Mississippi's Future - Will the Schools Meet the Challenge?

    NY LDF 
LA 
313 
.M33 
1988 
c .1 

A Report to the Mississippi State Board of Education 
and the Citizens of Mississippi 

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 



NY LDF LA 313 .M33 1988 c . 1 
McClure, Phyllis. 
Mississippi's future - will the 

schools meet the challenge? 

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Mississippi's Future 
Will the Schools 

Meet the Challenge? 

A Report to the 
Mississippi State Board of Education 

and the Citizens of Mississippi 

Amite 
Pike 

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 

November 1988 

Noxubee 

Kemper 

Lauderdale 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund wishes to thank the Mississippi Department of Education for 
its cooperation in supplying and reviewing the accuracy of the data used in this report. Photographs 
are courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Education and the Board of Trustees of the State 
Institutions of Higher Learning. 

Phyllis McClure of the Lega l Defense Fund's Washington Office is the author. Stephen Oliver, 
Michael Valentine and Wilhelmina Wright contributed to the research. Valerie Tillett typed many 
drafts of the report. 

Special appreciation goes to Sally Berman who edited this document with careful attention to 
every detail. 

We encourage the reproduction of this report in whole or in part as long as proper attribution is 
given. 

Copies may be obtained from 

NAACP Legal Defense Fund 
1275 K Street, N.W. 

Suite 301 
Washington, D.C. 20005 

(202) 682-1300 



FOREWORD 
For more than four decades the NAACP Legal Defense 

and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) has fought for full 
access of black Americans to high quality education and 
for full integration into the labor market. LDF has been 
actively engaged in Mississippi school desegregation 
cases for more than twenty years. Progress toward equal 
opportunity came first at the federal level through court 
decisions and civil rights laws which struck down the 
racial barriers that kept blacks in the most inferior schools 
and the most menial jobs. State governments often were 
the greatest obstacle toward progress. But in the last 
decade there has been a marked change in the attitudes 
and actions of many states toward public schools. Driven 
by economic concerns-the loss of jobs and low pro­
ductivity in the workforce-states have focused on educa­
tion as both the cause of and the solution to their 
problems. Governors, legislators and business leaders 
are no longer willing to tolerate a system which sends high 
school graduates-whether black or white - into the job 
market with deficient reading, writing and computational 
skills. 

Mississippi was an early leader in education reform 
among the states. In the late 1970's, several years before 
the much heralded A Nation At Risk report, the Governor 
and Legislature designed and passed a law formulated to 
upgrade public schools. In this state, as elsewhere, reform 
was focused on raising student achievement and teachers' 
salaries across the board, without addressing the under­
lying inequities that continue to hinder the state's capacity 
to promote economic growth. 

The most common approach to improving public 
education and the quality of the future workforce has 
been to set minimum standards, and employ tests to 
measure whether those standards are being achieved. 
Mississippi students are now tested at almost every grade 
level. Passage of the " Functional Literacy Examination" 
(FLE) , which the State Department of Education says 
measures an eighth grade literacy standard, will be a 
prerequisite for a high school diploma beginning with the 
1989 graduating class. 

This emphasis on testing, without an accompanying 
commitment to assuring each and every student equal 
access to a full academic core curriculum, has led to 
mixed results. While the numbers and proportions of 
black children passing the FLE has been steadily increas-

ing, black enrollment in four-year colleges was lower in 
1986 than it had been in 1976. Merely ensuring that every 
high school graduate is able to master an eighth grade 
level of literacy will not secure the highly-skilled workforce 
essential to Mississippi' s economic growth. With more 
jobs requiring a college degree, and with minorities 
becoming a larger share of a shrinking youth population, 
this state urgently must seek ways to upgrade its core 
academic curriculum in every school district and maxi­
mize black, as well as white, enrollment in courses that 
lead to a college-level education. 

Mississippi has taken admirable initial steps toward 
education reform. Much still remains on the reform 
agenda, including revamping school finances, raising 
levels of educational performance, reducing the dropout 
rate and consolidating small and educationally inade· 
quate schools. All of these issues are important and 
deserve the attention they are getting. 

One area, however, now must move to the forefront of 
the debate- preparation of high school students for 
college admission and more technologically advanced 
jobs. By issuing this report to the citizens and officials of 
Mississippi, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund hopes to 
place the high school academic core curriculum center­
stage on the reform agenda. 

The climate in Mississippi is receptive to change. State 
policymakers are willing to correct deficiencies in educa· 
tion. Superintendents, principals, teachers and coun­
selors must give priority to increasing enrollment in the 
academic curriculum and to improving the quality of 
those courses. 

The real impetus for change, however, will come from 
parents, community leaders and child advocates. They 
must closely monitor the schools and encourage more 
students, whether college-bound or not, to pursue aca­
demic courses beyond what is minimally required to 
graduate from high school. 

Julius L. Chambers 
Director-Counsel, 
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 



whether they offered all the core courses or would do so 
by the 1985-86 school year. One hundred percent of the 
school districts responded "yes." A follow-up survey was 
conducted to find out whether students were actually 
enrolled in core courses, and the answer again was in the 
affirmative. 

The validity of these surveys, however, is suspect. 
Claims that all core courses are taught does not mean 
they are offered every year in all high schools. Short of 
on-site inspection of teaching schedules, there was no 
way to confirm whether the required courses were actually 
being taught. Only in the current school year (1988-89) 
has the Mississippi Department of Education had suf­
ficient information about class schedules to verify what 
courses are taught. Based on this information, the De­
partment found that 29 high schools in 18 districts were 
not teaching the full 25Y2 units required for accred itation, 
a standard which judges whether schools are teaching the 
IHL core. 

Despite the survey responses, the College Board 
adopted a policy of deferrals, permitting students to enter 
college even if they had not taken all of the required 
courses. No more than two deferrals are permitted (none 
are allowed in English), and students must make up the 
deficiency in the first quarter or semester. Make-up 
courses in math and science are provided free of charge. 
This deferral policy is an implicit admission that some 
high schools have not provided their students with the 
courses needed for entry into the state university system. 

First Steps on Path to Reform 

Mississippi has made impressive efforts to improve its 
public schools. Enactment of the Education Reform Act 
of 1982 made Mississippi one of the first states in the 
nation to enact comprehensive, statewide reform of its 
educational system. That law reinstated compulsory 
school attendance, installed kindergartens in every school 
district, put teacher-aids in every first through third grade 
c lassroom, established mandatory school accreditation 
standards for the first time in the state's history, and 
required high school graduates to pass the Functional 
Literacy Examination (FLE). The law also set a goal of 
raising teacher salaries, and in 1988 the Legislature 
authorized an average increase of $3,800, bringing Mis­
sissippi from 49th to 34th among the fifty states in teacher 
compensation. 

But the one area which must move to the forefront 
of the debate is how well high schools are preparing 
students for college admission and tomorrow'sjobs. 

The Mississippi Department of Education, in collabor­
ation with other state agencies, has launched Missis­
sippi's Youth 2000 Initiative, a broad-based effort to 
improve the health, welfare and school attendance of 
"at-risk" students in the high school class of the year 
2000, the class that is now in the first grade. 

Much more, however, remains on Mississippi's reform 
agenda. Equity financing is needed to address great 
disparities in educational resources between rich and 
poor school districts. Ways must be found to keep more 
chi ldren in school by reducing the dropout rate. Consoli­
dating small schools is essential to having a stronger 
educational program. State-sponsored bonding for local 
school construction would relieve the poorest districts 
from the often impossible financial burden of building 
new schools. The shortage of teachers in almost every 
field must be remedied, along with reversing the decline 
in the number of black teachers. 

All the items on this agenda are important and deserve 
attention. But the one area which must move to the 
forefront of the debate is how well high schools are 
preparing students for college admission and tomorrow's 
jobs. The purpose of this report is to move that challenge 
to the top of Mississippi's reform effort. 

If the economy is to grow rapidly and American companies are to reassert their world leadership, theed ucational 
standards that have been established in the nation ·s schools must be raised dramatically. Put simply, students must go 
to school longer, study more, and pass more difficult tests covering more advanced subject matter. 

- The Hudson Institute, Workforce 2000-Work and Workers For the 21st Century. 

2 



A Word About the Numbers 

Most of the statistics in this report come from the 
Mississippi Department of Education which, in addition to 
implementing the Education Reform Act of 1982, is 
making great strides in upgrading its database. Just last 
year, the Department released for the first time a "profile" 
of every district in Mississippi, one of the very few states in 
the country to publish comprehensive information about 
educational resources and performance in its school 
systems. School Profiles* provided much of the infor­
mation included in the chart (Appendix B, p. 18). 

The Mississippi Department of Education does not, 
however, collect data on the number of students who are 
actually enrolled in the IHL (Institutions of Higher Learn­
ing) core curriculum. It does not know how many graduat­
ing seniors have taken these courses. The Department 
also did not collect enrollment data by race at each grade 
level during the 1985-86 school year, although it now has 
begun to obtain that information. 

In order to get an approximation of how many graduat­
ing black and white seniors had completed the IHL core in 
each school district and for the entire state in the 1985-86 
school year, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational 
Fund (LDF) had to make some extrapolations from the 
existing data. We found that there is information on the 
students who took the American College Test (ACT), a 
comprehensive examination which measures knowledge, 
understanding and skills in four categories. The test asks 
students how many semester hours of different subjects 
they have taken or will have finished by the time they 
graduate. Some high school seniors who did not take the 
ACT may have completed the academic courses. How­
ever, we took the number of test-takers who said they had 
completed the IHL core as the only 12th graders enrolled 
in these courses, although we know that figure under­
estimates the actual number. 

The information gathered from students who take the 
ACT provides for each school district the total numbers 
of students who complete or do not complete the core, 
broken down by race, and furnishes the average ACT 
composite score for students in each category. State 
totals are also provided. 

