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One of the poorest US states has steadily transformed its education system since 2013, in what many have dubbed ‘the Mississippi miracle’.
In 2013, Mississippi recorded some of the lowest numbers when it came to children’s reading ability. But through a global pandemic, which hit education nationwide, the state (one of the poorest in the US), has pulled off what some have dubbed ‘the Mississippi miracle’.
Moving from the bottom of national education rankings into the top half, some measures now place Mississippi far higher than it has ever been before. And when adjusted for poverty levels, it’s one of the highest performing states when it comes to fourth-grade reading.
Across the Gulf South, states like Louisiana and Alabama have also posted improvements, challenging long-held assumptions about where educational progress can happen.
So how did they do it? And what can we learn from Mississippi as a case study for broader education reform at a time when rates of literacy and mathematical ability are steadily falling?
When you dig into the details, it’s actually pretty straightforward – something that makes the Mississippi story so compelling. The state has worked hard to overhaul its education system with a focus on phonics, investment in teacher training, and early screenings to identify children who were struggling to read.
While many states saw reading scores decline after the disruption of COVID-19, Mississippi’s continued to rise. That alone has been enough to draw national attention. States including Tennessee, North Carolina and California have begun adopting similar reforms, particularly those tied to the ‘science of reading,’ a framework that emphasises phonics and structured literacy.
For years, education policy in Mississippi had been shaped by low expectations. Poverty was treated as a fixed barrier, and academic standards reflected that assumption. The reforms of the past decade asserted that improvement was not only possible, but necessary, and built a system designed to enforce that belief.
In 2013, Mississippi introduced the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, a policy that tied student progression to reading ability. Children who could not meet the required standard by the end of third grade could be held back.
Schools were also required to screen students regularly, notify parents of any concerns, and provide additional support through tutoring and summer programmes.
