MDE Requests Public Input Concerning Math, English Standards Taught in Public Schools

The Mississippi Department of Education is seeking comments from the public on the math and ELA standards taught in Mississippi public schools.

The Mississippi Department of Education has launched an online public forum to seek specific input on the English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics academic standards taught in Mississippi public schools since their adoption in 2010.

The process, called the Mississippi College-and-Career-Ready Standards (MCCRS) Feedback Forum, is open through September 15. It is designed to encourage participants to read the standards and submit comments. The forum provides a medium for stakeholders such as parents, educators and business professionals to make recommendations on improving or building upon the standards that have been adopted.

Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education, said, “While the public had opportunity to provide feedback during the standards adoption process, the Mississippi College-and-Career-Ready Standards Feedback Forum will give teachers, parents and others who are interested the chance to perfect the standards based on their experiences over the last several years.”

Comments will be evaluated by a panel of Mississippi educators, content specialists in math and ELA and higher education representatives. The panel will recommend any changes to the Mississippi Board of Education. Changes approved by the Board will go into effect for the 2016-2017 school year.

Dr. John Kelly, Board chairman, said, “This process does exactly what the Board had requested: provide a venue for any stakeholders to provide recommendations on how we can build upon the current rigorous standards we have as we continue to move the state forward with high standards of learning.”

According to a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education, the process does not serve as a referendum on the standards. Only comments that can become actionable items will be considered. The Forum may be accessed here. Participants may also visit http://mississippi.statestandards.com/​.

How the Feedback Forum works:

Participants are not required to give any personally identifiable information. Stakeholders will simply provide general information on whether they are commenting as a parent, educator or business and industry professional. This will inform the Board and the public about which stakeholders participated in the forum.

Standards are searchable by subject and grade level. The participant will read the grade-level standard and then provide feedback. Several options for input will be listed, including an option that allows the participant to state whether or not he or she likes the standard. If the participant wishes to change the wording of the standard, an editable textbox will appear on the screen.

Participants may leave and come back to the Feedback Forum any time through September 15. However, they are only allowed to submit suggestions on a particular standard once per electronic device. After September 15, all comments will be published online.

Beth Harmon is managing editor for HottyToddy.com. Email her at beth.harmon@hottytoddy.com