Using calculations of how schools were expected to perform pre-pandemic, the study compares state test scores from recent years to those expectations. The online tool can be used to break down those results by district, school, grade, subject matter and race.
John Kraman, chief information officer with the Department of Education's Technology and Strategic Services Office, says that while recovery is not evenly distributed across the state, it is happening.
"The trajectory that Mississippi had been on prior to the pandemic has resurfaced," Kraman said. "We've seen something of a setback in terms of some loss during the pandemic year, but the growth has reemerged, which gives us a positive idea that … what was working prior to the pandemic is continuing to be fully in place throughout the state."
The online tool can also be used to analyze how each school has spent its federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
Kraman says that improvement has not been universal. Some schools are still struggling to recover from learning loss caused by the pandemic, but this tool can be used by schools to inform how they address these issues.
“We want the districts to really understand where they have fallen out, not just in the aggregate or across averages at the district level," Kraman said. "But to be able to drill in and understand this particular school, or this particular subject level, or this particular grade, or this particular sub-population. We want them to really understand where the success is, and where the struggles persist and allow them really to zero in and understand why."
Data for the 2022-23 school year will be added in the coming weeks.
