Mississippi is in its fourth year of operating under an effective school accountability system that receives top ratings nationally.  With a baseline year and three years of subsequent reporting now recorded, our students and their teachers are piling up consistent gains in performance, year after year.  We are on the same kind of upward trajectory experienced in other states in the early years of implementing an accountability system.

When first proposed then State Superintendent of Education Dr. Hank Bounds promised a rigorous accountability system would produce results. Our students are now making good on that promise. 

Improvement year after year will result in exponential improvement over time.  In a little more than a decade, Florida experienced a significant turnaround - and our trajectory of early results is similar to the early years in the Sunshine State. 

Rigor, measurement, focus and remediation make all the difference, as more and more Mississippi schools are getting serious about accountability and competing with the same vigor academically as they do on the football field. 

This is very bright news for the future of the state.  It helps make us more competitive and puts Mississippi in a place of greater opportunity.  Congratulations to the State Department of Education for staying the course - and holding the line on rigorous testing, in the face of real resistance from some constituencies.  Kudos to those principals, teachers and parents who adapted to the new approach and produced the leadership needed to achieve the results.  And cheers to the students, who with their performance are showing the true spirit of Mississippi.   They are proving every day what we already know about Mississippians:  when faced with a challenge, we rise to meet it.

It is also important to recognize a significant improvement in the state's accountability system thanks to action of the Mississippi Legislature this year, which mandated that the State Department of Education translate its accountability results to mirror the traditional A,B,C,D,F grading system.  Thanks to the leadership of Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, Senate Education Chair Gray Tollison and House Education Chair John Moore, plus many in the Legislature, this new reporting style makes the ratings more understandable and promotes a greater emphasis on the value of achievement.   So congratulations to the Legislature and its leaders, as well, for helping make a meaningful difference.

Despite this good news, we still have a challenging road ahead, and too many consistently failing schools.  Which is why it is important that you know how your schools rank and demand the best from your local school leaders, while at the same time, supporting the need for sustainable funding to keep the positive trend growing. 

After all, the health and long term economic viability of your communities rely on the success of your public schools.   No matter if you have children or grandchildren in public schools - as a business leader, you have a real stake in the future of education in Mississippi!