To get an approximation of the number of black and 
white students in the 12th grade, LDF multiplied the 
number of graduating seniors in the School Profiles by 
the percent of black enrollment for the whole school 
population in Kindergarten through 12th grade. That 
gave us numbers for black and white seniors. To arrive at 
an estimated percentage of the 1986 seniors, black and 
white, who had taken the core courses, we divided the 

ACT-takers who had taken the core by the number of 12th 
graders. 

For example, to calculate the percent of blacks in 
Natchez Separate enrolled in the core, LDF performed 
the following calculation: number of 12th graders (434) x 
% of blacks (.638) = number of black seniors (277); 
number of ACT-takers with core (75) -7 (277) =estimated 
% of blacks in core (27%). 

In this report the numbers and percentages of students 
enrolled in the IHL core are not precise for the 1985-86 
school year. They are estimates only. Because of the 
disproportionately high black dropout rate in Mississippi's 
schools, these estimates actually overstate core enroll­
ment for black students and understate it for whites. 

Statistics are an important tool for monitoring educa­
tional progress. They allow year-to-year comparisons, 
district-to-district comparisons, and school-to-school com­
parisons. They tell us when schools are doing better and 
where special attention to improving performance must 
be directed. While this report's data is not exact, it is the 
only approximation that exists of how many students are 
taking the core in each district. There is no comparable 
information for individual high schools because School 
Profiles provides only district-summary data. 

Mississippi must invest in the technology required to 
collect and report more precise data on its public school 
students. The Department of Education is improving its 
database each year. In the current school year, for 
example, it promises to have grade-level enrollment by 
race and to produce profiles for individual schools. Yet, it 
still does not have the capacity to identify which students 
are taking the IHL core. 

*School Profiles: The Mississippi Department of Education has compiled a profile of each district and each school. School 
Profiles contains a great deal of useful information for parents and community organizations. It may be obtained by writing 
or calling the State Department of Education, Bureau of External Relations, at 550 High Street, P.O. Box 771 , Jackson, MS 
39205 (601/359-3515) . 

3 



Chapter Two: 

.MAJOR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Summary of Findings 

1. Less than one third of 1986 graduating seniors in 
Mississippi is estimated to have taken the academic 
curriculum-approximately 38% of white seniors and 20% 
of blacks. 

2. Students, both white and black, who take the IHL core 
do better on the ACT (American College Test) than 
students who do not. The average composite ACT score 
in 1987 for all students who had taken the core was 18.0 
(on a scale of 1 to 36). But there was a large racial gap: 
19.9 for whites and 14.4 for blacks. 

3. There is an enormous variation in estimated rates of 
core participation among Mississippi's school districts: 
from 5% to 71 % of 1986 graduating seniors. 

4. The Mississippi Department of Education has estab· 
lished no standards for increasing enrollment in the core, 
and has no information on the actual number of students 
in each district who are taking these courses. 

5. The Department has no system for monitoring the 
quality of core instruction in schools throughout the state. 

4 

Major Recommendations 

1. All students in Mississippi's high schools should be 
encouraged to and provided with the resources necessary 
to successfully complete the academic core curriculum. 

2. The Mississippi State Board of Education should 
establish standards for increased enrollment in the aca· 
demic core and improved ACT scores no later than the 
beginning of the 1989-1990 school year. Special as· 
sistance must be given to local schools to enable them to 
achieve the standards. Recognition should be awarded to 
schools which make progress toward meeting their goals. 

3. All school systems should adopt plans for increasing 
enrollment in the academic core, including identifying 
and removing instructional and counseling practices 
which prevent students from achieving to their maximum 
capacity. 

4. All public four·year colleges should develop collabor· 
ative programs with local high schools to assist in 
improving the quality of core instruction and encourage 
more students to take academic courses. 

5. Parents and other adults ought to explain to young 
people the importance of the academic core and strongly 
encourage them to enroll in those courses. 



Chapter Three: 

IHL CORE CURRICULUM & ACT SCORES: THE FACTS 

This chapter presents some of the basic information 
about enrollment in the IHL (Institutions of Higher Learn­
ing) core curriculum. Some of the areas it explores are: 

• Which districts have the highest and lowest rates of core 
enrollment and which districts have the greatest gap 
between black and white participation? 

• How do Mississippi students score on the American 
College Test (ACT) and do those students who follow 
the IHL core score substantially higher than those 
enrolled in general education courses? 

• What are some of the factors which contribute to the 
low enrollment in the academic curriculum by high 
school students, especially blacks? 

LDF presents the kind of analysis that the Mississippi 
Department of Education should develop so that it can 
monitor core completion and ACT test scores. This kind 
of information will permit state education officials to 
identify districts with poor performance and to work with 
local educators toward the goal of increasing the number 
of high school students, especially blacks, who will be 
prepared for college and more lucrative job opportunities. 

The chart in Appendix B of this report displays esti­
mated data on each school district. Using this informa­
tion, parents and community leaders can learn what 
percentage of students in their district is estimated to be 
taking the academic core and how well, on the average, 
students are performing on the ACT. 

Rates of Core Completion 

The most basic measure of whether Mississippi school 
districts are preparing students for higher-skilled jobs and 

entry into the public university system is to look at how 
many students are enrolled in the academic curriculum. 
There are no actual figures, but a rough estimate is about 
30% of all 1986 graduating seniors-38% of white seniors 
and 20% of blacks. 

Table 1 displays estimated core completion rates for all 
high school graduating seniors. Over two-thirds of all 
1 986 seniors had not taken the academic curriculum that 
would prepare them to participate more fully in Missis­
sippi's future. For blacks, that figure rose to 80.3%. White 
seniors were more than twice as likely to have completed 
the core as black students. 

TABLE 1 

Total 
White 
Black 

*All numbers are estimates. 

Core Completion Rates By Race for 1986 Graduating Seniors* 

Number 
Graduates 

25,028 
13,079 
11,949 

Completing Core 

Number 

7,545 
5,018 
2,351 

5 

% 

30.0% 
38.4% 
19.7% 

Not Completing Core 

Number 

17,483 
8,061 
9 ,598 

% 

70.0% 
61.6% 
80.3% 



State-Wide Variations 

There is a tremendous range in participation rates in the 
IHL core across Mississippi's 154 school districts. Although 
approximately 30% of all 1986 graduating seniors com· 
pleted the academic curriculum, the lowest percentage of 
core participation for all students was 5% (Enterprise 
Consolidated) and the highest was 71.4% (Durant Sep­
arate). The bar graph below shows that most school 
districts fall in the range of 16% to 30% of graduating 
seniors completing the IHL core. 

90 
85 
80 78 

75 
70 
65 
60 
55 
50 
45 
40 
35 
30 
25 
20 ~ ~ 
15 

~L 10 
5 
0 V I' . 

0%-15% 

Number of School Districts By 
Percentage of Graduating Seniors 

Completing Core ( 1986) 

78 l~~ ~~~~~I Total % 

~ Black % 

White % 

58 

42 42 

24 

16 

I 10 ~ g 

~~ ~ !n 
13 

~ 2.n 
31%-45% 46%·60% 61 %-75% 76%-100% 

Zero Core Districts 

Based on our estimates of students who had completed 
the IHL core in 1986, we found 12 school systems in which _ 
no black seniors had taken the core and 18 school systems 
in which no white students had followed the academic 
curriculum. In many of the zero white participation districts 
there were very few or no white students. The zero black 
participation districts, however, all had black seniors, and 
in some cases blacks made up a sizeable portion of the 
graduating class. 

TABLE 2 
Districts With No Black Seniors in IHL Core (1986)* 

Enterprise Cons. 
Hancock Co. 
Long Beach Sep. 
Itawamba Co. 
Jackson Co. 
Lincoln Co. 
Union Sep. 
Pearl River Co. 
Prentiss Co. 
Booneville Sep. 
Iuka Sep. 
Holly Bluff Cons. 

*All numbers are estimates. 

Total 
12th 

Number 
Black 
12th 

Grade % Black Graders 

40 
141 
304 

72 
351 
163 
31 
99 

176 
55 
65 
25 

TABLE 3 

33.8% 
7.5% 
9.8% 
8.9% 
8.7% 
2.5% 

29.0% 
5.7% 

10.9% 
18.3% 

6.8% 
74.7% 

14 
11 
30 

6 
31 

4 
9 
6 

19 
10 
4 

19 

Districts With No White Seniors in IHL Core ( 1986)* 

Number 
Total White 
12th 12th 

Grade % White Graders 

Bolivar Co. #3 42 3.4% 1 
Bolivar Co. #5 52 7.0% 4 
Bolivar Co. #6 69 .0% 0 
Claiborne Co. 107 .5% 1 
Clay Co. 22 3.2% 1 
Hazelhurst Sep. 82 6.2% 5 
East Jasper Cons. 70 .2% 0 
Leflore Co. 182 16.9% 31 
Madison Co. 128 6.0% 8 
Holly Springs Sep. 124 14.5% 18 
Noxubee Co. 124 .5% 1 
North Panola Cons. 77 5.1% 4 
Quitman Co. 97 13.0% 13 
Anguilla Cons. 37 2.0% 1 
Sunflower Co. 76 5.4% 4 
Tunica Co. 90 2.4% 1 
Hollandale Cons. 81 3.0% 2 
Wilkinson Co. 32 .1% 0 

*All numbers are estimates. 

As manufacturing retools from low to high skills and relies less on labor and more on technology, the currents of 
rapid change will leave some of the South 's labor force high, dry, and unemployed . 

- Southern Growth Polic ies Board, Halfway Hom e And A Long Way To Go- The Report On The 1988 Commission 
On The Future Of The South. 

6 



Highest and Lowest Districts 

Next, LDF identified the districts which had the lowest 
and highest percent of core participation for black 
students and for white students (Tables 4-7). 

