The East Tallahatchie School District made notable strides on a state accountability scale while West Tallahatchie stood pat, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.
MDE on Tuesday released a report on 2023-24 school district and school-level accountability ratings.
The Mississippi Statewide Accountability System uses letter grades of A-F to reflect how well schools and school districts are performing based on standardized criterion.
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Grades are based on student achievement, individual student growth, graduation rate, student participation in testing and other measures.
On a districtwide basis, the East Tallahatchie school system improved by two letter grades, from F to C, while West Tallahatchie remained unchanged at C, based on a comparison of 2022-23 and 2023-24 school year results. It is rare for a school, and rarer still for a school district, to improve by two letter grades in one year's time.
East Tallahatchie achieved a grade of C for the first time since the 2014-15 school year.
Among individual schools, Charleston Elementary saw the greatest growth in state accountability results, jumping two letter grades from a D in 2022-23 to a B during the 2023-24 school year. It was the best showing since CES received a grade of A during the 2014-15 school session.
The CES B was fueled in part by marked growth in reading and math. The school’s total points earned under the accountability system rose from 295 in 2022-23 to 377 in 2023-24.
Charleston Middle School improved from F to D, with 25.6% of its standardized test-takers showing proficiency in math, up from 11.6% the previous year, and 36.9% showing proficiency in science, a jump from 17.6%. Total points earned at CMS jumped from 227 to 303.
Charleston High, West Tallahatchie High and R.H. Bearden Elementary schools remained unchanged with letter grades of B, C and D, respectively, over the period.
Bearden saw proficiency numbers in math increase from 23.9% to 34.2%, and in science from 26.3% to 37%.
CHS saw proficiency rates tumble in all areas except math, where the improvement was from 82.6% to 84.4%. College and career readiness jumped from 18.1% to 27.6%. Total earned points fell from 733 to 692.
WTHS saw mixed results, with student proficiency up slightly in math and nearly doubling, from 22.4% to 44.2%, in science, but dropping in reading and history. College and career readiness improved from 18.1% to 28.8%. West Tally’s total points rose from 564 in 2022-23 to 581 in 2023-24.
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Local school leaders spoke about the latest state ratings.
West Tallahatchie School District Superintendent Dr. Sherry Ellington
“I am so thankful to the students and staff members for continuing to show growth on the state assessments during the 2023-2024 school year,” said WTSD Superintendent Dr. Sherry Ellington. “This is a great step the district has shown in maintaining a ‘C’ accreditation. I thank God for answering my prayers and I know he will continue to bless the district in moving forward.”
Commenting on his district’s gains, ETSD Superintendent Raymond Russell said in a telephone conversation Tuesday, “I give all the credit to the teachers and the students. The only thing we did was try to provide resources.”
“Overall, we’re just pleased with the hard work and the dedication that our students, staff and administrators put forth for this past school year,” he added. “Our ultimate goal is to turn East Tallahatchie School District into an A school district.”
Russell said he attributes the district’s rise from F to C in large part to the school board “and their leadership and vision. The school board was extremely intentional and urgent about improving the letter grade for East Tallahatchie School District, and that was our main focus.”
At CES, Russell said the key was to have the vision and then to place teachers and administrators in a situation where they could grow.
“We made sure that we gave them all the resources that they could use to achieve the vision, which was that Charleston Elementary needed to be a B,” he noted. “So, once we gave them the right tools and showed them the right way to grow, they made the vision come true.”
East Tallahatchie School District Superintendent Raymond Russell
Russell said the district is “extremely pleased” with growth at the middle school.
“We made a principal change in the middle of last school year, and the new principal, Ms. Ashanti Kuykendall, is making great, great strides and is pushing that school to new heights,” he explained.
In a formal emailed statement from Russell later Tuesday, he described the district’s new C rating as an “incredible accomplishment” and “a testament to the unwavering dedication and hard work of our students, teachers, staff, school board and community.”
“While we are immensely proud and grateful for this achievement, we view it as a stepping stone rather than a final destination,” the statement continues. “It signifies our ongoing commitment to excellence in equipping our students for success in college, their careers, and life beyond.”
The statement closes, “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our supportive community, whose steadfast encouragement has been instrumental in our journey. Together, we are creating a brighter future for our school district.”
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According to MDE, federal law requires all states to assess students annually in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics in grades 3-8 and once during high school.
Mississippi’s accountability system includes the following components:
» Student proficiency and growth rates in ELA and mathematics in grades 3-8
» Growth of the lowest-performing 25% of students in ELA and mathematics
» Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8
» English Learner progress toward becoming proficient in the English language
» Performance on the ACT and high school Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History assessments
» Student participation and performance in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement, career and technical education programs, and dual credit/dual enrollment courses
» Four-year graduation rate
MDE reported that 87% of Mississippi schools and 91% of state public school districts earned an accountability grade of C or higher for 2022-23, up from 81% and 87%, respectively, in 2021-22.
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Some area school districts grading A were Grenada, Lafayette County and Oxford.
Among those grading B were Coffeeville School District, South Panola School District, Sunflower County School District and Water Valley School District.
Some other area C districts are Clarksdale Municipal, Cleveland, Coahoma County, Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated, North Bolivar, North Panola and Quitman County.
Among area A-rated individual schools were Batesville, Grenada, Lafayette and Quitman County elementary schools; Oxford Early Childhood Center; Batesville Intermediate School; Batesville Middle School; Lafayette Upper Elementary School; and Lafayette Middle School.
State accountability results are attached in both Excel and PDF formats, or visit the website here.
