New York Times: Mississippi elementary schools show dramatic improvement despite underfunding

Schools in the nation’s poorest state have “skyrocketed on national tests” despite underfunding and previous low performance, the New York Times reported on Jan. 12, 2026.

The rankings are rare good news in a state that historically has underfunded public education, a problem that could be exacerbated by ongoing efforts to divert tax dollars from underperforming schools, including to private schools.

The article noted Mississippi has been sending literacy coaches to low-performing elementary schools since 2013, a key part of the state’s strategy for addressing learning problems. The report cited schools in Jackson and in nearby Hazlehurst, where principal Kim Luckett-Langston said students previously suffered from what she called A.B.T., for “Ain’t been taught.”

According to Luckett-Langston, kindergartners previously arrived not knowing their letters from their numbers, and after a few years in school, were still far behind. A decade ago, only 12 percent of Hazlehurst students were reading on grade level, but today that figure is up to 35 percent and Mississippi as a whole “has emerged as one of the best places in the country for a poor child to get an education,” the newspaper reported. The state has gone from 49th in the nation on national tests in 2013 to a top 10 state for fourth graders learning to read, even as test scores have fallen almost everywhere else.

Adjusted for poverty and other student demographics, Mississippi is ranked No. 1 for fourth grade reading and math, and at or near the top in eighth grade, according to the Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank.

Mississippi’s gains have been confined mostly to the early years, where the state has focused its efforts, the Times reported. The system revolves around standardized testing, and the gains have not always persisted. By raw scores, Mississippi eighth graders still rank 41st on national tests for reading and 35th for math.

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