TABLE4 
The Ten Districts With the Lowest Percentage of Black 

Seniors Completing Core ( 1985-1986)* 

% % 
Blacks Blacks Number 

Complet- of Black 
ing Core District Seniors 

Alcorn Co. 1.9% 44.0% 106 
Benton Co. 2.1% 64.0% 47 
Perry Co. 2.8% 34.5% 36 
New Albany Sep. 2.8% 29.7% 35 
Coffeeville Cons. 2.9% 72.8% 68 
Lauderdale Co. 3.1% 30.3% 98 
Franklin Co. 3.2% 44.0% 31 
Choctaw Co. 3.4% 39.9% 30 
Poplarville Sep. 4.5% 18.9% 22 
North Pike Cons. 4.7% 36.2% 21 

*All numbers are estimates. 

TABLE 5 
The Ten Districts With the Highest Percentage of Black 

Seniors Completing the Core ( 1985-1 986) * 

% % 
Blacks Blacks Number 

Complet- of Black 
ing Core District Seniors 

Humphreys Co. 55.5% 94.3% 61 
Wilkinson Co. 46.9% 100.0% 33 
Clay Co. 42.3% 96.8% 21 
Greenville Sep. 38.3% 87.6% 266 
Vicksburg Sep. 37.0% 84.4% 92 
Corinth Sep. 36.9% 32.2% 33 
Tishomingo Co. 35.0% 3.8% 6 
Drew Sep. 34.8% 73.6% 29 
Bolivar Co. #3 34.5% 96.6% 41 
Jackson Sep. 33.7% 79.8% 1358 

*All numbers are estimates. 

Districts With Largest Racial Gap 
in Core Completion 

For almost all Mississippi school districts the rate of 
core participation can be compared for students of both 
races. The districts which have the largest gap ought to be 
a priority concern for state and local educators. Black 
parents should raise questions with principals, teachers 

7 

TABLE 6 
The Ten Districts With the Lowest Percentage of White 

Seniors Completing Core (1985-1986)* 

% % 
Whites Whites Number 

Complet- of White 
ing Core District Seniors 

No. Tippah Cons. 5.6% 82.5% 72 
Enterprise Cons. 7.6% 66.2% 26 
Yazoo Co. 8.7% 28.9% 23 
Lincoln Co. 9.4% 97.5% 159 
Union Co. 9.5% 90.0% 105 
Sharkey Issaquena Cons. 10.8% 22.1% 19 
T ishomingo Co. 11.9% 96.2% 143 
Marion Co. 12.8% 53.9% 86 
Greenville Sep. 13.3% 12.4% 38 
Wayne Co. 13.7% 53.0% 110 

•All numbers are estimates. 

TABLE 7 
The Ten Districts With the Highest Percentage of White 

Seniors Completing Core (1985-1986)* 

% % 
Whites Whites Number 

Complet- of White 
ing Core District Seniors 

Oxford Sep. 88.9% 52.0% 82 
Hattiesburg Sep. 85.7% 4 1.1% 136 
Leland Cons. 83.8% 25.8% 19 
Vicksburg Sep. 82.3% 15.6% 17 
Starkville Sep. 81.8% 51.6% 106 
Booneville Sep. 80.1% 81.7% 45 
Bolivar Co. # 4 79.9% 32.2% 86 
Clarksdale Sep. 76.0% 27.4% 41 
Clinton Sep. 75.8% 71.1% 219 
Aberdeen Sep. 72.5% 27.5% 33 

*All numbers are estimates. 

and guidance counselors as to why the black rate is so 
much lower than the white rate. Are black students being 
counseled out of college preparatory courses? Are black 
students disproportionately tracked into low "ability" 
classes in elementary and junior high grades? Is infor­
mation about the IHL core requirements adequately 
disseminated to students, their families and to com­
munity groups working with young people? 



Shown below are the ten Mississippi school districts 
with the largest estimated gap in core participation for 
white and black graduating seniors in 1985-1986. 

TABLE 8 
The Ten Districts With Largest Racial 

Difference in Core Participation* 

Booneville Sep. 
Hattiesburg Sep. 
Oxford Sep. 
Clinton Sep. 
Starkville Sep. 
Okolona Sep. 
Leland Cons. 
Alcorn Co. 
Franklin Co. 
Bolivar Co. # 4 

*All numbers are estimates. 

% Whites 
in Core 

80.1% 
85.7% 
88.9% 
75.8% 
81.8% 
72.4% 
83.8% 
57.8% 
58.7% 
79.9% 

% Blacks 
in Core 

0.0% 
13.8 

19.8% 
12.4% 
25.1% 
15.7% 
27.3% 

1.9% 
3.2% 

24.8% 

ACT Scores: A Measure of Academic 
Achievement 

The American College Testing Program (ACT) is a 
widely used measure of a student's grasp of four distinct 
academic areas: English usage, math, social studies and 
natural sciences. Students receive a composite score 
ranging from a low of 1 to a high of 36 based on an 
average of the four subscores. ACT scores were first 
required for admission to Mississippi's public universities 
in 1962, the year that a black student was first enrolled in 
the University of Mississippi. 

In recent years, just over half of all graduating seniors 
have taken the ACT. Between 1986 and 1987, the number 
increased from 13,701 to 14,714. In both years, wh ite 
seniors accounted for two thirds of all students who took 
the test. 

By comparing the scores of students who did and did 
not complete the core, it is apparent that following the 
academic curriculum is positively related to higher scores 
on the ACT. That is the case for both black and white 
students. LDF does not claim that the IHL core is the only 
factor leading to higher test performance. It is well known 
that family background and income influence academic 
performance and that students from better-off homes are 
more likely to be in the academic track. But the evidence 
strongly suggests that taking the IHL core improves ACT 
results. 

8 

1986 and 1987 Scores 

Tables 9 and 10 show the average composite ACT 
score for all students and for black and white students in 
the 1986 and 1987 graduating classes. When students 
take the test they are asked whether they completed core 
courses in certain subjects. The test publisher tabulates 
the scores separately for students who indicate that they 
have taken the core and for those who say they have not 
taken the core. On the whole, Mississippi students are 
scoring lower on the ACT than the national average. The 
nationwide average in 1986 was 18.8 and in 1987 it was 
18.7. 

The tables also reveal that black students who have 
taken the core score lower than whites who have not 
taken the core. Those results are not surprising, given the 
demographics of Mississippi's population. The state has 
the highest rate of adult illiteracy in the United States. 
Thirty percent of its children live in poverty, and a 
disproportionate number of them are black. Thirty-three 
percent of black families, but only nine percent of white 
families, are headed by women. Black children start 
school at a disadvantage, and poor schools perpetuate 
that disadvantage. Nonetheless, black students who have 
taken the core have a sign ificantly higher average ACT 
score than blacks who have not. And the score for black 
core-completers in 1987 was sl ightly higher than the 
1986 score. 

TABLE 9 
Average Composite ACT Scores by Core Completion, 

by Race (1986)* 

Not 
All Completing Completing 

Students Core Core 

All 16.0 18.2 13.4 
Black 12.5 14.2 10.8 
White 18.1 20.1 15.2 

TABLE 10 
Average Composite ACT Scores by Core Completion, 

by Race (1987)* 

Not 
All Completing Completing 

Students Core Core 

All 15.9 18.0 13.3 
Black 12.6 14.4 10.8 
White 17.9 19.9 15.0 

*Composite test scores range from I to 36. 



Factors That May Influence Rates 
of Core Participation 

There are many reasons that might explain the variation 
in lHL core enrollment among districts as well as the 
differences between white and black students. Obviously, 
the importance parents give to the academic curriculum 
and the expectations they hold for their children are 
contributing factors. What happens at school also is of 
paramount importance. 

Emphasis on the Core 

The emphasis that educators place on academic pre· 
paration is likely to be reflected in the proportion of 
students enrolled in the IHL core. Where students are 
encouraged to take the core and its importance is 
explained to them and their parents, participation will be 
higher. The priority given to the core is probably one 
reason why districts have very different rates of core 
participation. 

Accurate information about the academic requirements 
and good counseling are also critical. Students must 
know what courses to pursue and take them in the proper 
order, beginning in their freshman year in high school. 
Notice of the lHL core should be sent home at least once a 
year, and counselors must work closely with parents and 
students to ensure that all core courses will be completed 
by the senior year. 

Teachers and principals should have high expectations 
for all students, not just those whose families have two 
parents and a comfortable income. Educators frequently 
believe that poor children whose parents did not finish 
high school wi ll be unable to master higher academic 
skills and attend college. They may even be actively 
discouraged from enrolling in the academic core. Low 
expectations will result in students having lower aspir· 
ations for themselves. 

Students are often classified as either academic or 
vocational, as if some jobs do not require a broad 
educational background and the ability to reason and 
solve problems. But it is precisely these skills that 
employers are looking for. Students who graduate with· 
out the lHL core will not be qualified for the higher-paying, 
more skilled jobs now and in the future. 

Ability Grouping 

Expectations of what students can achieve begin taking 
hold very early. Many schools start sorting students by 
"ability" as soon as the first grade. Based on test results, 
chi ldren are assigned to classrooms all day with other 
students of the same presumed" ability." Perceived ability 
levels have a major impact on the quality and content of a 

9 

child's education. Students who are considered "high 
ability" are exposed to more of the curriculum. Instruction 
in their classes is more interesting, and learning is 
organized around meaningful ideas and concepts. By 
contrast, students in "low ability" classes cover less of the 
curriculum and their instruction consists of repetitious 
and boring exercises, unconnected to exciting or stimu· 
lating ideas. 

Ability grouping becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 
Test scores at the end of the year usually confirm the 
expectations. " High ability" students do better than " low 
ability" students because they have been taught more and 
placed in more stimulating classroom environments. The 
test scores, along with classroom performance, then 
become the rationale for class placement in following 
years. Students rarely move up the "ability" ladder. The 
achievement gap grows progressively larger as students 
move through school. 

