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NATCHEZ — Mississippi schools and districts will earn new grades for the first time since 2019 when the Mississippi State Board of Education approves accountability grades on Thursday, Sept. 29, for the 2021-22 school year.

Unofficial grades will be announced Tuesday and are already in the hands of school districts and media outlets that signed an embargo agreement.

Natchez-Adams School District will have a special called meeting Wednesday morning to discuss the grade change for the school district. The Natchez Democrat will release these results as soon as they are announced.

The grades reflect how student achievement has improved after declining during the early part of the pandemic.

Mississippi’s accountability system includes the following components:

• 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