Mississippi educators and leaders can take justifiable pride in the progress that students have made. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the Union, was a reliable last-place finisher in national education scores such as NAEP. But in recent years, the state has led the nation in reading gains.
In an interview broadcast on April 30, 2025 on the Education Gadfly podcast, Rachel Canter, the founder of Mississippi First, warned against interpreting Mississippi’s success as a “miracle” because that implies that there are quick fixes. The only miracle, she said, was 20 years of consistent focus on the essentials, such as improved standards, assessments, and teacher professional learning. You can listen to the full interview here: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/resources/967-mississippis-secret-twenty-years-persistence-and-progress-rachel-canter
Canter said that in addition to improving the effectiveness of teachers and leaders in the state, it was consistent support from legislative leaders and the governor’s office that avoided the typical switching from one solution to another that has undermined educational success in many states and districts. The key to this focus was facing the fact that, in her words, the state was lying to parents, claiming that most students were meeting standards based on the state assessment, so there was really nothing to worry about. Moreover, she said, there was a pervasive feeling that schools were doing as well as could be expected given Mississippi’s high poverty rate. By building a coalition of teachers, parents, school leaders, and political leaders, she was able to achieve significant changes in policy and practice, including:
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Retrained every teacher in the state and required teachers to take an assessment demonstrating their knowledge of effective reading instruction to have a teaching license.
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The state focused on the essentials of quality instructional materials, evidence-based reading instruction, significantly more rigorous standards, and a new state assessment with greater rigor. The state selected and deployed reading coaches to every school. She said that while other states have had similar policy changes, implementation is notoriously inconsistent because it depends on the district and schools. In Mississippi, the state took an active role in consistent implementation. The state education leader was in office for 8 years, and legislative leaders had even longer tenures.
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Canter insisted that money alone was not the answer, as other states with significantly greater funding had much lower scores. Moreover, during Mississippi’s 20-year performance growth, education was fully funded in only two of those 20 years.
While educational systems are fond of looking for miracle cures, Canter insists that miracles do not exist. She implores education policymakers to avoid the tendency to say, “We did that last year. What’s the latest new thing?” Finally, she says that changes in policy and legislation are not enough, as implementation is the key to successful improvement in performance.