A quick look at Mississippi students’ scores in the new state assessment shows that they scored similarly to last year on a different test. Monday’s State Board of Education approved cut scores for the new test. These are the minimum scores a student must attain to be placed in one or more of the five performance levels: minimal, basic pass, proficient, advanced, pass, proficient, and expert. After the dissolution of the PARCC (Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers) Common Core testing consortium, the Mississippi Assessment Program (MAP), was launched in the 2015-2016 school years. The MAP test measures student progress from grades 3 to 8. It includes annual English Language Arts and Mathematics tests, as well as high school Algebra I or English II. In July, a team of content area experts and teachers met to determine the raw scores for each grade’s test. To be “advanced,” an 8th grader would need to score 55 on the 71-73 English Language Arts tests. A “proficient” score is 43. A “pass” score is 29. A “basic” score is 22. A score below 22 is considered a “minimal” score. J.P. Beaudoin is the chief of research and the development at the state education division. He said that the MAP results “correlate very closely to the state’s PARCC results last year.” Carey Wright, state education superintendent, said that she was “pleasantly surprised” by the scores of 4 and 5. Wright said that schools should use data to identify students with low scores. On the 6th grade English Language Arts test, 16 percent scored at or below the lowest level, while only 24 percent scored basic, which is level 2. Wright wondered, “Who are these children?” The MAP test is the final test that 3rd graders will need to pass in order to move on to the 4th grade. 35 percent of the 3rd-graders who failed to pass MAP would have been at risk of repeating an entire year if they were promoted to 4th grade. 2015-2016 marked the second year that students were tested on the Common Core-linked College and Career Ready Standards. The standards were adopted by the state in 2010. The preliminary data will be available to school districts on Tuesday for their review. On Tuesday, the preliminary data will be available to school districts for review. The final state-level results are then presented to the state board. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today. Our reporters give a human face to policy’s impact on everyday Mississippians by listening more closely and understanding their communities. To ensure that our work is aligned with the priorities and needs of all Mississippians, we are listening to you. Click the button below to let us know what you think.