State Board of Education Holds August Meeting

The Mississippi State Board of Education held its monthly meeting Thursday, August 21, 2025. Among its agenda items, the Board:

• Received an update on the Mississippi School for Math and Science’s (MSMS) goals, priorities, and facility needs.
• Reviewed 2024-25 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) results. The scores reflected increased proficiency in some grades and content areas but a slight drop in overall proficient and advanced scores. The percentages of students scoring proficient or advanced in 2024-25 are 54.5% in math, 47.4% in English Language Arts, 60.9% in science, and 69.7% in U.S. History. Click here to review MDE’s executive summary of these results, as well as district- and school-level results. Accountability grades for the 2024-25 school year will be released at the Board’s September 25 meeting.
• Awarded the first half ($350,000) of the FY 2026 state appropriation for our state’s World Class Teacher Program (WCTP) to the following five program sites: Delta State, Jackson State, Mississippi State, University of Mississippi, and University of Southern Mississippi. These WCTPs recruit, mentor, and support candidates pursuing National Board certification.
• Approved beginning the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) process to revise licensure guidelines to require all candidates seeking initial licensure in the area of Elementary Education (K-3/K-6/4-6) to earn a passing score on either the Foundations of Reading assessment or Pathways to Proficient Reading following a Foundations of Reading attempt and to establish a three-year entry-level Elementary Education Non-Renewable License option to allow completion of the Pathways to Proficient Reading while in service for the purpose of obtaining a standard renewable five-year license. Click here to review the proposed revisions and background information for this agenda item.
• Approved beginning the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) process to revise licensure guidelines to remove the Foundations of Reading assessment requirement as one condition for obtaining licensure in the endorsement area of Special Education Mild/Moderate (licensure codes 221 (K-12) and 223 (K-8)). Click here to review the proposed revisions and background information for this agenda item.