I feel it's worth noting that while the outcome of these changes to teaching reading is a huge win for childhood education, this does not mean that Mississippi has a great education system. They are still in the bottom 10 states annually for ACT scores and although they have improved learning outcomes for students the issues of equity within their schools still exist. It's also worth noting that the state is a net consumer of federal tax dollars year after year, using $2.34 in federal aid for every dollar they give in taxes. I'll give MS it's props when they deal with the hate crime in their colleges and set up a good free meal program that their state can fund on its own.
> I'll give MS it's props when they deal with the hate crime in their colleges and set up a good free meal program that their state can fund on its own
I don't think the success of a literacy program is negated by the existence of crime on college campuses. I also don't think it's the fault of MS that its citizens generally produce less tax revenue than Californians or New Yorkers.
The expression is "credit where credit's due" and I'd say in this case, credit's due. Well done Mississippi.
Re: "I'll give MS it's props when they deal with the hate crime in their colleges and set up a good free meal program that their state can fund on its own." - you have your priorities, other people have their priorities. My priorities for example are reading and math proficiency.
Well done Mississippi on your students' reading progress!
Unsurprisingly, educational reform in Mississippi that started in 2013 has yet to percolate up to high schools.
As to equity, Mississippi is doing better for black students than almost anyone else:
> Black students are as likely to be basic-or-above readers in Mississippi (where the median Black household income was $37,900 in 2023) as in national top performer Massachusetts (where the median Black household income was $67,000 in 2022.)
As to your other point, Mississippi receives the same amount of federal spending per person as New York: https://rockinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Balance-of-P... (page 11). New York of course pays more in taxes—because it has Wall Street and Mississippi doesn’t.