited a latest Boston College research discovering that Mississippi third-graders who have been retained underneath that state’s legislation went on to attain considerably larger scores in English language arts by the sixth grade. The research additionally discovered that retention had no affect on different outcomes resembling attendance or identification for particular training.
However nationwide analysis about retention is blended. Critics argue that there are extra dangers than advantages — from adverse social and emotional results to a disproportionate affect on scholar teams who’re already marginalized, resembling those that come from low-income households, are of coloration, or have disabilities.
Why Tennessee zeroed in on third grade
Literacy is foundational to all subsequent studying, and third grade is taken into account a vital marker. Because the previous saying goes: You be taught to learn up till the third grade, and after that, you learn to be taught.
However for years, studying scores have been principally stagnant in Tennessee, with solely a couple of third of the state’s third graders displaying proficiency primarily based on state exams.
In 2011, lawmakers handed a retention legislation to attempt to deal with the issue, however the statute was largely unenforced, with few third graders being held again by native faculty leaders.
“So right here we’re 12 years later having the identical dialogue,” mentioned Rep. Mark White, who chairs the Home Schooling Administration Committee and helped move the state’s new studying and retention insurance policies.
“I personally am grateful that we handed a retention legislation … as a result of now now we have everyone’s consideration,” the Memphis Republican mentioned to kick off Wednesday’s listening to.
Home leaders have compiled a listing of 14 payments that goal to revise or tweak the legislation. They vary from gutting the retention provision altogether to giving native districts extra authority to find out which college students ought to be held again. Gov. Invoice Lee pressed for the 2021 legislation and needs to remain the course.
To keep away from retention, the legislation says third graders whose scores on state exams present they’re “approaching” proficiency should attend a summer season camp and exhibit “ample progress” on a take a look at administered on the camp’s finish, or they have to take part in a tutoring program within the fourth grade. College students who rating “beneath” proficiency should take part in each intervention applications.
Third graders are exempt from retention in the event that they have been held again in a earlier grade; have or could have a incapacity that impacts studying; are English language learners with lower than two years of English instruction; or retest as proficient earlier than the start of fourth grade.
Mother and father can also enchantment a retention choice if their youngster carried out on the fortieth percentile on a distinct take a look at that enables for comparisons with nationwide benchmarks, or if the kid skilled an occasion that fairly impacted the kid’s efficiency on the TCAP take a look at.
Tennessee Schooling Commissioner Penny Schwinn has shepherded Gov. Invoice Lee’s studying enchancment plan together with Studying 360, an array of applications to coach lecturers on studying instruction, present extra sources and mentoring networks to high school districts, and assist households to assist their youngsters learn higher.
Courtesy of State of Tennessee
Pushback towards retention is widespread
Whereas Tennessee’s tutoring and summer season studying applications are standard, many mother and father and educators dislike the a part of the legislation that makes outcomes of the state’s standardized TCAP take a look at for English language arts the one criterion to find out whether or not third-graders can progress to the fourth grade. Quite a few faculty boards even have handed resolutions urging the legislature to revisit the brand new retention coverage.
On Wednesday, a number of district superintendents echoed that decision.
“I respectfully ask that you simply enable districts to make use of a number of information factors when making the monumental choice to retain a scholar, which might have critical long-term penalties,” mentioned Gary Lilly, director of Collierville Faculties in Shelby County.
Past the state’s take a look at, faculty districts usually give college students a number of assessments which might be particularly designed to gauge studying progress. All of them could possibly be thought of, Lilly mentioned, together with different elements resembling a scholar’s general achievement, attendance report, and emotional and social maturity.
Lilly famous that Tennessee additionally has among the many nation’s highest thresholds for measuring proficiency. The state started working to lift them when a 2007 U.S. Chamber of Commerce report gave Tennessee an “F” for reality in promoting, as a result of its requirements have been so low that the majority college students have been deemed proficient.
However Lilly prompt that Tennessee could wish to rethink these excessive thresholds.
“I’m not advocating to lower the rigor of our requirements,” he mentioned. “What I’m saying is that the TCAP take a look at shouldn’t be considered because the definitive authority to focus on college students for retention.”
The state’s one-year timeline for implementing the brand new retention coverage at scale is one other concern.