The organization of curriculum and instruction by 
ability groups has a serious adverse impact on black and 
poor students who are disproportionately assigned to the 
" low ability" classes. What begins in the early grades as a 
small , but clearly apparent, difference between black and 
white students, becomes in high school a larger and more 
significant gap. State average scores on the Basic Skills 
Assessment Program (BSAP) in 1988 show at the 3rd 
grade a 9 point difference between white and black 
students. By the eighth grade, the gap has grown to 12 
points. There is a similar gap between poor and non·poor 
students of 7 points at the third grade and of 10 points at 
the eighth grade. On the whole, black and poor students 
in Mississippi are less well prepared to begin and suc· 
cessfully complete the lHL core requirements. 



Dropout Rate 

The evidence shows that the districts with the highest 
dropout rates tend to have the highest rates of core 
completion. We took all 154 Mississippi school districts 
and divided them into four groups based on the dropout 
rate reported in School Profiles for the 1985-1986 school 
year. The average rate of total core completion (that is, for 
black and white students combined) is shown below: 

Dropout Rate in Relationship to Percent 
of Core Completion 

Percent Dropout 

Over 75% 
51-75% 
26-50% 
Less than 25% 

Percent Total 
Core Completion 

31.8% 
28.0% 
28.5% 
23.4% 

This finding stands to reason. In districts with very high 
dropout rates, the students who remain in school until the 
12th grade are those most likely to be doing better in 
school and to be enrolled in the IHL core. Students with 
poor school performance, with low aspirations and few 
expectations from home and school, will have dropped 
out. 

Size of Graduating Class 

The rate of core participation for both blacks and whites 
does seem to be related to the number of students in the 
graduating class. Using the top 10 and bottom 10 districts 

One Student's Story: The Price 
of Attending a Small School 

Pamela Leach is a 1988 graduate of Sebastopol 
High School in Scott County. One of Mississippi's 
academically outstanding students who is intent on 
a medical career, Pamela could not enter college 
directly from high school. The Clarion Ledger of 
June 12, 1988, reported that Pamela's high school 
had 167 students in grades 9 through 12. It did not 
offer physics or other science courses she needed to 
enter a university. Instead, Pamela had to attend 
community college Jn order to take the courses she 
could not get in high school. 

Pamela Leach's story illustrates one aspect of the 
inadequate college preparation provided by the 
state's high schools. Her school was simply too 
small to offer the full range of IHL courses required 
by the College Board. In a district with only 1, 106 
students in grades 9-12, pupils are divided between 
four separate high schools. 

10 

for core completion, we computed the average size of the 
12th grade class in each category. 

Category of District 

Top 10 districts for blacks 
completing core 

Bottom 10 districts for 
blacks completing core 

Top 10 districts for whites 
completing core 

Bottom 10 districts for 
whites completing core 

Average Size 
12th Grade 

241 

127 

154 

142 

Our analysis confirms what the Mississippi State Educa­
tional Finance Commission found when it compared the 
total number of courses taught in the academic core with 
the average senior class size in Mississippi's high schools. 
As the bar graph demonstrates, the larger high schools 
provide more of the academic core courses than smaller 
high schools. 

Total Number of Courses Taught in Academic Core 
By Average Class Size 

f­
I: 
Cl 
::J 

~ 
Cf) 
w 
Cf) 
0: 
::J 
0 
u 
lL 
0 
c:i 
z: 
_J 

~ 
~ 

27-

Less 
than 
41 

4 1 
to 
75 

High School 

76 
to 

100 

26.68 

101 151 251 More 
to to to than 

150 250 375 375 

AVERAGE CLASS SIZE 

Source: Mississippi State Educational Finance Commission, School 
DisLricl ReorganizaUon and School Conso/idal ion. p. 209. 



Chapter Four: 

CONSEQOENCES FOR STCJDENTS 

The proportion of students enrolled in the IHL core 
curriculum varies enormously from one Mississippi school 
district to another. But what do these variations mean for 
students? Their college options, their future employment 
prospects, even their eligibility for freshman collegiate 
sports, depend not only on whether they take the aca­
demic courses, but on the quality of that academic 
instruction. 

Quality of Core 

One way to measure the quality of a school district's 
academic curriculum is to determine whether the ACT 
scores of those enrolled in the IHL core are markedly 
higher than those signed up for general education 
courses. In virtually all districts, students who have taken 
the core curriculum do better on the ACT than those who 
have not. In some districts, core completers do substan­
tially better, while in other districts taking the core hardly 
effects ACT scores. In other words, large differences in 
ACT scores may reflect superior instruction. Marginal 
differences suggest a very weak education program. 

For example, in the Kosciusko Separate School District 
the core makes a substantial d ifference for both white and 
black students. For 1986 graduating seniors the average 
white ACT score was 16.3 for those who did not take the 
core, but 21.1 for those who did. The average black ACT 
score in that year was 11.6 for those taking general 
education courses as opposed to 18.8 for those enrolled 
in the core. Similarly, in 1987 whites who completed the 
core averaged 21.6 on the ACT compared to 14.1 for 
whites who did not complete the core. Among black 
students, core completers scored 17.6, while those who 
did not follow the academic curriculum averaged 10.9. 

In other districts, such as Leland Consolidated and 
Bolivar #3, the core made virtually no difference. The 
average white ACT score in Leland improved only .8, from 
19.0 for those who did not take the core to 19.8 for those 
who did. And in Bolivar #3, the average black ACT score 
was exactly the same, 10.6, for both core-completers and 
for students in general education. 

There are numerous districts where the core made a 
difference for white students but not for blacks. The 
Oxford Municipal School District is an interesting ex­
ample because it is the home of the University of 
Mississippi. In 1986, white seniors completing the core 
averaged 23.0 on the ACT compared to 17.8 for those 
who had not taken the core. By contrast, blacks who 
followed the academic curriculum scored 13. 7, but those 
in general education averaged 13.1. 

11 

In the district next door to Oxford, the Lafayette County 
School district, core enrollment seemed to have a sub­
stantial impact on black students. Those who were in 
general education scored 9.5 on the ACT, while those 
taking academic courses raised their average score to 
14.0. 

Some might attribute differences in performance on 
the ACT to the students who take the test rather than to 
the instructional program in the schools. Students who 
take the core and score well on the ACT, they would 
argue, are a self-selected group- highly motivated and 
from better-off families. 

There is evidence in Mississippi, however, that is not 
always the case. LDF' s analysis found school districts with 
similar kinds of students which produced very different 
test results. Using data for the 1985-86 school year, there 
were 17 majority black school districts in which 80% or 
more of the students were eligible for free and reduced­
price lunches (a measure of student poverty). The aver­
age ACT score for black students who said they had 
completed the core in those districts was 15 or better. Yet 
there were 13 districts with the same level of poverty 
where the ACT score for black students who had taken the 
core fell below 12. 

A particularly good example is three districts in Bolivar 
County, all of which are 90% or more black and low­
income. Black students in Bolivar #5 who had taken the 
ACT and reported that they had followed the core 
curriculum averaged 15.7. But black students in Bolivar 
#2 and Bolivar #3 who had taken the core averaged only 
10.6 on the ACT. 



What Quality Means 

There is compelling evidence that academic perform­
ance does not always depend on a student's fami ly 
background and economic status. The quality of instruc­
tion and content of the courses play an important role. 
Districts with very similar types of students have markedly 
different ACT results. This poses the question: why do 
some school systems do better than others? 

The quality of core courses may be attributable to 
factors in the educational program. 

•Teacher Supply and Certification. Particularly in math 
and science, teachers are in short supply in Mississippi, 
as in every other state. Teachers who are certified in 
those subjects are likely to want to teach where the 
salaries are higher and the working conditions better. 
The quality of math and science instruction may also 
suffer when teachers have not been trained or certified 
in those areas. The new Mississippi School for Mathe­
matics and Science will be a very important resource in 
upgrading the training for current teachers and increas­
ing the number of future teachers. 

• Resources. The amount of money spent on instruction 
varies widely among Mississippi school districts. In the 
1 985-86 school year the average per-pupil expenditure 
for instructional costs ranged from $1, 150 in Lamar 
County to $2,622 in Clairborne County. LDF's analysis 
found no particular relationship between the amount of 
money spent and the rate of core completion or ACT 
scores. The reason may be that the proportion of 
students taking the core curriculum is not necessarily a 
function of what a district spends. School officials may 
choose to spend resources in different ways, for ex­
ample having more vocational than academic teachers. 
But money translates into more than teachers' salaries. 
It also buys text books, equipment and supplies. This is 
especially important in science and foreign language 
courses where laboratory equipment, computer 
software and video cassettes are a vital addition to any 
classroom. School superintendents in several school 
systems in the Delta reported to LDF that the quality of 
their core courses was reduced because science labs 
had not been updated for twenty years. In other districts, 
money may have been spent on equipment, but if it sits 
unused in the classroom, it contributes nothing to the 
learning process. 

• Content. A course in one high school or one district 
may not cover as much of the subject matter as a 
course in another school or district. Yet students will 
report that they have "completed the core." If students 
have not been taught all the material tested by the ACT, 
they will not be able to answer correctly certain ques­
tions. National studies have shown that the more math 
courses students take the higher their test scores will 
be. Studies also have documented that schools which 
are mostly black offer fewer math courses than schools 
which are predominantly white. Thus, ACT scores will 
reflect not only how well students have learned the 
subject, but how much of the curriculum they have 
been taught. 

College Admission 

Variations in the quality of the core and ACT scores 
produce very different college options for Mississippi 
students. The differences are starkly racial. The vast 
majority of white core-completers are eligible to attend 
the five historically white universities, while the majority of 
their black peers are eligible to attend only the three 
traditionally black institutions. 

