Mississippi Department of Education reports strategic plan progress, highlights graduation and pre-K gains

Superintendent Lance Evans told the State Board of Education on Jan. 16 that the Mississippi Department of Education's annual strategic plan report shows measurable gains across several goals while identifying areas that need further work.

The report described an almost 9.4 percentage-point increase in third-grade reading proficiency from 48.3% in 2019 to 57.7% in 2024, a statewide graduation rate of roughly 89.4%, and a rise in students reached by the department's early learning initiatives from about 1,400 to 8,300 since the program's launch. Evans said the department is expanding literacy supports into grades 4—0 to address middleschool dips in performance.

Why it matters: the strategic plan sets the department's priorities for instruction, assessment and workforce alignment across the state. Board members heard specific next steps tied to the six goals in the plan: strengthen early literacy and assessment practices, grow college- and career-readiness pathways, expand high-quality early childhood programs, improve educator effectiveness and licensing, modernize the state data system (MSIS), and support improvement in low-performing schools.

Key details and evidence from the presentation: - Early childhood: Evans said the Early Learning Collaborative office has grown from a single staff member to about 72 staff and 46 contractors; state funding managed by the office rose from roughly $3 million at startup to about $47 million, and the program now covers 40 collaboratives, 24 state-invested pre-K programs and 20 blended pre-K classrooms. He noted Mississippi is one of five states that meet all 10 national pre-K quality standards cited in the presentation. - Assessments and growth: the report compared assessment outcomes from 2019 through 2024 and described uneven but positive movement in mathematics, ELA, science and U.S. history. Evans said overall statewide proficiency has improved since 2019 but that year-to-year growth rates have flattened, prompting a push to expand the state's reading initiative and to issue an RFP for a new statewide assessment system to be implemented in 2025—026. - Graduation and equity: the department reported a statewide graduation rate near 89.4% and said graduation rates for students with disabilities have more than tripled to about 70% over the same period. Evans highlighted work to reduce dropouts and to create pathways for students who demonstrate mastery but fail certain end-of-course exams. - College and career measures: the report described high pass rates in dual-credit courses (about 95% pass rate in 2023—024), increased AP participation, and growth in industry credentials for CTE students (a stated increase from 49% to 54% for students earning career credentials in one year-to-year comparison). The department said it will expand industry-based certifications and work-based learning and create a statewide K-12 workforce development guide. - Educator workforce and licensure: staff reported improvements in licensing operations (average call wait times down to about three minutes and two-day average processing for licensing applications) and small increases in workforce diversity (33.2% of licensed teachers and leaders identified as diverse, up 1.3%). The department described plans for an educator workforce talent portal, expanded induction for special-education teachers and new leadership training initiatives. - Data and security: MSIS modernization is reported about 95% complete in the presentation, with major training efforts in 2022— and 2023— and increased attention to cybersecurity and federal privacy requirements. The department said it will establish an AI instructional support plan task force to consider instructional uses of AI.

Evans tied many of the initiatives to legislative priorities and budget requests the department has made this session, including funds to hire additional early childhood coaches (current ratio cited as about one coach per 26 classrooms, with a requested goal of one per 15). He also outlined plans to issue an RFP to shorten the statewide assessment procurement window and to revisit accountability methodology with the accountability task force.

Board members asked clarifying questions about measurement and regional workforce alignment during the report. The presentation materials and the full strategic plan were provided to board members and posted as the annual strategic-plan progress report.

The presentation was informational; board members did not take formal action on the strategic plan at the meeting.

Sources and attribution: the article draws on Superintendent Lance Evans' remarks and the strategic-plan slides presented to the State Board of Education on Jan. 16. Direct quotations in the board room were attributed to Superintendent Lance Evans during his presentation and to other named staff referenced in the transcript.