On October 1, 2026, the Show-Me Institute and Show-Me Opportunity hosted a panel discussion titled “Can Missouri Experience a Mississippi Miracle? A Panel on Improving Missouri’s Schools.”
In 2013, Mississippi ranked 49th in the country in fourth-grade reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). By 2024, it ranked 9th. Over the same period, Missouri fell from 27th to 38th. What drove Mississippi’s gains, and what can Missouri learn from Mississippi’s success and Florida’s approach to educational freedom?
Brenda Talent, CEO of the Show-Me Institute, moderated the discussion. The panelists were Douglas Carswell, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy; James V. Shuls, senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute and research faculty at Florida State University; and Cory Koedel, director of education policy at the Show-Me Institute. The panel discusses third-grade reading retention, phonics-based instruction, teacher preparation, school choice, and leadership’s role in implementing reforms, followed by audience questions.