The College Board has set a minimum ACT score of 15 
for admission to the white institutions. There are 133 
school districts in which the average white ACT score 
meets that standard, but only 59 districts in which the 
average black score is 15 or higher. 

The minimum ACT scores for admission to the his­
torically black institutions vary, but for all of them it is 
lower than 15. At Jackson State and Alcorn State the 
minimum ACT score is 13. For Mississippi Valley it is 10. 

Where students attend high school has an important 
impact on their choice of colleges. In 1986, black 
students who took the core in Kosciusko scored, on the 
average, high enough (18.8) to be admitted to Ole Miss. 
Those black students who lived in Lafayette County, 
where the University is located, could not be admitted 
based on their average score in 1986, even if they had 
taken the core requirements. 

The South must find its brainpower everywhere, and develop it fully. We are all dependent upon it. 
Every state should also encourage its best poor and minority students in high school. But since it would be cruel to 

have a dream all dressed up with no place to go, state scholarships based on need must enable these students to attend 
college. Similar strategies can target all good students in poor and rural high schools. 

- Southern Growth Policies Board, Half way Home And A Long Way To Go-The Report On The 1 988 Commission 
On The Future Of The South. 

12 



Students who score particularly well on the ACT may be 
exempt from the core curriculum requirements (see 
Appendix A). But even these exemptions are stacked 
against black entry into the historically white universities. 
Although white colleges require an ACT score of 15, 
students who score 24 or higher are admitted even if they 
have not taken the IHL core. For the historically black 
colleges, the minimum ACT score for admission ranges 
from 13 to 10, and students who score 20 or better are 
admitted without having taken the core. 

By examining the average ACT scores, we can see that 
the number of white students who "test out" at 24-
thereby qualifying for the exemption at historically white 
universities-will be much higher than the number of 
blacks who achieve scores in that range. On the other 
hand, the highest scoring black students are much more 
likely to "test out" at 20, the ACT score required for 
exemption from the IHL core requirement at the his­
torically black colleges. 

The chart shows the number of districts in which the 
average ACT score of core-completers, both black and 
white, meets the minimum standards of the eight uni­
versities. In the column for black ACT scores, there are 59 
districts where the average ACT result is 15 or better. 
There are 41 districts that fall into the 13 but less than 15 
range, qualifying for admission to Jackson State and 
Alcorn State. And there are 40 districts in which the 
average black score is at least 10 but lower than 13. 
Mississippi Valley is the only option for students who 
score in that range. 

The white column looks completely different. The 
average ACT score for white students who completed the 
core is high enough in almost all school districts to qualify 
for admission to any public university. 

It should also be noted that there are three districts in 
which the average ACT scores for blacks who took the IHL 

13 

core is less than 10, which does not meet the minimum 
admission requirements for any public, four-year uni­
versity. 

Number of Districts Where Average Act Score 
for Core-Completers Meets Admission Standards 

Number of Districts With 
ACT Scores Qualifying For 
Historically White Colleges 

Number of Districts With 
ACT Scores Qualifying For 
Jackson State and Alcorn 
State 

Number of Districts With 
ACT Scores Qualifying for 
Mississippi Valley State 

Number of Districts With 
ACT Scores That Do Not 
Qualify for Admission 
to Any College 

Black White 
ACT Scores ACT Scores 

59 133 

41 3 

40 0 

3 0 

There are many reasons why black students may prefer 
to attend a predominantly black college. But until the ACT 
scores of black students improve, the vast majority of 
them will not have the full range of college options which 
most white students enjoy. 

The ACT and College Sports 

An important consequence of the American Col· 
lege Test (ACT) score is whether a college freshman 
is eligible to play intercollegiate sports in his or her 
first year. The National Collegiate Athletic Associ · 
ation (NCAA) rule for freshman eligibility, com· 
monly known as Rule 48, requires a first year college 
athlete to have earned a grade point average of 2.0 
in at least 11 academic core courses and an ACT 
score of 15. 

Rule 48 is very similar to the standard admission 
requirements that the College Board adopted for 
Mississippi's historically white universities. For the 
historically black universities, however, the admis· 
sion standards are lower than those established by 
Rule 48. For the typical black senior the result can be 
devastating. He or she can get into A lcorn State or 
Jackson State with a score of 13.0, and into Missis­
sippi Valley State with a score of 10.0, but be barred 
from playing ball in the freshman year. 



Chapter Five: 

STRATEGIES FOR MISSISSIPPI 

Mississippi is losing an enormous amount of human 
potential-talent which could stimulate economic growth 
and ameliorate poverty. To redeem its human resources, 
Mississippi must launch an aggressive statewide initiative 
to develop the more advanced educational skills-repre­
sented by the lHL core curriculum-which are essential 
for college enrollment and for employment in higher 
skilled jobs which the state is seeking to attract. 

Mississippi has set standards in a number of areas­
standards for teachers, schools, high school diplomas 
and college admission. Yet no standards have been 
established for enrollment in the lHL core or for per­
formance on the ACT. 

As this report makes clear, an exceedingly low rate of 
students enroll in the academic core courses. The even 
lower proportion of blacks taking the lHL core is unac­
ceptable. Yet no reform initiatives have been directed at 
getting more students enrolled in the lHL core or in 
closing the racial gap in ACT scores. The Mississippi 
Department of Education does not even keep records on 
how many students are in core courses. Nor has it 
included rates of core completion as an indicator of 
achievement in the performance-based accreditation 
standards required by the Education Reform Act. 

What will be required to improve dramatically the pro­
portion of all students, especially black students, who 
enroll in the lHL core? LDF's recommendations for state 
officials, educators and parents are framed by two over­
riding principles. 

First, all students should be encouraged to and pro­
vided with the resources necessary to take and success­
fully complete the core courses. This cannot be accom­
plished by categorizing and separating students into 
classes labeled "gifted" or " low ability." Almost all 
students can achieve at a much higher level than is 
ordinarily expected of them. Students should not be 
denied access to the highest quality curriculum. 

Second, Mississippi must develop a coordinated educa­
tional policy involving both high schools and colleges. 
The College Board and the State Board of Education 
must work together to reverse the low rate of core 
enrollment and to improve performance on the ACT. 

Strategies for the College Board 

1. The College Board should form a joint task force with 
the Mississippi Department of Education to monitor core 
enrollment and ACT scores and to devise strategies for 
strengthening the curriculum and instruction in schools 
with low core enrollment and inadequate ACT scores. 

2. The College Board should launch a University/ 
School Partnership Project under which each university 

14 

would establish an outreach program with junior and 
senior high schools. University and school faculties could 
work together to ensure that the lHL courses are of high 
quality and that science labs are up-to-date. To help 
students understand the importance of a strong aca­
demic preparation, universities should arrange summer 
sessions on college campuses involving academic in­
struction and computer workshops. Private colleges could 
be encouraged to join in this initiative. 

3. Mississippi's teacher training programs must be 
strengthened. Incentives, such as repayment of college 
loans, should be used to attract academically talented 
undergraduates who agree to teach in schools with the 
lowest rates of core enrollment. 

4. Public service announcements describing college 
admission requirements should be distributed to every 
radio and television station in Mississippi. 

5. Seminars should be conducted for public school 
administrators, teachers and guidance counselors on 
college admission requirements so that they can ac­
curately explain the basic requirements, exceptions and 
deferrals. 

6. A state scholarship program should be established, 
supported by a trust fund that receives public money, 
private gifts and corporate contributions. Scholarships 
would be awarded on the basis of need to students who 
had completed the core and scored at least 15 on the ACT 
so that they would be assured financial assistance to 
attend the public four-year college of their choice. The 
College Board would administer the scholarship pro­
gram. 

Strategies for the State Department 
of Education 

1. The Mississippi Department of Education should 
establish standards for increasing enrollment in the 
academic core in all school districts, along with targets for 
achieving those goals, no later than the beginning of the 
1989-90 school year. 

2. lmproved core enrollment and ACT scores should be 
made part of the performance accreditation system man­
dated by the Education Reform Act. Full accreditation 
status should not be awarded to schools which do not 
make progress toward higher core enrollment, increased 
performance on the ACT and closing the racial gap in 
core participation. 

3. The Mississippi Department of Education must 
require school districts to report annually the number of 
students, by race, enrolled in the lHL core. Schools with 
the lowest rates of core enrollment and the largest racial 



disparities should be targeted for special help. Local 
school officials should be required to identify and remedy 
instructional and counseling practices that hinder core 
enrollment, especially in the elementary and junior high 
grades. Plans for improving core participation should be 
submitted to the Department so that state officials can 
monitor and provide technical assistance to those dis­
tricts. Special recognition must be given to school 
districts which make exceptional progress in raising core 
participation and ACT scores. 

4. The Department should run summer institutes for 
teams of principals and teachers from low-performing 
schools so that they can plan a schoolwide strategy for 
improving instructional and counseling practices that will 
increase enrollment in and improvement of core courses. 

5. The Department must work more closely with black 
organizations and community groups to support and en­
courage high academic achievement, especially for low· 
income students. 

6. School Profiles, published by the Department for 
every school district, should include data on the percent 
of students completing the core and on average com­
posite ACT scores. This information should be shown for 
all students and for students of both races. 

Strategies for Schools 

1. Administrators and teachers in each school must be 
committed to the goal that all of their students can 
achieve at higher levels and that more students can 
succeed in the academic core curriculum. All students 
should be encouraged and given the support necessary to 
take the IHL courses, whether or not they think they will 
attend college. 

2. Schools at all grade levels must eliminate artificial 
barriers, such as rigid ability grouping or tracking, which 
deprives some students of the highest quality instruction 
and learning available. 

3. Information concerning college admission require­
ments and job qualifications should be widely dissem­
inated to students, to their parents, and to community 
organizations. What teachers do in school must be 
reinforced outside of school. Therefore, school and home 
must work closely together to plan a student's high school 
schedule so that the entire core curriculum is completed 
by the end of the 12th grade. 

