If Mississippi Can Transform Reading Achievement, What's Stopping Other States?

Commentary & Perspectives | State by State

For decades, Mississippi was associated with some of the lowest academic achievement rankings in the nation. Yet today, the state is attracting national attention for an extraordinary transformation in elementary reading achievement.

How did a state once ranked near the bottom rise into the top ten in fourth-grade reading?

And perhaps more importantly, what should the rest of the country learn from its experience?

Mississippi's progress did not happen overnight. Beginning in 2013, the state undertook significant literacy reforms, emphasizing evidence-based reading instruction, teacher training, literacy coaching, early identification of struggling readers, and greater accountability.

There is an important lesson here: meaningful educational improvement requires more than adopting a new curriculum or announcing another initiative. It requires sustained investment in the people and practices that make effective instruction possible.

As an educator, I find Mississippi's story both encouraging and thought-provoking. We frequently hear about struggling schools, declining achievement, and the enormous challenges facing public education. Mississippi offers evidence that substantial improvement is possible.

But its success also raises questions.

Are other states providing teachers with the training, resources, and ongoing support necessary to implement research-based instruction? Are educational reforms being sustained long enough to produce meaningful results? And are we paying enough attention to what happens after children leave the elementary grades?

Mississippi's eighth-grade reading results remind us that educational progress is rarely a finished story. Strong foundational reading instruction is essential, but older students also need continued support in vocabulary, comprehension, language, and knowledge development.

Perhaps the greatest lesson from Mississippi isn't that one state discovered a miracle. It's that meaningful progress demands consistent attention to instruction, professional preparation, student needs, and long-term improvement.

If Mississippi can demonstrate what is possible, shouldn't every state be asking what it can learn—and what it still needs to do differently?

Join the Conversation

What do you believe makes educational reform successful?

Is it stronger teacher preparation, greater funding, evidence-based instruction, consistent leadership, or a combination of these factors?

We invite educators, parents, and readers across the country to share their perspectives. What is your state doing well, and what could it learn from Mississippi's experience?