NATCHEZ — Test scores released Thursday show the Natchez Adams School District improved slightly in both Math and English Language Arts over the last school year compared previous years’ results.

The Mississippi Department of Education requires students in grades three through eight and high-school English II and Algebra I classes to participate in the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program, which aims to track students’ progress toward academic goals.

A statement from the MDE said students may score in one of five tiers in both subjects. The top two tiers are called proficient or advanced, meaning students either met or exceeded expectations in that subject area.

MDE said students across the state have reached an all-time high in both the English and Math sections.

Statewide, 41.6% of students scored proficient or greater in English and 47.3% in math, compared to 33.6% in English and 33% in Math in 2018, MDE said.

Overall, more NASD students scored proficient or advanced in both the English and Math portions of the test last school year than in the 2017-2018 school year; 24.7% scored proficient or greater in English compared to 23.1% in 2018 while 24.5% scored proficient or greater in Math compared to 23.7% in 2018.

Deputy Superintendent Zandra McDonald said she is proud of the strides the district’s elementary students have made as well as high-school students for once again increasing the graduation rate for the third consecutive year.

“There was small incremental growth in overall proficiency in reading and mathematics,” McDonald said. “Again this year, the district’s graduation rate has continued to increase as it has done over the last three years. … The district experienced some challenges in the performance of students in math, especially at the fourth grade. We have pinpointed some specific areas in need of additional support.”

In grades four and six, fewer students scored proficient or advanced in both the math and English Language Arts portion than in 2018 while fewer seventh-grade students scored proficient or advanced in just the English portion.

McDonald said the decrease has already been addressed this school year by requiring sixth through eighth-grade teachers to attend professional development courses over the summer as well as by making curriculum changes and smaller increment assessments that are shared district-wide.

“The district has re-examined curriculum for those areas because of the decrease that has occurred,” McDonald said. “… However, when you examine cohort data or the data of the same group of students, students are growing. Last year 20% of third graders scored proficient or above; 28% of those students scored proficient or above as fourth graders.”

A higher percentage of students scored proficient or greater than in 2018 in grades three, five and eight in both subject areas as well as in the high school English II and Algebra I classes.

In third-grade, 26.5% of students scored in the top tiers in English and 33% in math compared to 21.1% of students in English and 29.2% in math the prior year, which McDonald said can partly be attributed to a strong emphasis the district placed on third grade instruction last school year.

“There was a strong emphasis placed on 3rd grade ELA because of the changes in the requirements for promotion under the state’s literacy-based promotion act,” McDonald said. “Students were required to perform at a level 3 or above (to be promoted to fourth-grade) where in the past they were required to perform at a level 2 or above for promotion. … School personnel monitored student performance closely throughout the year and applied interventions sooner. Additionally, teachers — despite their content area — are now incorporating literacy standards into their subject area instruction. Literacy standards are not just for reading classes but are being applied in social studies, science and elective courses.  Interventions by content area specialists and academic coaches were also used at the middle grade levels and were a factor in the improvements that we experienced.”