4. High schools can start by examining their own core 
enrollments and ACT scores. Administrators, teachers 
and guidance counselors should design a plan, with 
yearly targets, for increasing core participation. Special 
attention must be given to raising the number of black 
students in the core curriculum. 

5. The seventh and eighth grades are crucial years in 
students' lives. In these grades children may become 
discouraged and think of dropping out. By the eighth 

15 

grade they begin forming ideas about their future and 
what courses they will take in high school. !'lo student 
should be counseled out of the college preparatory 
courses. 

Strategies for Parents and Students 

The chart at the end of this report provides a starting 
point for parents, students and community leaders to 
begin monitoring their own school district. Remember 
that the numbers for percent of students in the core are 
estimates only. Superintendents or the Mississippi De­
partment of Education should be asked to provide the 
most current information for the 1988 graduating class. 

Here are some of the ways that the chart can help you 
examine how well your own school district is preparing 
students for college admission and better-paying jobs. 

1 . What is the approximate percentage of all 12th 
graders in 1986 who were enrolled in the core (column 
23)? What was the estimated percentage for black stu­
dents (column 21) and for whites (column 22)? 

2. Columns 6 through 1 7 show the actual numbers for 
black and white seniors who took the ACT in 1986 and 
their average composite scores. This information is 
broken down separately for students who said they 
completed the core and for those who said they had not 
taken the core. The important point is to compare the 
students who took the ACT but did not complete the core 
with those who followed the core curriculum. Identify the 
differences. Compare the 1986 figures on the chart to 
more recent data to see if there has been any improve­
ment. 

3. If the school district has more than one high school, 
obtain the information on the ACT test for the 1988 
graduating class for each high school and make the same 
comparison as described in #2 above. 

4. Similar comparisons can be made among school 
districts in the same county or among neighboring 
counties. Do other districts have higher (or lower) rates of 
participation in the core? What are the differences in ACT 
scores, especially between core-completers and those 
who have not completed the core? Does taking the core 
seem to produce higher ACT scores in some districts, but 
not in other districts? 

5. Parents and community leaders should discuss with 
young people the importance of taking the academic 
curriculum. Students should be encouraged to take the 
core courses and their progress must be carefully moni­
tored. Parents or other adults who have an interest in the 
child's future should regularly meet with teachers to 
discuss how best to support the classroom learning. 

Equipped with the information in this report and 
additional figures gathered for your school district, you 
are now prepared to talk with school officials about what 
can be done to increase core enrollment and ACT scores. 



Appendix A: 

COLLEGE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS 

Effective in the Fall of 1986, all students entering Missis­
sippi's public universities must have taken 131h academic 
credits approved by the College Board and earn a 
minimum score of between 10 and 15 on the American 
College Test (ACT). This Appendix describes the min­
imum ACT scores required for admission to the state's 
eight public colleges and universities. It also details the 
deferral policy and exemptions from basic admission 
requirements. 

The ACT Score: Basic Minimums 

The American College Test (ACT) consists of four tests 
which are supposed to measure academic abilities in 
English, mathematics, social studies and natural sci­
ences. The scores on each of the four tests are added 
together to produce a composite score. The range for 
composite scores is from 1 to 36. 

Students are charged a fee ($10.50 in 1985-1986; 
$11.50 in 1988-1989) to take the ACT, but this should not 
be a barrier to low-income families. Fee-waivers can be 
requested and are routinely granted by the American 
College Testing Program. To request fee-waivers, school 
officials can either fill out an ACT form or simply write a 
letter on school or district stationery. The American 
College Testing Program takes the word of school offi­
cia ls about students who need fee-waivers. Families are 
not asked to provide information about their income. 

All state universities have a minimum ACT score for 
admission based on the composite of scores from the 
four subtests. Shown below are the minimum scores for 
each institution. 

15 Delta State University 

15 Mississippi State University 

15 Mississippi University for Women 

15 University of Southern Mississippi 

15 University of Mississippi 

13 Alcorn State University 

13 Jackson State University 

10 Mississippi Valley State University 

Deferral Policy 

The College Board has a permanent policy of deferrals 
regarding the IHL course requirements. This policy ap­
plies to all eight institutions. 

No more than two deferrals of the core course require­
ments are permitted. Deferrals are granted, provided that 
a student takes an approved course in the field of deferral 
in the first semester or quarter of college attendance. 

English: No deferrals are permitted. 

Math: One deferral provided that the student takes 
and passes Geometry or Algebra. For students 
with both a math deficiency and a score 
below 12 on the ACT math subtest, a special 
course must be taken by the end of the first 
academic year. 

Science: One deferral, provided that a student takes 
and passes an initial credit biology, chem­
istry or physics course in the first semester 
or quarter and provided that the student has 
already taken one course in that field of 
science in high school. 

Elective: One deferral , provided that the student 
takes and passes an initial credit course in 
mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics 
or foreign language in the first semester or 
quarter. Students may not use this deferral 
for a math course if they are already using 
the math deferral. Students who use this 
elective deferral to make up a deficiency in 
science must have taken at least one high 
school course in the selected discipline. 

Institutional Exemptions 

In addition to the deferral policy applying to all colleges 
and universities, each institution has its own rules per­
mitting exceptions to the minimum ACT score and IHL 
course requirements. There is one set of rules for the five 
historically white universities and a separate set of rules 
for each of the three historically black institutions. 

Information about admission requirements for the state's four-year colleges and universities is contained in a booklet 
entitled Admission Standards and Core Requirements. It is available from the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of 
Higher Learning, P.O. Box 2336, Jackson, MS 39225 (601 /982-6611 ). 

16 



Exceptions to Standard Admission Requirements for 
Delta State University, Mississippi State University, 
Mississippi University for Women, University of Missis­
sippi and University of Southern Mississippi 

•Up to 5% of the previous year's freshman class or 50 
students may be admitted with an ACT composite 
score of 9. This exception accommodates " talented 
and/ or high risk students." 

• Students with a score below 12 on the English and/ or 
math ACT subtests may be admitted, but must com· 
plete a "developmental program" in the area of defi­
ciency. 

• Students with a single deficiency in the IHL core units 
may be exempted from that area of deficiency if they 
have an ACT score of at least 18 on the appropriate 
subtest. 

• Any student who has not completed the IHL core and 
who does not meet any of the above criteria for 
exemption must earn at least a " C" average in the 
previous 24 semester hours at another institution of 
higher learning. The other institutions include the 
historically black colleges, a community college or a 
private school. 

• Any student who has a composite ACT score of 24 or 
higher is exempt from all IHL courses. 

Exceptions to Standard Admission Requirements for 
Alcorn State University, Jackson State University 
and Mississippi Valley State University 

All three historically black institutions have a common 
set of exemptions. 

• Any student with a composite ACT score of 20 is 
exempt from all IHL core requirements. 

• Any student with one IHL core deficiency may be 
exempt from that deficiency if he or she has scored at 
least 15 on the appropriate ACT subtest. 

•A student with a "B'' average (3.0 grade point average) 
in the required high school units in an area (e.g. math) 
in which the student has no more than one deficiency 
may be exempt from that deficiency and from the 
required minimum ACT subtest score that is required 
for exemption. This option applies to no more than one 
area. 

• Students who score below 12 on the ACT English 
and/ or Math subtest must enter and satisfactorily 
complete an approved developmental program in the 
area of deficiency. 

17 

• Students with deficiencies in the IHL core who do not 
meet the exemptions in #2 and #3 above must com­
plete the core with a "C" average at a junior college or 
private school. 

In addition, each historically black institution may 
admit a certain number of students with ACT composite 
scores of 9. The number who may be admitted under this 
allowance is 10% of the previous year's freshman fall 
enrollment at Alcorn State, 8% at Jackson State, and 10% 
at Mississippi Valley State. 

ACT Qnder Fire 

Black citizens and the U.S. Department of Justice 
are the plaintiffs in a lawsuit charging the State of 
Mississippi with operating a racially separate system 
of public higher education in violation of the Con­
stitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That suit 
also challenges use of the American College Test 
(ACT) as the sole criterion for entry into a state 
university as intentionally discriminatory. 

The minimum ACT score of 15, required for 
admission to the historically white schools, has a 
severe exclusionary impact on black students. In 
1985, 70% of all black Mississippi high school 
graduates who took the ACT did not attain that 
minimum score. 

The black plaintiffs and the U.S. urge that the ACT 
be used in conjunction with high school grades, 
thus establishing a more accurate and less discrim­
inatory measure of a student's ability to do college­
level work. This position is consistent with the advice 
of the test's publisher that high school grades be 
taken into consideration. 

The College Board argues that the lack of compar­
ability among the state's high schools and "grade 
inflation" make it unwise to use high school grades 
as one of the admission criteria. However, as the 
plaintiffs have pointed out, admission standards at 
the three historically black colleges do permit stu· 
dents to enroll if they score a minimum of 9 on the 
ACT, have a 3.0 high school grade average and are 
in the top half of their graduating class. But there is 
no similar provision for allowing the historically 
white institutions to consider a student's high school 
grades as a basis for admission. 



