Both Yazoo City and Yazoo County kindergartners scored slightly less than the state average in their kindergarten readiness assessment scores.
Statewide, the average score on the recent assessment was 502. Within the Yazoo City schools, students averaged a score of 472 after testing a total of 184 students. Within the Yazoo County schools, students scored an average score of 451 after testing a total of 80 students.
The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment evaluates early literacy skills such as the ability to recognize letters and match letters to their sounds and a student’s recognition that print flows from left to right.
Following annual trends, the percentage of students scoring kindergarten-ready is 36.6 percent in 2019, compared to 36.1 percent in 2018, 36.9 percent in 2017 and 36.4 percent in 2016.
Research from a four-year study shows that 85 percent of students at the beginning of kindergarten with a score of 530 or above on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment are on track to become proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade.
Making high-quality early childhood education accessible to all children is one of the primary goals of the Mississippi State Board of Education Strategic Plan.
“High-quality early childhood education prepares children for success in kindergarten and has a positive impact on academic achievement throughout a child’s education,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education.
Yazoo City students at Webster Elementary School, totaling 184 test-takers, scored 472. Within Yazoo County schools, a total of 53 students at Bentonia Gibbs Elementary School scored 451; a total of 27 students at Linwood Elementary School scored 452.
Local students, within both city and county kindergarten classes, were rated as Early Emergent Readers, which falls within a 300-487 score scale. Those students show that they are able to understand that printed text has meaning, print flows from left to right and from top to bottom, and are able to identify colors, shapes, numbers and letters.
