NEW ORLEANS - There's a cliché that's been heard too often by Kymyona Burk, Mississippi's literacy director: “Thank God for Mississippi.”
She knew politicians in other states would say it when reading test scores were low - because at least they weren’t ranked behind Alabama, Louisiana or Mississippi.
Lately, the talk about these states has started to change. Instead of looking down on the Gulf South, they’re being seen as a model.
Mississippi went from being #49 among states in 2013 for fourth grade reading to #21 in 2022.
Louisiana and Alabama, meanwhile, were among only three states to see modest gains in fourth grade reading during the pandemic, which saw massive learning setbacks in most other states.
The turnaround has grabbed educator's attention across the U.
S., showing rapid progress is possible anywhere, even areas that have struggled for decades with poverty and poor literacy rates.
The states have passed laws adopting similar reforms that emphasize phonics and early screenings for struggling kids.
"(W)e have decided to go big,” said Burk, now a senior policy fellow at ExcelinEd, a national advocacy group.
The three Deep South states were not the first to pass major literacy laws. Much of Mississippi’s legislation was based on a 2002 Florida law that saw the Sunshine State achieve some of the highest reading scores nationally.
They still have far to go to make sure every child can read. But the country has taken notice of the 'Mississippi miracle'.
Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia recently adopted some of the same policies.
The Barksdale Institute's CEO, Kelly Butler, says there's no secret to the strategy. “We know how to teach reading,” she said. “We just have to do it everywhere.” (The AP 05/17/23) 'Mississippi miracle': Kids' reading scores have soared in Deep South states | AP News
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