Brookhaven School District hits historic high grade

Lincoln County has the only “A” grade in Southwest Mississippi

 

Both Brookhaven and Lincoln County school districts are above average when it comes to accountability grades for the 2022-2023 school year.

The Mississippi Department of Education has released accountability grades for the all districts, which show 87 percent of schools and 91 percent of districts earned a grade of “C” or higher.

Brookhaven School District earned a “B” — a record-high for the district — and Lincoln County School District earned an “A,” the only district in Southwest Mississippi to do so.

In elementary and middle schools, up to 700 points can be earned. Growth makes up more than half the grade (380 of 700 points). In high schools and districts, up to 1,000 points can be earned, with growth making up more than one third (380 of 1,000 points).

 

Brookhaven Schools

Brookhaven School District had a total score of 619. The minimum required for a “B” is 599 for districts. The district scored 38.3 in reading proficiency, 40 in math proficiency, and had a graduation rate of 83.5.

Four individual schools in the district earned also earned “B” grades — Mamie Martin Elementary, Brookhaven Elementary, Lipsey Middle and Brookhaven High. Alexander Junior High earned a “C.”

“This is a special day today,” said Brookhaven Superintendent Dr. Rod Henderson. “We achieved something that has never been done before in the district. We went up to a ‘B’ rating and I’m very happy. We increased 28 points in our total score over last year — a historic high.”

Henderson said he is proud of the work done in all of the schools by both students and teachers. Students made gains in proficiency in 10 of 18 testing areas —“Many were double-digit gains,” Henderson said.

“Overall, the district had very great increases in the percentage of students who met or exceeding state standards,” Henderson said. “One-hundred percent of Alexander math students tested scored at proficient levels.”

 

Lincoln County Schools

Lincoln County School District had a total score of 684, an “A.” The minimum required for an “A” is 668. The district scored 53.4 in reading proficiency, 55.6 in math proficiency, and had a graduation rate of 87.9.

One school in the district also earned an “A” — West Lincoln. The other three schools earned “B” grades — Enterprise, Bogue Chitto and Loyd Star.

“I’m definitely proud of the teachers and students and the efforts made, especially in the last couple of years,” said Lincoln County Superintendent Dr. David Martin. “I’m proud of their success and I’m looking forward to future progress.”

 

What factors are included in accountability grades?

Nine factors are considered when compiling accountability grades for schools. They are:

1. Student performance in math and English Language Arts (ELA) on state assessments in grades 3-8, and in high school Algebra I and English II
2. Whether all students are meeting annual expected growth in math and ELA
3. Whether the lowest-performing 25 percent of students are meeting annual expected growth in math and ELA
4. Student performance in science on state assessments in grades 5, 8 and biology
5. Student performance on the high school U.S. History state assessment
6. How well English learners are making progress toward proficiency
7. Student performance on ACT or ACT WorkKeys
8. Student participation in and performance in accelerated courses
9. Whether high school students are graduating on time

What is not measured is how an individual student or teacher is performing. Also, grades do not take into consideration other things a school may be doing well, such as meeting students’ emotional, social or health needs, or how well students are performing in other subjects.

For a full breakdown of scoring, click here.