In addition to our post last week on behalf of positive momentum for cell phone bans in schools, we also recently told you about another extraordinary development in the realm of American education. Known as the 'Mississippi Miracle,' a state that has long been synonymous with bottom-of-the-barrel educational outcomes for its students is now experiencing a breathtaking renaissance. "The Mississippi Miracle is [ranked] number 1 after adjusting for its unpromising demographics, with comparable Louisiana in second," an analysis reported. "The Mississippi Department of Education’s press release boasts of Mississippi’s striking improvement since the legislature passed a number of laws in 2013 (modeled on Florida’s 2002 reforms) to get serious about teaching reading and math."
The key to the miraculous-seeming progress has been an overhaul of policies and methods, particularly including a renewed and highly-fruitful focus on basic phonics. Mississippi has "trained thousands of teachers in the so-called science of reading, which refers to the most proven, research-backed methods of teaching reading. They’ve dispatched literacy coaches to help teachers implement that training, especially in low-performing schools," the analysis explained. The "science of reading" has, put simply, worked. We embedded this chart in our previous post, too, but it's worth another look:
Mississippi has the best demographic-adjusted NAEP (4th & 8th grade) scores now
— Arjun Panickssery (@panickssery) April 7, 2025
The "Mississippi Miracle" started in 2012 when the Republican governor/legislature introduced phonics-based instruction and began to hold back ~10% of 3rd graders per year who fail a reading test pic.twitter.com/BYtlXePzRd
That piece is available here, if you missed it. Students in Mississippi are now overtaking their peers in numerous states that have long considered themselves superior, including Gretchen Whitmer's Michigan:
Mississippi surpasses Michigan in fourth grade reading after literacy reforms. Read more: https://t.co/s6zfpi7SPg pic.twitter.com/FZJYvQ0OEW
— Mackinac Center (@MackinacCenter) April 24, 2025
Which brings us to the Big Dog of "Progressive" blue states, led by a man who wants to be president. Even the editors of the left-wing San Francisco Chronicle can scarcely believe their eyes, as they watch long-underperforming Deep South states blowing past Californians:
Let that sink in. California trails Mississippi and Alabama in early literacy. https://t.co/QboK9ahLM8
— Brody Wayne Fernandez (@BrodyWayneMedia) April 27, 2025
Why is that happening? Well, because Mississippi and Alabama are refocusing on proven, succeeding phonics instruction. Why can't California do the same? They can, but they're explicitly choosing not to because the political party that has a stranglehold on the state's governance won't even discuss it. And why won't they discuss it? I'll give you one guess:
Oh look, the @sfchronicle is starting to discover that government unions are bad: pic.twitter.com/KsjdCnFO11
— Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) April 27, 2025
"Fierce opposition" from special interest groups -- namely, the teachers unions. A bipartisan bill would have taken the Deep South's success, based on undeniable success, and brought it to California. And the union bosses fought it tooth and nail, just as they fought opening schools during COVID. These people are ready, willing and able to harm the children they're failing to educate effectively, and they demonstrate it repeatedly. And because such deep-pocketed special interests own the one party of California's one-party state government, unambiguous success was killed without so much as a discussion. Come to think of it, shutting down debate in order to attacking education and parents' rights seems to be a trend among ruling Democrats on the West Coast. What a disgrace. And as long as voters in these places continue to prioritize loathing and fighting Republicans above all else, it will continue. Sorry, Left coast kids. Fortunately for children who live elsewhere, other leaders are making better decisions. I'll leave you with this:
The Texas Senate concurred with the House’s changes to Senate Bill 2. This is historic school choice legislation.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 24, 2025
SB 2 is now on its way to my desk to be signed into law.
Thanks to the dedication of our lawmakers, Texas families will soon have education freedom!