Appendix B: 

CHART OF .MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL DISTRICTS: 
SCHOOL YEAR 1985-1986 

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
Total 'lo Average Average Number Average 

enrollment 'lo receiving per Number black whites white 
grades black 'lo free pupil ex- blacks ACT took ACT 

District Name 9-12 students drop outs lunch penditure took ACT score ACT score 

Adams County 
NATCHEZ SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 200B 63.8% 22% 78.3% $1,449.16 112 13.1 99 17.8 

Alconi County 
CORINTH SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 519 32.2% 45% 53.3% $1,442.61 16 14.5 69 19.2 
ALCORN COUN'IY SCHOOL DISTRICT 941 44.0% 38% 55.2% $1,554.98 7 10.4 137 17.3 

Mlite County 
AMITE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 580 84.3% 44% 93.2% $1,527.87 31 12.3 3 18.0 

Attala County 
KOSCIUSKO SEPARATE SCH DIST 513 49.2% 50% 76 . 2% $1,291.63 31 13.7 48 19.0 
ATTALA CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 412 70.5% 46% 90.6% $1,589.17 20 13.6 11 16.1 

Bent<Xl County 
BENI'ON CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 367 64.0% 39% 87.5% $1,512.84 16 11 .7 15 14. 0 

Bolivar County 
BOLIVAR CO SCHOOL DIST #1 572 89.5% 50% 94.6% $1 ,600.84 33 10.1 5 17.8 
BOLIVAR CO SCHOOL DIST #2 37 96.5% 35% 98.3% $2,085.58 10 9.5 2 16.5 
BOLIVAR CO SCHOOL DIST #3 313 96.6% 64% 99.1% $1,552.39 30 10.6 0 o.o 
SOLIVAR CO SCHOOL DIST #4 1386 67.8% 45% 74.2% $1,414.36 86 11.9 97 18 . 8 
BOLIVAR CO SCHOOL DIST #5 270 93.0% 31% 95 .6% $1 ,530.70 27 12.8 1 24 . 0 
BOLIVAR CO SCHOOL DIST #6 333 100. 0% 25% 93.8% $1,520.95 11 12 .3 0 0 . 0 

caJ.hol.m County 
CALHOUN CO SCHOOL DISTRICT Bl8 40 . 3% 39% 73 . 6% $1,413.02 11 11.8 69 16.4 

carro11 County 
CARROLL CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 314 86.5% 53% 95 . 9% $1,513.42 24 11.2 5 15.4 

ChickasaM County 
HOUSTON SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 506 39.0% 40% 56.2% $1,502 . 09 9 15 .2 39 19 .0 
OKOLONA SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 300 64 .9% 52% 62 .4% $1,294.50 13 14.9 30 14.4 
CHICKASAW CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 151 51 . 5% 57% 78.7% $1,639.16 11 12.1 18 12.9 

Choctaw County 
CHOCTAW COUNTY SCH DISTRICT 434 39 .9% 35% 76.5% $1,562.85 5 9.6 26 16.4 

Clairbonie County 
CLAIBORNE COUN'IY SCHOOL DIST 541 99 . 5% 25% 96.4% $2,622.76 50 10.1 0 0 . 0 

Clarke County 
ENTERPRISE CONS SCH DISTRICT 209 33.B% 36% 64.2% $1,300.16 1 13.0 13 16. 2 
QUI'IMAN CONSOLIDATED SCH DIST 676 50 . 3% 49% 69.6% $1,339 .68 18 12.8 48 17 . 9 . 

Clay County 
WEST POINT SEPARATE SCH DIST 971 73.0% 46% 73 . 7% $1,361.67 56 14.8 38 18.8 
CLAY COUNTY' SCHOOL DISTRICT 99 96 . 8% 54% 96 .9% $1,594.96 16 10 . 6 0 0.0 

Coahcma County 
CLARKSDALE SEPARATE SCH DIST 1132 72.6% 37% 85.9% $1 , 473.05 60 14.9 45 18.4 
COAHCMA CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 517 87.2% 76% 97 . 1% $1,774 . 53 14 10.9 5 13 . 2 

Copiah County 
HAZLEHURST SEPARATE SCH DIST 426 93 . 8% 35% 95.0% $1,275.52 39 10 . 5 1 10 .0 
COPIAH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 903 60.0% 25% 83.6% $1,312.09 27 11.4 55 17 . 3 

Covingt<Xl County 
COVINGTON CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 983 47.2% 34% 71.8% $1,506.70 12 12.4 70 16 . 3 

18 



10 
Number 
blacks 

took ACT/ 
completed 

core 

75 

12 
2 

19 

9 
8 

1 

11 
7 

14 
45 
12 

5 

5 

9 

6 
6 
4 

1 

27 

0 
3 

27 
9 

33 
4 

25 
17 

7 

11 12 13 
Number 
whites 

Average took ACT/ Average 
ACT completed ACT 

scores 

14.0 

15 . 6 
11.0 

13.5 

18.8 
14.5 

17.0 

13.4 
10.6 
10.6 
13.6 
15.7 
13.4 

14.4 

14.7 

17.7 
17.5 
15.5 

10.0 

10.2 

o.o 
14 . 0 

16.6 
11.6 

16.4 
13 . 5 

10.8 
12.2 

14.4 

core 

60 

41 
78 

3 

27 
4 

4 

3 
1 
0 

69 
0 
0 

40 

2 

21 
15 

4 

17 

0 

2 
30 

21 
0 

31 
1 

0 
32 

34 

scores 

19.4 

21.0 
19.6 

18.0 

21.1 
19.5 

17.5 

19.3 
20.0 
0.0 

20 . 4 
0.0 
0.0 

18 . 6 

19.5 

22.6 
16.9 
14.0 

17.5 

0.0 

20 . 5 
19.0 

20.7 
0 .0 

20.1 
17.0 

0.0 
18.8 

17.7 

14 

Number 
blacks 

took ACT/ 
no core 

37 

4 
5 

12 

22 
12 

15 

22 
3 

16 
41 
15 

6 

6 

15 

3 
7 
7 

4 

23 

1 
15 

29 
7 

27 
10 

14 
10 

5 

15 

Average 
ACT 

scores 

11.4 

11.3 
10.2 

10.4 

11.6 
13.0 

11.3 

8.5 
7.0 

10.6 
10.0 
10.5 
11 . 3 

9.7 

9.1 

10.3 
12.7 
10.1 

9 . 5 

10.0 

13.0 
12.6 

13.2 
9.4 

13 . 0 
9.9 

10.1 
9.9 

9.6 

16 

Number 
whites 

took ACT/ 
no core 

39 

28 
59 

0 

21 
7 

11 

2 
1 
0 

28 
1 
0 

29 

3 

18 
15 
14 

9 

0 

11 
18 

17 
0 

14 
4 

1 
23 

36 

17 18 

Total 
Average Number 

ACT students in 
scores Grade 12 

15.3 

16 . 5 
14.3 

0.0 

16.3 
14.1 

12.7 

15.5 
13.0 
0.0 

15.0 
24.0 
0.0 

13.3 

12.7 

14.8 
12.0 
12.6 

14.2 

0.0 

15.5 
16.1 

16.5 
0.0 

14.7 
12.3 

10.0 
15.1 

14.9 

19 

434 

101 
241 

124 

87 
79 

74 

83 
41 
42 
268 
52 
69 

161 

45 

88 
59 
33 

74 

107 

40 
121 

167 
22 

149 
51 

82 
166 

196 

19 

Number 
blacks in 
Grade 12 

277 

33 
106 

105 

43 
56 

47 

74 
40 
41 
182 
48 
69 

65 

39 

34 
38 
17 

30 

106 

14 
61 

122 
21 

108 
44 

77 
100 

93 

20 

Number 
whites in 
Grade 12 

157 

68 
135 

19 

44 
23 

27 

9 
1 
1 

86 
4 
0 

96 

6 

54 
21 
16 

44 

1 

26 
60 

45 
1 

41 
7 

5 
66 

103 

21 

'lo 
blacks 

took core 

27.1% 

36.9% 
1.9% 

18 . 2% 

21.0% 
14 .4% 

2.1% 

14.8% 
17.7% 
34.5% 
24.8% 
24 . 8% 

7.2% 

7 . 7% 

23.1% 

17.5% 
15.7% 
23.5% 

3.4% 

25.4% 

0.0% 
4.9% 

22.1% 
42.3% 

30.5% 
9.0% 

32.5% 
17.1% 

7.6% 

22 

% 
whites 

took core 

38.2% 

59.9% 
57.8% 

15 . 4% 

61.1% 
17.2% 

15.0% 

34.4% 
69.7% 

0.0% 
79.9% 

0.0% 
0.0% 

41 . 6% 

32.9% 

39.1% 
72 .4% 
25.0% 

38 . 2% 

0.0% 

7.6% 
49.9% 

46.6% 
0.0% 

76.0% 
15 . 3% 

0.0% 
48.2% 

32.9% 

23 

Total % 
took core 

31.1% 

52.5% 
33.2% 

17.7% 

41.4% 
15.2% 

6 . 8% 

16 . 9% 
19.5% 
33.3% 
42.5% 
23.1% 

7 .2% 

28.0% 

24.4% 

30.7% 
35.6% 
24.2% 

24 . 3% 

25.2% 

5.0% 
27 . 3% 

28.7% 
40.9% 

43 . 0% 
9 .8% 

30.5% 
29.5% 

20.9% 



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
Total % Average Average Number Average 

enrollment % receiving per Number black whites white 
grades black % free pupil ex- blacks ACT took ACT 

District Name 9-12 students drop outs lunch penditure took ACT score ACT score 

Desot:o Count:y 
DESal'O CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 3908 20.9% 37% 43.2% $1,240.67 53 13.1 346 18.2 

Forrest: Count:y 
HA'ITIESBURG SEPARATE SCH DIST 1579 58.9% 32% 70.8% $1,634.90 50 13.3 142 20.6 
PETAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICT 962 10.5% 28% 37.2% $1,374.92 7 12.6 88 18.2 
FORREST CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 387 29.3% 20% 65 . 3% $1,519.79 4 10.0 31 17.9 

Franklin Colmt:y 
FRANKLIN CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 459 44.0% 54% 74.4% $1,596.32 6 12.2 36 17.8 

George Count:y 
GEORGE CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 1067 12.1% 36% 56.2% $1, 151.81 8 14.8 85 17.7 

Greene Count:y 
GREENE CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 653 29.6% 27% 77.1% $1,451.52 9 10.9 45 15 . 0 

Gre!lada Count:y 
GRENADA SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 1164 57.3% 60% 64.3% $1,440.27 51 12 . 9 57 17.1 

