Lafayette Schools One of Top 10 Districts for Most Improved in Math

By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The Lafayette County School District placed in the Top 10 for most improved districts when it comes to mathematics, according to the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program scores released recently by the Mississippi Department of Education.

MAAP measures students’ knowledge, skills, and academic growth from elementary through high school. Student progress is measured in grades three through eight using annual assessments in English Language Arts and mathematics and in high school using Algebra I and English II end-of-course assessments.

Students scoring at Level 4 or 5, the proficient or advanced categories, are meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations. The scores suggest that students have a thorough understanding of grade-level content and are on the right track to being ready for college-level coursework. Students scoring at Level 3 demonstrate a general mastery of the knowledge and skills required for success in the grade or course, and they are approaching expectations for that grade or course. Students scoring a Level 1 or 2 need more assistance in learning the content and are in need of greater support.

Lafayette scored 60.2 percent proficiency in Math and a 48.7 percent proficiency in ELA. The state averages are 43.9 in math and 39.8 in ELA.

The school district also ranked sixth in the state for proficiency in Algebra I with a 77.9 percent proficiency and was recognized as being in the top 10 of most improved districts in mathematics.

“Our District continues to be devoted to improving the academic standards and levels of our schools,” said Superintendent Adam Pugh. “It is a day-to-day process that our faculty, administrators and support staff take on to reach the maximum potential for all students.

“As a district, we utilize teacher expertise, academic programs, data and various interventions to continuously grow students academically. These same measures are used to help close the achievement gap among all our students.”

MDE also released the 2018 Assessment Achievement Gap Analysis, which showed Lafayette County School District’s achievement gap has dropped since 2017 in ELA.

The gap between white and black students in ELA proficiency in 2017 in Lafayette was -29 percent. In 2018, it was -25.7 percent.

In mathematics, the gap between white and black students in 2017 was 21.8 percent, raising slighting in 2018 to -24.4 percent. However, the number of students proficient in ELA and math increased for both races from 2017 to 2018.