Although local city school district officials were excited to announce that all teachers within the schools were now certified, city leaders seemed more concerned at the low level of proficiency among the students.
Dr. Semetra Brown, director of Human Capital and Talent Management within the Mississippi Achievement School District, recently provided a detailed presentation to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, covering a wide variety of topics from COVID figures to teacher certification and student performance.
Brown’s announcement that a hundred percent of teachers at Yazoo City High School, Woolfolk Middle School, Webster Elementary School, McCoy Elementary School, the Yazoo City Alternative Learning Center and the Larry Summers Career and Technical Center were now certified received a round of applause from the city board.
However, the applause was replaced by a moment of concern when later figures showed a very low number of Yazoo City students were considered proficient in subject areas.
Test results showed:
At McCoy Elementary, 97 percent of the students were tested in Language Arts, Math and Science. Of that percentage, only 3.5 percent were considered proficient in Language Arts, a 5.8 percent drop from 2019.
Not even one percent were considered proficient in Math with a .5 rate. In 2019, 8.8 percent were proficient.
In Science, 13.1 percent ranked as being proficient, a 26 percent drop from 2019.
Within the school’s third graders, 17 percent were proficient in Reading, a 15.4 percent drop from 2019.
At Woolfolk Middle School, 93 percent of the students were tested in those same areas. In Language Arts, 3.7 percent were proficient, a 6.8 percent drop from 2019.
Only two percent were considered proficient in Math, a 10.9 percent decrease from 2019.
A huge drop was seen in Science with 8 percent considered proficient, a 49.6 drop from 2019.
At Yazoo City High School, 98 percent of the students were tested. In Language Arts, 10.5 percent scored proficient, a 4.9 decrease from 2019.
No student even ranked as proficient in Algebra. In 2019, 21.4 percent of the students were considered proficient. In 2021, zero leveled that previous mark.
In History, there was an increase. In 2019, no students were listed as proficient. However, the 2021 scores showed a 10.2 percent proficient.
Graduation did increase at the local high school from 70.3 percent to 85.8 percent.
The test results left some of the city board members speechless, with a few even dropping their mouths. But Brown said there are several plans in place to address those figures to bring them up. The pandemic certainly played a role with instruction, Brown admitted.
“Distance learning was and is detrimental to most students’ academic progress and social and emotional development,” said Carmela Scott, principal of Woolfolk Middle School. “Learning loss due to virtual learning, pandemic stressors and quarantine interruptions will take more than one full, regular school year to overcome.”
Enrollment within the city schools has also shown a consistent drop since 2017. Last school year, the district had 2,233 students enrolled. That number dropped to 2,136 this year.
Brown said the reasons behind the declining enrollment include apprehension of some parents to returning to in-school instruction, opting for virtual-based instruction. She also said a decline in the city’s population is a huge factor.
Concerning COVID cases, there have been a total of 76 confirmed cases since last July.
