Mississippi’s rise in reading literacy has drawn national attention — not as a one-off success, but as evidence of sustained, systemic change that other states are now studying closely.
Over the last 10 years, not only have Mississippi’s average reading scores improved but so has performance among its historically underserved students. It’s not just that Mississippi has raised the floor, it has also raised the ceiling, writes Kelsey Piper for The Argument on Substack. “They haven’t just caught up to your state; they are now wildly outperforming it.”
The decades-long trend line is particularly striking when compared to Minnesota’s reading performance trajectory over the same time period.
While Mississippi fourth graders outperformed Minnesota fourth graders in reading on the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), their average reading score is also significantly higher than it was in 2013. Minnesota’s, unfortunately, is significantly lower than it was in 2013.
Among students of color served, the average reading score for Mississippi black fourth graders is significantly higher than 10 years ago, whereas the average score for Minnesota black fourth graders is significantly lower than it was 10 years ago. This growth and decline trend holds true among Mississippi and Minnesota fourth-grade Hispanic students, as well — the latest average reading score for Mississippi Hispanic fourth graders is higher than in 2013 whereas Minnesota Hispanic fourth graders have a lower average score than what was posted in 2013.
NAEP Fourth-Grade Reading
Minnesota and Mississippi Comparison
In fact, overall when adjusted for socioeconomics and demographics, Mississippi fourth-grade reading results on NAEP are the best in the nation. Minnesota comes in at number 39. Among eighth-grade reading results, Mississippi has the fourth-highest assessment outcomes. Minnesota’s eighth-grade reading outcomes are number 31.
Beyond just prompting researchers, policymakers, and educators across the country to take notice, the Magnolia State’s policy decisions are reshaping narratives about education in the South, as other southern states are showing similar success in improving literacy.
For example, Alabama and Louisiana were the only two states to show a positive score difference in fourth-grade reading since 2019 results — Louisiana by a significant amount with average reading scores increasing six points since pre-COVID and Alabama an increase of one point. Mississippi maintained its pre-COVID results with all other states declining in comparison. Using demographic-weighted results, Louisiana fourth graders now rank second highest in reading scores nationwide, right behind Mississippi.
NAEP Fourth-Grade Reading
Score point difference from 2019 to 2024 by state
A set of common policies among these states can be found, likely helping drive improvements in literacy outcomes. The one that receives the most attention is the requirement to use curricula grounded in the science of reading. Sometimes simply referred to as phonics-based curricula, it is more than “just” teaching phonics and emphasizes the need for explicit, systematic instruction in foundational reading skills like phonemic awareness, as well.
Mississippi’s sweeping literacy law passed in 2013 also includes mandatory reading screenings to identify K-3 students who are falling behind, intensive professional development for teachers and school leaders, literacy coaches in schools, and retention requirements paired with strong interventions for third graders who aren’t reading proficiently by the end of the school year.
Minnesota’s overhaul of literacy instruction through the Minnesota Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act passed and signed into law in 2023 is trying to emulate part of the reforms Mississippi implemented a decade ago so we too can hopefully achieve similar success. It requires teacher preparation programs, districts, and teachers to align curriculum and classroom practice with evidence-based reading strategies and requires statewide literacy screenings to identify students at risk of falling behind. Teachers and school leaders are also completing training and ongoing professional development. (One key difference between the two states’ laws, though, is that Minnesota does not have a mandatory retention policy.)
Having good policy on the books is one thing, making sure it is carried out as intended and in a timely manner is another. Not only is buy-in important — that these shifts away from long-used instructional methods will pay off — but so is the type of training teachers receive to implement these changes.
For teachers currently in the classroom, this will mean verifying professional development is also grounded in the science of reading. Teachers undergo a lot of training as is, Piper reminds us, and “it’s mostly a waste of their time” “not because teacher training is unimportant but because we’re training them in the wrong things.” For teacher candidates, this will mean verifying teacher preparation programs have left behind discredited reading strategies and give aspiring educators adequate opportunities to practice applying their knowledge of reading concepts. There are exemplar resources from high-performing programs that provide Minnesota an array of promising practices to pull from to reduce the rate of reading failure.
Minnesota’s current response to its ongoing literacy challenges is a positive step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the decades-long delay has paid its price. With nearly 54 percent of third graders not proficient in reading, and proficiency down for the fourth consecutive year, let’s not let another 10 years go by before additional literacy-focused policies are considered and pursued. There is more we can still learn and copy from Mississippi.
