The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) recently released accountability grades for the 2025-2026 school year. These are the first grades issued under higher score requirements for earning grades in the state’s accountability model. These scores will set a new baseline for measuring school and district performance moving forward. With changes to the cut scores, changes to the English Language Arts test, and changes within the accountability model itself, this year’s performance cannot be compared to grades from previous school years. In fact, schools and districts could have performed better in areas of the accountability model, but due to the many changes, could have dropped a letter grade.

The components of the Mississippi public school accountability model differ from elementary and middle school to high schools and district scores. Elementary and middle schools can earn up to 700 points in the model while high schools and districts can earn up to 1,000 points. The elements of the models include the following:

· Student proficiency and growth rates on the MAAP test in ELA and mathematics in grades 3-8, Algebra I, and English II

· Growth of the lowest performing 25% of students in ELA and mathematics

· Science proficiency in grades 5, 8, and Biology I

· English Learner progress toward English language proficiency

· Four-year graduation rate

· New Readiness Index for high schools and districts, which counts results on ACT, ACT WorkKeys, and Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)

· Advanced Placement participation and exam performance, dual credit courses and performance, and Career and Technical industry certifications

· New indicator for diploma endorsements (traditional, career and technical, academic, and distinguished academic) and on-time and five-year graduation Across the state, results show continued growth occurred in science with variances in ELA and mathematics.

In the released rankings, the Tishomingo County School District is rated a “B” under the state’s revised model. The district would have been a solid “A” under the former cut scores, actually increasing its overall score by an additional point. “We are very proud of the hard work and dedication of our students, teachers, staff, administrators, parents, and school board for the great results we saw on our MAAP performance. We had increases in some areas while we dropped in small increments in some other areas. As MDE and the legislature have reiterated all year, these results cannot be compared to past performance due to the many changes that occurred this past school year. However, we are already looking at our data and making intentional instructional decisions on how to improve our instruction and create opportunities for student success,” stated TCSD Superintendent Christie Holly. “Test scores are just one measure of the success of a school and a district. We always want to celebrate successes not just in the area of test performance, but more importantly, successes in the day-to-day lives of our students and staff. Our district and schools excel in many areas beyond the test - athletic performance, activities for our students, fine arts opportunities, and job readiness beyond the classroom. Our district is blessed with wonderful staff and leaders that want to provide the very best educational experience for our students. We also have parents and communities that support our schools. That’s where success starts. We want our students to feel loved and supported each day as we work to ensure they have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful beyond our school doors,” Holly stated. The Tishomingo County School District lands as the 36th ranked district in the state out of 148 districts (including charter schools) with a total score of 686 points. Individual school ratings showed some areas of tremendous growth. Most schools increased their total scores, but may not have seen an increase in their rating due to the new cut scores.

School/District 2026 Rating 2026 Score 2025 Rating 2025 Score: