Nonprofit Mississippi News Public schools will now be graded on student performances for the first time in 2 years. This excitement has been shared by some school leaders, but also frustration from those who worry about the COVID learning loss that will be included in the data. The accountability model, which MDE calls its A-F letter grade system for public schools in Mississippi, gives them A-F grades. It evaluates elementary, middle, and high schools based on various factors, including student performance, improvement in test subjects like reading and math, growth during the school year and graduation rates. The state’s pandemic caused many public schools to close in the spring 2020. State tests were also not administered. Schools and districts were granted a waiver to allow state tests to continue, but students wouldn’t have to pass them. Districts would also not be graded on performance. The first glimpse of the impact of the pandemic on learning was seen in the results from the school year. The Governor of Mississippi has made it possible for Mississippi schools to receive grades this school year. Tate Reeves, the federal government, and others have agreed to return to pre-pandemic norms. Officials from the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), stated that they wanted to make the accountability model as simple as possible so that test scores can be compared with their pre-pandemic counterparts. Ken Barron, the superintendent of Yazoo County Schools wishes that the adjustments to the accountability system were made sooner. He said, “It’s frustrating that we are having this conversation in March.” “I am an old coach and knew before the game began how they would determine who the winner was. “They explained the rules to me in the fourth quarter. I didn’t even get to the fourth quarter.” MDE proposes using data from the past to rectify the data gap. The public can review the proposed adjustment and make comments. Alan Lumpkin (superintendent of the Pearl River County school district) said that he appreciated the Department of Education making the adjustment available for public comment and listening from teachers, parents and administrators. Lumpkin stated that he believes schools should be graded based on student performance, but that he would prefer to use this year’s results as a baseline and not compare test scores from before the pandemic. Lumpkin believes that the state is entering a new era in education and it should be reexamined how the accountability system works. Todd English, Booneville School District superintendent, believes it is time for state testing to be reintroduced. However, he wants communities to consider the new letter grades with caution. Since the accountability model is partly based on growth, it uses data from previous school years to assess that growth. English stated that it would take several years for the math to be able to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of schools based on their letter grades. English stated that while elementary and middle schools are likely to see strong growth compared to 2020-2021 scores but that it will be difficult for them to sustain that level of growth moving forward. English predicts that high schools will experience the opposite problem. Their growth will be lower than pre-pandemic scores in certain areas. Because of the learning loss, it will be difficult to show any growth. English stated that MDE is in a “no-win” situation. English stated that there is no right or easy solution, and that there are mixed feelings about schools being graded based on student performance. While he is aware that some students still have learning difficulties due to COVID, he feels that everyone in the district has worked hard to overcome these challenges. Hammitte stated, “I know it may seem surprising, but this is what I find exciting about having the accountability system back.” “Because the pandemic…they did not provide a letter grade and we have been stuck with an F label (from 2018-19 school year). “Our teachers have been working very hard for students and parents despite all the challenges. We’re actually excited about having that F label removed.” Hammitte is happy about school grades being given again. However, he would prefer some accommodations for third-grade students taking the reading assessment. They can be held back if they fail. The Senate passed a bill that would have allowed students who failed this year to continue to fourth grade with remediation. However, it was killed in the House. Hammitte stated that third-grade students are the most inactive since kindergarten. “We know that this is where they build their foundational skills and have not been to school consistent since kindergarten. “I think it’s going be difficult for quite some of those third grade students to get there (benchmark).” CherieLabat’s concerns over equity in the accountability system began before the pandemic. Labat, the superintendent of Columbus Municipal School District explained that children have different starting points due to differences in their personal wealth and communities’ economic development. This means that certain districts have more work than others. Labat stated that you can’t expect everyone to finish the exact same way. But they don’t always start the same. Labat had hoped that the pandemic would give an impetus to the innovation of the accountability system and allow for a wide range of stakeholders to be involved in the discussion. While she understands that MDE has been diligently working on accountability issues, she was disappointed that the model wasn’t more widely re-examined. Labat stated that the negative impact on students, communities, and businesses is a real problem. She also said that the model was not improving the community’s ability to move forward. Labat stated that a superintendent cannot simply walk into a school district to fix it. It’s a difficult task to get schools to the right place for students and their families.