Shows Promising Results

CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI, USA, February 28, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Data collected from the 2017 fall semester shows that students in Coahoma County School District who participated in the Mississippi Reading Roadmap (MRR) afterschool program demonstrated significant growth in reading proficiency. Most importantly, improvement in reading proficiency among students was measured on school assessments.

The MRR builds upon the policies established by Governor Phil Bryant to foster early reading achievement. The afterschool program for kindergarten-third grade students launched this fall in Coahoma County School District with 190 students participating.

Based upon the school-administered Coahoma County STAR Assessments, readers in the program are progressing rapidly, achieving improved results as compared to those without the program.

STAR Assessments data, which are used throughout the state, demonstrate that participants in the program exceeded growth expectations. First graders in the MRR program showed an average improvement of 33 percent relative to their peers during the fall semester. Second graders improved by 35 percent, while third graders improved by 26 percent.

"Our district has committed itself to improving early literacy among all of our students," said Coahoma County Schools Superintendent Xandra Keys. "The Mississippi Reading Roadmap is a terrific afterschool partner because they have helped us build afterschool interventions that align with our school assessments and reading instruction."

Since August, the four elementary schools in the Coahoma County district have combined in-school, afterschool and family engagement components to spark the gains documented by the STAR tests. The MRR prescribes a summer program which it says can combat regression and even accelerate growth among developing readers.

"The results produced during the first semester were really impressive," said Andrew Hysell, Executive Director of the MRR. "The data shows the MRR student growth rates actually exceeded STAR's growth expectations in each grade level. Coahoma County Schools' hard work is an essential ingredient to this success."

With the support of the Governor, the MRR began in the Coahoma County School District as a pilot program modeled after a similar initiative in Kansas, where improvements among at-risk students have been documented over the past four school years. The Reading Roadmap serves over 10,000 children in nearly 70 schools across the country.

The MRR is made possible with funding from the Walton Family Foundation and the Mississippi-based Barksdale Institute

Andrew Hysell
Mississippi Reading Roadmap
(203)570-7560
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