Coast Schools Score High on State Test

The Mississippi Assessment Program Test measures students’ progress toward high academic goals, providing them with knowledge they’ll need to succeed in the future.
South Mississippi schools are making the grade, with recent test results landing Coast schools above all other districts in the state.
News 25’s Gina Tomlinson checked in with local educators to get their formula for success.
Long Beach High School junior Ashli Hasan says she knows her school aims for greatness, but says even she was shocked to learn she earned a perfect score on a state-wide higher education test. “When I first took it, I was really nervous and I actually was sick that morning. I still took it and I ended up getting one of the highest scores. I’m pretty proud of myself.”
Like Hasan, students from all over South Mississippi are raising the bar. Test scores for the first year of the Mississippi Assessment Program Testing are some of the highest percentages throughout the state.
Long Beach schools scored the best in English 2, beating out all other schools in the state. This news brought at least one teacher to tears, proud of the students’ accomplishments. English teacher Catherine Collins said, “I would be lying if I told you I didn’t have a tear in my eye. It was just really exciting. It’s just kind of what you work for all year.”
For English 2, 52.2 percent of students scored level 4 or proficient, 18.8 percent of students scored level 5 or advanced, that number totaling in to 71 percent. Collins talks about what it takes to top the list. “Perseverance, a lot of hard work and we just have really good kids here at Long Beach.”
Pass Christian High School led the state with the most students scoring above average in algebra, just one of the many school districts in South Mississippi raising the bar for education throughout our state. Pass Christian Superintendent Dr. Carla Evers said, “We have great teachers and amazing students and very strong community support here and when you have all three of those things working in concert together, you can’t help but have amazing schools.”