ADVANCING EQUITY THROUGH LITERACY POLICY - A LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS OF MISSISSIPPI’S PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IMPLEMENTING THE LITERACY-BASED PROMOTION ACT

Oct 15, 2026

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Since 2011, Mississippi has raised student literacy rates measured by NAEP and MAAP, yet the Black/White literacy proficiency gap remains a critical unanswered question. This brief analyzes publicly available MAAP data from 2019–2020 through 2022–2023 alongside related NAEP findings to assess the impact of the 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act. Results indicate gains for both groups, but the overall gap widened, suggesting continued work and offering policy guidance for other states.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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ADVANCING EQUITY THROUGH LITERACY POLICY: A LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS OF MISSISSIPPI’S PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IMPLEMENTING THE LITERACY-BASED PROMOTION ACT PHELTON C. MOSS Virginia Commonwealth University, U.S.A. ASHLEY WHITE University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Since 2011, Mississippi has significantly improved its students’ literacy rates on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP). However, little attention has gone to understanding how and if, amid such tremendous progress, Mississippi is closing the gap in literacy proficiency between Black and White students. In this brief, I explore data from the statewide MAAP from the 2019–2020 school year to the 2022–2023 school year, using publicly available data from the Mississippi Department of Education’s annual Assessment Achievement Gap Analysis Report and the NAEP annual report to determine if the passage of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act of 2013 has had any impact on closing the Black/White literacy gap in Mississippi as they pursue their goal of getting 70% of students reading proficiently by 2025. While this analysis found the Black/White literacy gap widen, it does not necessarily follow that Mississippi made no progress with Black students. Infact, these findings reveal that both groups experience gains; however, the overall gap widen. These conclusions, which offered a between group analysis of Black/White student literacy performance, add weight to thearugment that much work needs to be done, but that Mississippi’s modest gains could be a starting point for other state’s literacy policy efforts. In this paper, we also provide policy and practice recommendations. INTRODUCTION Most recently in the United States, state level policy has focused on improving student literacy outcomes has taken center stage. Specifically, Mississippi has become the source for literacy policy with the passage of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act of 2013, requiring its students to pass a reading exam to move from 3rd to 4th grade. What is more, Mississippi’s recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) gains have moved its work to the center stage. Researchers and policy actors, including major media outlets, have spent the last few years highlighting Mississippi’s ability to improve literacy outcomes on national assessments. Ten years later, many of these researchers and media outlets have cast the change in literacy outcomes as the “Mississippi Miracle”to describe current events surrounding Mississippi’s gains in literacy. Next is a small recast of such commentary: “The so-called Mississippi miracle in education really isn’t one. The State’s surge in student achievement results not from divine intervention but from careful policy applied by committed human beings”(Washington Post, 2023) . Educational Planning | Fall 2025 11 Vol. 32, No. 4 “In the last decade, Mississippi students have rapidly closed the test score gap within the nation as a whole, particularly in fourth grade. State officials, education wonks, and national journalists have attributed these improvements to the State’s 2013 early reading law, which included emphasizing phonics and holding back third graders who struggle to read”(Barnum, 2023) . “Mississippi has shown that it is possible to raise standards even in a state ranked dead last in the country in child poverty and hunger,” New York Times columnist Nick Kristof (2023) wrote in May. Each headline is true, but missing from the conversation is the extent to which Mississippi has closed the Black/White literacy proficiency gap as it implemented policy efforts to get more kids reading within the State. Moreover, as state political leaders, advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, and parents look for policies for other states to adopt for similar progress, it is essential to know what is truly happening in Mississippi. Understanding what impact policies ha

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the leadership analysis in this brief?

It examines how and whether Mississippi’s literacy progress affects the Black/White literacy proficiency gap after implementing the 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act.

Which data sources and time period are used to evaluate the act’s impact?

The analysis uses statewide MAAP data from 2019–2020 through 2022–2023 and compares it with publicly available NAEP annual report information and a Mississippi Department of Education achievement gap analysis report.

What do the findings suggest about the Black/White literacy gap?

The brief reports that both groups experience gains, but the overall Black/White gap widens rather than closes.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by moss~