Category: Breitbart
Mississippi ‘miracle’ catapults 4th-grade reading scores from bottom into top 10 by getting back to phonics
In 2013, Mississippi ranked 49th out of the 50 U.S. states in grade four reading achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — the largest continuing national assessment of American students’ knowledge and capability in math, reading, science, and writing.
In what has repeatedly been dubbed a “miracle,” the state made its way up the list — to 29th in 2019 and then 10 spots higher to ninth place nationally for reading scores last year.
According to the NAEP, black students in Mississippi ranked third nationally last year among their cohort for reading and math scores; Hispanic students in the state ranked first in the nation for reading and second for math scores; and poor students in the Magnolia State ranked first for reading and second for math scores nationally.
‘No, it’s not impossible to teach children, and no, it’s not very costly.’
The assessment noted that “Mississippi is one of only a few states with improved NAEP scores since 2013. In most states, NAEP scores have been falling over the past decade.”
While there have been numerous attempts to explain Mississippi’s success, it appears the “Mississippi miracle” is attributable ultimately to the state’s 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act, which conservative commentator Rich Lowry recently noted effectively came down to adopting phonics and setting high standards for students.
Noah Spencer, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s economics department, analyzed the impact of the LBPA — the three pillars of which are improving teaching, identifying and helping kids with reading deficiencies, and holding back third-graders who can’t hack it on an end-of-year reading assessment — in a study published last year in the Economics of Education Review. Spencer found that:
the policy, which included investments in teacher training and coaching, early screening for and targeted assistance to struggling readers, and retention for deficient readers, increased both grade 4 reading and math test scores on a national assessment by 0.14 and 0.18 [standard deviations], respectively, for students with any amount of exposure to the policy, and by 0.23 and 0.29 SDs for students with K-3 exposure to the policy.
Spencer stressed the significance of these increases, citing previous research that found “that ‘children with test scores that are one standard deviation higher at age 12 report 1-2 more years of schooling by age 22’ in the lower- and middle-income countries they study.”
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Linda McMahon. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images
“While these estimates likely do not apply precisely to Mississippi’s context, it does seem reasonable to suggest that, given the LBPA’s sizable effects on test scores for children exposed from kindergarten to grade 3, it may also increase earnings for exposed cohorts in the future,” wrote Spencer. “The impressive effects of this policy change should be noted by policymakers in other jurisdictions.”
Lowry echoed this sentiment, noting that Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee, which have employed similar strategies, have also made gains.
“With reading scores nationally sliding the wrong way, especially for the bottom 10% of students, Mississippi and the other Southern states offer a beacon of hope,” wrote Lowry. “Their example shows that, no, it’s not impossible to teach children, and no, it’s not very costly. It’s a good sign that even California just passed a phonics bill.”
‘It’s really smart, local innovation at work.’
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has extolled the approach taken in Mississippi, telling the New York Post in September, “What I’m seeing now is a great return to classical learning.”
“We’ve tried a lot of things, you know — No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top — and I believe they were done with the best of intentions, but they were not successful,” said McMahon. “But what we have clearly seen is the science of reading is successful.”
Despite the noted success of the LBPA in Mississippi, some lawmakers around the country still haven’t taken the hint.
Democrats in Michigan, for instance, reportedly repealed similar reforms, eliminating, for instance, an A-F grade-ranking system for every public school in the state and scrapping the requirement that illiterate third-graders get held back.
Whereas last year, the average score of fourth-grade students in Mississippi for reading was 219/500 — higher than the national average score of 214 — the average score in Michigan was 209, which was lower than scores in 31 other states and jurisdictions.
The Mississippi Department of Education announced on Nov. 13 that 85% of the Magnolia State’s third-graders passed the reading assignment required to transition to grade four, a 1-percentage-point increase over last year.
The U.S. Department of Education noted, “Mississippi’s literacy climb may be called ‘miracle,’ but it’s really smart, local innovation at work.”
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Cowboys avoid fine for controversial celebration that football fans love
The confusing saga continues surrounding a Dallas Cowboys tradition that happens almost every year.
During a spectacular 31-28 Thanksgiving win against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson somehow avoided a fine for performing a controversial celebration, but he may have gotten off on a technicality.
‘Nothing like a Zeke being dropped into one of our kettles!’
As announced by tattoo-laden singer Post Malone, the Cowboys continued their Thanksgiving- and Christmas-season partnership with the Salvation Army. This included the tradition of placing giant red kettles behind the endzones, directly in front of the first row of fans.
During the third quarter, Ferguson seemingly tapped his toes into the endzone for an epic touchdown, ran over to one of the kettles at AT&T Stadium, and jumped in. No flag was thrown on this play for excessive celebration, and the NFL has not announced any fines.
However, this is where things get confusing.
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott climbed into a Salvation Army kettle after a touchdown run in the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Richard W. Rodriguez/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
After a lengthy review, Ferguson’s touchdown was overturned and taken off the scoreboard, adding another curveball to an already convoluted situation given that the kettle celebration has been overlooked by the NFL at times, while also resulting in fines in some instances.
In 2024, the kettle’s use in post-touchdown antics caused such a stir that Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown boldly made the claim that the league was baiting players into getting fined.
With four kettles placed around the field, Brown apparently couldn’t help but jump into one during a matchup against the Cowboys. He was subsequently fined $5,481 by the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The enforcement surrounding the celebration has been about as inconsistent as imaginable, dating back to former Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott performing the act in 2016. That year, the celebration was so well received it even garnered praise from the Salvation Army.
“Nothing like a Zeke being dropped into one of our kettles!” the organization wrote on X, then Twitter.
Strangely, the following year the NFL started its own confusing tradition of going back and forth on punishing the celebration.
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ARLINGTON, TX – NOVEMBER 23: Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) jumps into the Salvation Army Kettle after returning an interception for a touchdown during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders on November 23, 2023 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In 2017, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Justin Coleman jumped into one of the kettles after returning an interception for a touchdown; he was not fined but got penalized during the game.
In 2018 though, Elliott performed the celebration again, but this time was fined $13,369 by the NFL.
Fast-forward to 2022 when the NFL managed to confuse players and fans even more. A Whac-a-Mole celebration in late November had three Cowboys players get into a kettle and see no discipline at all. One week later, the Cowboys, including Elliott, used a kettle in a different unique celebration. This time, participants Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott were fined $13,261 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
On Thanksgiving 2023, a seemingly preplanned celebration that involved four Cowboys players eating turkey legs that were inside a kettle did not result in any fines.
As the confusing tradition continues, the Salvation Army did not make mention of the celebration on its X account in 2025. The charity showcased only its partnership with the Cowboys, sharing a video of the aforementioned Post Malone.
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