Jeanne Barker, director of Lenoir Metropolis Faculties, mentioned her district gained’t obtain TCAP outcomes till after the varsity yr ends, leaving little time for college kids to take the take a look at over or for households to determine about attending summer season studying camps or interesting retention selections to the state training division.
Penny Schwinn, Tennessee’s training commissioner, acknowledged the “tight timeline” however testified that no guardian ought to be shocked by the top of the varsity yr if their youngster is recognized as having a studying deficiency.
“Mother and father ought to be receiving notification that their youngster could also be in danger for needing extra helps two occasions earlier than we even get into testing season,” mentioned Schwinn, including that preliminary TCAP outcomes will change into out there the week of Might 19.
Advocates look past third grade
Coverage conversations that started with third grade studying proceed to gravitate towards earlier grades.
Wright mentioned Mississippi’s playbook emphasised the significance of literacy instruction and interventions for struggling readers as early as potential.
“My purpose was that, by the point third grade got here round, there shouldn’t even be a difficulty round third grade,” she mentioned. “We should always have captured these children a very long time in the past and made positive that they have been getting the interventions and the assistance that they wanted.”
Tennessee training advocates shared related sentiments.
Nancy Dishner, president and CEO of the Niswonger Basis supporting college students and educators in East Tennessee, mentioned her largest concern about Tennessee’s present initiative is that “we’re not doing it early sufficient.”
“We now have to maneuver again,” Dishner mentioned. “Beginning is when we have to begin serving to our children, not after they enter elementary faculty.”
Amy Doren, a 35-year educator and former coordinator of early childhood applications at Kingsport Metropolis Faculties, agreed.
“Youngsters’s brains develop 90% to capability by age 5. So why would we not search to make an affect in these early years?” Doren requested. “That’s the place we wish our youngsters to be taught to be problem-solvers and significant thinkers, in order that after they get to the third grade, they’ll be able to deal with it.”
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.
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Mississippi
Arizona State eyes first win against an SEC opponent vs. Mississippi State
Mississippi State at Arizona State, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Arizona State by 6 1/2.
Series record: First meeting.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Arizona State and Mississippi State both had dominant wins in the season-opening weekend and now have a tougher challenge when they face each other on Saturday night. The Sun Devils are trying to build off an impressive 48-7 win over Wyoming and prove they might be a factor in the Big 12 race. Arizona State has never beaten an SEC opponent. Mississippi State plays its second game under new coach Jeff Lebby. The Bulldogs beat Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in their season opener..
KEY MATCHUP
Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen vs. the Arizona State defense. The Sun Devils scored a touchdown on the second play of their opener when Zyrus Fiaseu picked off a pass and returned it to the end zone. It was one of two interceptions on the day for Arizona State. Shapen had a great debut against Eastern Kentucky but will face a much tougher defense on Saturday.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mississippi State: Shapen had a terrific first game with the Bulldogs, throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 44 yards and a TD against Eastern Kentucky. The 6-foot-1 senior played the previous three college seasons at Baylor with mixed success. Shapen has thrown a TD pass in 12 consecutive games dating to this time at Baylor in 2022.
Arizona State: RB Cam Skattebo led a balanced rushing attack against Wyoming, gaining 49 yards and scoring a touchdown. Skattebo was a do-it-all player for Arizona State last year, spending time at quarterback, running back and receiver. The Sun Devils might not need him to be as versatile this season, but he’s still a threat from just about anywhere on the field.
FACTS & FIGURES
Mississippi State had six different players score touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. … The Bulldogs’ 93.7 passing grade in the opener was the second-best mark in all of the FBS, trailing only Purdue, according to Pro Football Focus. … Mississippi State’s Kevin Coleman Jr. returned five punts for 117 yards last week. … Arizona State was credited with just two missed tackles on defense in the opener, tied for the third-lowest tally among FBS schools. … Skattebo is 270 rushing yards away from reaching 3,000 in his career. He is 342 all-purpose yards away from reaching 4,000 and 202 receiving yards away from reaching 1,000.
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Mississippi
How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff
![How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/03/PNAS/75060541007-usatsi-24129028.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5472,3078,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is preparing to play a team that, at least through one game, looks vastly improved from last season.
Coach Jeff Lebby admitted on Monday, and Bulldog players have noticed it too after Arizona State (1-0) thumped Wyoming 48-7 in its opener.
