The Canton Public School District recently received district and individual school accountability ratings from the Mississippi Department of Education. The district is excited to announce several wins and milestones. Reuben B. Myers Canton School of Arts and Sciences and Jimmie Goodloe Elementary School maintained A ratings, and Huey Porter Middle School maintained a B rating. Canton High School, which was once the lowest F in the state, achieved B status for the first time, and its 91% graduation rate is the school’s highest ever. The district also experienced proficiency gains in reading and science across the board, and all four of the elementary schools are rated B or higher. Superintendent Hannah attributes the district’s progress to consistency and focus. “What we have noticed”, he states, “is that when we maintain consistency and focus on the big three: interventions, extended learning time, and small group instruction, our students grow and improve. We will continue to focus on these elements to sustain our success.” The district’s overall accountability rating decreased from a B in 2022 to a C. The Mississippi Department of Education’s Accountability Standards state that if a school or district does not meet an overall 95% testing participation rate, the school or district will automatically be dropped by one classification level. Due to the invalidation of scores at Nichols Middle School due to testing irregularities, the district’s testing participation rate was 92.7%, which was below the required 95% testing participation rate. Superintendent Gary Hannah calls the district’s automatic downgrade “disappointing”, but he is confident that the district will return to its previous rating. “We used what we learned from this experience to make significant changes to our test security plan, and we are moving forward to get back to our B status or higher.”

The 2023 accountability ratings for the district and each school (and the cut scores for each) are below:

                                                                                  Rating                            Cut Score

Canton Public School District                                     C                                           618

Reuben B. Myers Canton School of Arts & Sciences     A                                            485    

Jimmie Goodloe Elementary School                               A                                           484

Canton Elementary School                                             B                                           438

McNeal Elementary School                                             B                                           429    

Huey Porter Middle School                                              B                                           397    

Nichols Middle School                                             (No rating due to testing irregularities)

Canton Ninth Grade Academy/CHS                                B                                           743