“They” say “if it looks too good to be true, then it is.” That’s the conventional wisdom Mississippi is defying with its massive educational turnaround.
As the New York Times recently reported, Mississippi is one of the few states in our country to raise students’ academic achievement since 2013. Those 4th grade math scores? Just one point lower than New Jersey’s. Adjusted for demographics, the Magnolia State is #1 in the country for both reading and math, while spending less than half the amount New Jersey spends per pupil.
Mississippi’s outcomes are worth celebrating and learning from. However, many are quick to doubt that these results are possibly true. This reflex betrays a deeper cynicism about the possibility of education reform achieving any meaningful outcomes. This has led to complacency in New Jersey, where so many of our students can and should achieve more and, yet, we seem comfortable resting on our #1 state ranking when less than 40% of our 8th graders are performing on grade level in math and reading.
Mississippi was anything but complacent – they jumpstarted their students’ futures with key instructional policies grounded in a coherent system built on three reinforcing pillars: high academic standards, quality assessments aligned to those standards, and shared accountability for results.
To take those legs of the stool one by one:
We invest heavily in our students’ education, and we should. But too often we act as though we can simply spend our way to a quality education. What’s missing in our budget?
Aspiration. This shared belief that all students can achieve high standards should guide every action educators take. Instead, too often we aim for the minimum of “good enough” and settle for “close enough.” In lowering expectations, we set a false ceiling on what our students might achieve. Our kids are capable of so much more, but they need adults to put that belief in their ability into policy and practice.
Let’s embrace the learnings from Mississippi and make sure all NJ students are getting the education they deserve. That starts with aiming higher.
