The “miracle” can basically be ascribed to the return of phonics. From Aaron Gifford at The Epoch Times via zerohedge.com:
Mississippi ranked 49th in the United States for elementary school literacy 10 years ago, when fourth graders were essentially an entire grade level behind the rest of the nation.
Fast-forward a decade and 85 percent of third graders in the Magnolia State passed the state reading assessment test in 2023, moving Mississippi up to No. 21 and showing the fastest growth in the country in reading comprehension, despite having one of the lowest per-pupil expenditure rates.
“People called it a miracle,” Kristen Wells-Wynn, literacy director for the Mississippi Department of Education, told The Epoch Times on July 3, “but we call it a marathon.”
For the coming academic year, teacher training in Mississippi will expand to higher grade levels, and other states, such as Maryland, will try to implement Mississippi’s early literacy model.
The change occurred in Mississippi when the state Department of Education began switching from the “balanced literacy” reading instruction method to the so-called “science of reading” approach. Ms. Wells-Wynn said Mississippi continues to fund the initiative at a cost of about $15 million annually.
Carey M. Wright, who led the change as Mississippi’s superintendent of education, took over as the head of Maryland’s Department of Education on July 1. Her first order of business will be to oversee the same transition of reading instruction in the Old-Line State.
The alphabet is the key.
I cried as a lil’ shaver when I didn’t know the alphabet and parents got me a photo book about it!
Mom taught business economics and typing so learned that earlier than most with even more alphabet.
Wish that tapestry thick beautiful Civil War paintings family book as big as a desktop could be found, probably worth some shekels now.
Third grade teacher taught us phonetic spelling but I still have that regional drawl. (H/T-God)
The glorious peoples republic of Maryland could use some help and $15 million sounds like acceptable terms for a CPUSA (D) state but I’m sure the teacher’s union comrades there will apply some grift.