MSU (1-0) must also factor in the late kickoff that is scheduled Saturday (9:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Mississippi is hot, but so is Arizona — a different kind of hot, too.
Modifications and remedies are being made, such as the team leaving Starkville on Thursday instead of how it normally would on a Friday for a Saturday game.
“For our guys, just knowing exactly what we are getting into,” Lebby said. “We continue to talk about that through yesterday and this morning and (are) having those conversations to understand what it’s going to look like late in the week. We got to do a great job from a preparation standpoint of how we are hydrating, how we are eating and how we are resting to give us the ability to go on the road on this flight and be able to be at our best Saturday night.”
Just this week, Phoenix broke a record with its 100th straight day of 100-degree temperatures. According to AccuWeather, the high on Saturday in Tempe will be 107 degrees with a low of 86. The temperature should dip to around 91 near kickoff with a humidity of 24%.
“Coach Lebby has already been harping on that,” tight end Justin Ball said. “We’ve already been hydrating and making sure we are getting rest every single day. We leave on Thursday, so we already talked about the plan to make sure we are hydrating the entire plane ride there, making sure when we get there we get acclimated as quickly as you can and just staying together. Making sure we’re focused, make sure we keep the goal first and then execute the game plan.”
MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong
Mississippi State played well the last time it played in Arizona
The Bulldogs played Arizona in Tucson two seasons ago. They squandered a pedestrian Wildcats team 39-17. Kickoff for that game was at 8 p.m. PST though the temperature was 84 degrees at game time.
Not many players remain on Mississippi State’s roster from that 2022 season. But the ones who are, like linebacker Nic Mitchell, can benefit from the experience and also share it with teammates.
“We know it’s going to be a long flight, so we know we got to be hydrated,” Mitchell said. “It gives people experience that have done it before and they can tell the young guys how it’s going to be in the flight, how you got to hydrate and stuff like that.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Playing for Mississippi State not an option for Arizona State back Kyson ‘Sipp’ Brown
Arizona State forces 3 turnovers in win over Wyoming to start 2024
All offseason, coach Kenny Dillingham preached getting turnovers. Forty seconds into the season’s first game, the defense produced its first one.
Sophomore running back Kyson Brown is one of the faster players on the Arizona State football team. But Brown seems to have a little more pep in his step this week. Why? Well, the Sun Devils (1-0) are set to take on Mississippi State (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
Sure an SEC opponent is enough to get any athlete fired up. But the 6-foot, 200-pounder hails from Tupelo, Mississippi, which is where he got his nickname, Sipp. Tupelo is 67 miles north of the Mississippi State campus in Starkville that Sipp has visited a handful of times.
“I have family, growing up they were all Mississipp State fans and some Ole Miss fans,” he said. “Some of my family are debating whether they want to cheer for me or not. It’s going to be good. A lot of hometown friends. Got a couple guys I went to high school with there. It’s going to be good seeing those guys and hopefully, we compete at a good level and get the W.”
Brown, a mechanical engineering major, is enrolled in ASU’s Barret honors program, He emerged as one of the team’s most improved players. He saw some time on special teams as a true freshman in 2023 and has set himself up for a bigger role, although the ASU backfield has a lot of depth.
In the last week’s 48-7 win over Wyoming, Brown pitched in with six rushing attempts for 25 yards and two receptions for 73 yards. His 68-yard touchdown reception was the longest play from scrimmage that ASU had on the night.
“It felt amazing just to get back in the end zone again,” Brown said. “You come out of high school, you know I’m used to being in the end zone every game, all the time. That play, I knew — once I made the first guy miss — I knew I wasn’t going to let anybody catch me.”
Brown lived in Mississippi until moving to Lancaster, Texas, outside of Dallas, after his sophomore year of high school. He sat out junior year after the transfer. As a senior he averaged 9.5 yards per carry, finishing with 707 yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 carries while adding 14 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Sitting out his junior year hurt his recruiting, but he still had notable offers from Purdue, Missouri and Houston. The balance of his options were lower-profile schools. Mississippi State didn’t offer.
He is happy with the end result. A place on the ASU football roster. In the offseason, he worked on his agility, flexibility and catching the ball, which was evident in his recent scoring play.
“We all have the big-play potential,” he said of his fellow running backs. “I feel my role is to make plays, wherever they put me be able to perform.”
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