Oxford, Lafayette Named ‘A’ School Districts for 2022-23 School Year

The Mississippi Department of Education released accountability grades for the 2022–23 school year, naming Oxford School District and Lafayette County School District “A” school districts.

The rating system has been in place since the inception of the state accountability model in 2016.

Oxford School District

The most notable of the OSD’s accolades are the second-highest College and Career Readiness ranking and fourth-highest acceleration. 

OSD increased the percentage of students who are proficient in math and reading from the 2022 accountability results. In addition, the district increased the percentage of students who showed growth in reading and math from the 2022 accountability results. Della Davidson Elementary School ranked fourth in Mississippi out of 633 schools.

Oxford High School regained its grade of an A and demonstrated the fifth-highest acceleration rate out of 235 schools. 

“While we are always pleased with an A rating, the data does not show an accurate depiction for our 2022-2023 school year due to our grade span realignment that took place. The 2021–2022 data does not align with the same students represented in the 2022–2023 data; therefore, the accountability totals are skewed for us this year,” said Superintendent Bradley Roberson.

Mississippi policy states: The calculations are applied to the school the following year, regardless of any reconfigurations or redistricting that takes place during the summer after testing or during the school year before testing. 

Mississippi’s accountability grades help teachers, school leaders, parents, and communities know how well their local schools and districts serve their students. The components of the state’s accountability system are based on state and federal law and State Board policy. They include:

• Student proficiency and growth rates in ELA and Mathematics in grades 3–8
• Growth of the lowest-performing 25% of students in ELA and Mathematics
• Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8
• English Learner progress toward becoming proficient in the English language
• Performance on the ACT and high school Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History assessments
• Student participation and performance in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement and dual credit/dual enrollment courses
• Four-year graduation rate

Oxford School District’s Report Card: 

• Oxford High School grade: A
• Oxford Middle School grade: B
• Oxford Intermediate grade: B
• Central Elementary grade: A
• Della Davidson grade: A
• Bramlett Elementary grade: A

• Oxford Early Childhood Center grade: A

Lafayette County School District

The Lafayette County School District received its highest score and ranking in the history of the new accountability rating.

Lafayette is now ranked 13th in the state and maintains its “A” rating.

The district scored a high of 741 points overall, a 47-point increase from the previous year. All the schools improved, with Lafayette High School increasing 107 points, jumping from 729 points to 836 points.

Lafayette Upper Elementary saw a ranking improvement from a “B” to an “A” school by increasing 60 points. Lafayette Elementary gained 72 points and remained an “A” school as well. Lafayette Middle School saw an increase of 21 points, continuing its steady growth.

“I just want to say thank you. I’m so proud of all of our employees, administration, teachers, students, and parents. Last year, we ranked at 24, the highest we’ve been. We set a goal to be top 10. Our increase to 13th in the state was significant, and we are so proud to see this growth,” said Superintendent Jay Foster.

Math scores for all grade levels were especially noteworthy, as growth scores were the key to improving the overall math performance. LUES and LMS saw a growth score of 78.8 and 72.4, respectively, while LES and LHS scored over 100 points in growth.

“It was a collective effort, district-wide, to increase our proficiency levels and focus on individual student growth. There’s a lot of planning and collaboration that takes place to continue to improve. We are building a system of collaboration from grade to grade, building to building,” added Foster.

Student-focused education continues to the secondary level as LCSD sees success from the CTE programs and College and Career preparation.

“We are maximizing the CTE programs along with our AP and Dual Credit programs in moving us forward in acceleration points. We are meeting students where they are and giving them an avenue to succeed after high school, be it college, military service, or the workforce. We are building on the momentum of previous years,” added Patrick Robinson, Assistant Superintendent.

To mark the historic performance, the Lafayette County School District will have a celebration ceremony on Nov. 2.

Information provided by the OSD and LCSD districts