Mississippi's Kindergartners Score High On Test

Mississippi’s youngest students are scoring better on state assessments -- possibly due to early learning efforts. For the second year in a row, nearly 40,000 Mississippi kindergartners took a state assessment known as the STAR Early Literacy Exam. It tests whether a student understands the building blocks of reading. Kim Benton is the Chief Academic Officer at the Mississippi Department of Education. She told MPB's Paul Boger the test is invaluable.

National Parks Bring Tourism Dollars To The State

Mississippi’s eight national parks bring almost $200 million in tourist money to the state per year. In 2015, national parks in the state attracted 6.4 million visitors. Ship Island on the Gulf Coast is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The park service estimates more than 870,000 people visited the Seashore in Mississippi last year. Dan Brown is superintendent of the park. He spoke with MPB’s Evelina Burnett.

Everyday Tech

Hinds Community College

Mississippi's 15 community and junior colleges are often called the state's "best kept secret." To find out more about what the state's community and junior colleges offer, we are profiling all of them. Today, we look at Hinds County Community College. Clyde Muse -- president of Hinds County -- told MPB's Sid Scott the school is the largest community college in the state.