Meet the S.F. school board candidates: Should SFUSD try to replicate the Mississippi Miracle?

Mississippi’s improved fourth-grade reading and math performance is linked to state-mandated accountability. Schools in the bottom 25% for reading must undergo training and coaching. Students who do not meet state standards are not promoted until they reach reading proficiency goals. Districts labeled failing for two consecutive years can lose local control, with boards removed, superintendents removed, and state takeover until improvement occurs. In San Francisco, third grade reading proficiency fell below district targets, and the board voted to extend time to reach a 70% goal. By 2025, reading proficiency reached 47%, prompting questions about whether similar accountability metrics would help SFUSD.

"If a school in Mississippi is ranked in the bottom 25% for its reading scores, the state dictates that the school's educators are required to go through training and coaching. The rules also mandate that most students who fail to meet the state's standards not advance to the next grade until they meet the grade's reading proficiency goals."

"If a district is ranked "failing" for two consecutive years, its Board of Education could be thrown out, its Superintendent removed, and it would be taken over by the state until it improves. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the S.F. Unified School District's third grade reading scores have fallen below the goals the district set for itself in 2022."

"Last month, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to grant itself another year to try to meet its target of 70% reading proficiency. In 2025, reading proficiency dropped to 47%. This week, Mission Local asked each of the candidates running for the San Francisco School Board whether SFUSD would benefit from the same accountability metric set by the state of Mississippi."

Read at Mission Local