Hancock Count:y 
BAY ST LOUIS SEPARATE SCH DIST 624 21.4% 44% 60.1% $1,332.89 6 14.8 46 18.2 
HANCOCK CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 732 7.5% 35% 77.1% $1, 248.10 3 12 .3 59 14.1 

Harrison Count:y 
BILOXI SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 1890 26.0% 42% 62.1% $1,695.47 27 15.2 143 20.0 
GULFPORT SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 1674 44.1% 37% 55.7% $1,636.08 39 12.7 112 19.5 
LONG BEACH SEPARATE SCH DIST 1098 9 . 8% 1% 32.6% $1,498.05 0 0.0 118 19.5 
PASS CHRISTIAN SEP SCHOOL DIST 407 46.7% 56% 70.3% $2,010.31 15 12.8 15 17.0 
HARRISON CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 3076 23.7% 49% 61.7% $1,433.48 19 12.1 130 18.4 

Hin::!s Count:y 
JACKSON SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 8773 79.8% 35% 74.7% $1,571.47 695 13.3 287 18.4 
CLINTON SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 1569 28.9% 30% 36 . 1% $1,447.60 29 12.0 235 19.6 
HINDS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1244 67 .1% 57% 73.2% $1,421.24 59 11.6 61 16 . 4 

Holmes Count:y 
DURANT SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 170 60.7% 53% 81.1% $1,448.09 8 16.8 15 17 . 7 
HOLMES COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1049 99.9% 52% 99.2% $1,400.38 94 10.2 1 20.0 

Humphreys Count:y 
HUMPHREYS CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 521 94 . 3% 78% 98.5% $1 , 357.40 59 14.2 2 11.5 

It:aNamba Colmt:y 
ITAWAMBA CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 536 8.9% 73% 52.0% $1,436.35 2 12.0 35 14.7 

Jackson Count:y 
MOSS POINT SEPARATE SCH DIST 1854 59.8% 41% 69.8% $1,502.75 82 11 . 5 64 17.9 
OCEAN SPRINGS SEP SCHOOL DIST 1297 6.4% 21% 28.9% $1,580.67 7 14.0 199 19.0 
PASCAGOULA SEPARATE SCH DIST 2508 24.8% 39% 49.8% $1,707.96 28 11.1 227 19.4 
JACKSON CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 1841 8.7% 40% 47.3% $1,720.19 4 9.3 135 18.0 

Jasper Count:y 
EAST JASPER CONSL SCHOOL DIST 431 99.8% 14% 94.7% $1,379.85 25 10.5 0 o.o 
WEST JASPER CONS SCHOOL DIST 545 53.2% 38% 79.1% $1,457.19 8 11.3 38 16.4 

Jefferson Count:y 
JEFFERSON CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 612 100.0% 33% 99.0% $1,476.04 34 12 . 0 1 15.0 

Jefferson Davis Count:y 
JEFFERSON DAVIS CO SCHOOL DIST 909 74.6% 38% 83.2% $1,392.95 43 12 . 7 23 16.7 

Jooes Count:y 
LAUREL MUNICIPAL SEP SCH DIST 959 70.9% 39% 80 . 4% $1,789.20 41 13.0 78 19.1 
JONES CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 2476 18.4% 30% 56.8% $1,391.53 34 11.8 200 15 . 8 

20 



10 11 12 13 
Number Number 
blacks whites 

took ACT/ Average took ACT/ Average 
completed ACT completed ACT 

core 

19 

27 
2 
2 

1 

6 

4 

32 

3 
0 

16 
14 

0 
8 

10 

458 
11 
12 

4 
37 

34 

0 

48 
3 

13 
0 

17 
3 

23 

16 

25 
8 

scores 

16.8 

15.3 
16.0 
8.5 

21.0 

15.5 

12.0 

13.5 

18.0 
0.0 

16.9 
14. 7 
0.0 

15 . 0 
13.1 

14.5 
14 . 2 
14.3 

16.5 
11.6 

16.0 

0.0 

12.5 
15.3 
12.4 
0 .0 

11.6 
14.0 

13 . 5 

15.1 

14.8 
13.3 

core 

163 

117 
65 
23 

23 

52 

16 

37 

34 
32 

105 
68 
75 
12 
81 

215 
166 

29 

11 
1 

1 

15 

50 
130 
144 

85 

0 
20 

1 

13 

57 
97 

scores 

19.9 

21.8 
19.0 
19.4 

18.7 

19.3 

18.3 

18.4 

19.6 
16.1 

21.2 
21. 7 
20.7 
17.3 
20.6 

19.1 
20.9 
18.4 

18.2 
20.0 

17.0 

18.6 

19.0 
21.2 
20.9 
19.6 

0.0 
18.1 

15.0 

18.6 

20.3 
18.6 

14 

Number 
blacks 

took ACT/ 
no core 

34 

23 
5 
2 

5 

2 

5 

19 

3 
3 

11 
25 

0 
7 
9 

237 
18 
47 

4 
57 

25 

2 

34 
4 

15 
4 

8 
5 

11 

27 

16 
26 

15 16 

Number 
Average whites 

ACT took ACT/ 
scores no core 

11.1 

11.0 
11. 2 
11.5 

10.4 

12.5 

10.0 

11.9 

11. 7 
12.3 

12.8 
11.6 
0.0 

10.3 
10.9 

11.1 
10.7 
10.9 

17.0 
9.3 

11.8 

12.0 

10.0 
13.0 
10.0 
9.3 

8.1 
9 . 6 

8.9 

11.2 

10.1 
11.4 

183 

25 
23 

8 

13 

33 

29 

20 

12 
27 

38 
44 
43 

3 
49 

72 
69 
32 

4 
0 

1 

20 

14 
69 
83 
50 

0 
18 

0 

10 

21 
103 

17 18 

Total 
Average Number 

ACT students in 
scores Grade 12 

16.6 

15.1 
16 . 1 
13.4 

16.3 

15.2 

13.2 

14.8 

14.3 
11. 7 

16.8 
16.0 
17.4 
15.7 
14.8 

16.1 
16.5 
14.7 

16.5 
0 .0 

6.0 

11.8 

13.9 
14.8 
16 .8 
15.2 

0.0 
14.5 

0.0 

14.2 

15.7 
13.2 

21 

781 

332 
179 
68 

70 

190 

134 

173 

126 
141 

394 
300 
304 
71 

423 

1702 
308 
180 

21 
201 

65 

72 

324 
287 
448 
351 

70 
120 

119 

157 

156 
481 

19 

Number 
blacks in 
Grade 12 

163 

196 
19 
20 

31 

23 

40 

99 

27 
11 

102 
132 
30 
33 

100 

1358 
89 

121 

13 
201 

61 

6 

194 
18 

111 
31 

70 
64 

118 

117 

111 
89 

20 

Number 
whites in 
Grade 12 

618 

136 
160 
48 

39 

167 

94 

74 

99 
130 

292 
168 
274 
38 

323 

344 
219 
59 

8 
0 

4 

66 

130 
269 
337 
320 

0 
56 

1 

40 

45 
392 

21 

'lo 
blacks 

took core 

11.6% 

13.8% 
10.7% 
10.0% 

3.2% 

26.1% 

10.1% 

32.3% 

11.1% 
0.0% 

15.6% 
10.6% 

0.0% 
24.1% 
10.0% 

33.7% 
12 . 4% 

9.9% 

31.4% 
18.4% 

55.5% 

0.0% 

24.8% 
16.3% 
11. 7% 

0.0% 

24 . 3% 
4.7% 

19.5% 

13.7% 

22.6% 
9.0% 

22 

'lo 
whites 

took core 

26.4% 

85.7% 
40.6% 
47.8% 

58.7% 

31.1% 

17.0% 

50.1% 

34.3% 
24.5% 

36.0% 
40 . 5% 
27.4% 
31.7% 
25.1% 

62.5% 
75.8% 
49.0% 

133.3% 
497.5% 

27.0% 

22.9% 

38.4% 
48.4% 
42.7% 
26.5% 

0 . 0% 
35.6% 

100.0% 

32.6% 

125.6% 
24.7% 

23 

Total 'fa 
took core 

23 . 3% 

43.4% 
37.4% 
36.8% 

34.3% 

30.5% 

14.9% 

39.9% 

29.4% 
22 . 7% 

30.7% 
27.3% 
24.7% 
28.2% 
21.5% 

39.5% 
57 . 5% 
22.8% 

71.4% 
18.9% 

53.8% 

20.8% 

30.2% 
46.3% 
35.0% 
24.2% 

24.3% 
19.2% 

20.2% 

18.5% 

52.6% 
21.8% 



2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
Total % Average Average Number Average 

enrollment % receiving per Number black whites white 
grades black % free pupil ex- blacks ACT took ACT 

District Name 9-12 students drop outs lunch penditure took ACT score ACT score 

Kenper County 
KEMPER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 535 86 . 7% 47% 91.9% $1,508 .06 21 14.8 6 15 . 7 

Lafayet te County 
OXFORD SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 745 48 . 0% 27% 64 . 0% $1,748.78 26 13 . 5 88 22.1 
I.AFAYETIE CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 577 39 . 0% 43% 65. 1% $1,333.04 9 11.0 46 16 . 6 

Lamar Coml.ty 
LAMAR COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM 1375 8.7% 29% 48.3% $1, 150 . 14 17 10 . 5 154 17.4 
LUMBERTON LINE CONS SCH DI ST 260 42 . 1% 38% 67 . 3% $1,488 . 22 7 15 . 9 26 17.8 

Lauderdale County 
MERIDIAN SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 2215 60.1% 34% 70.1% $1,514.58 74 14 . 7 122 19 . 8 
LAUDERDALE COUNTY SCH DISTRI CT 1804 30.3% 36% 58.4% $1,272.86 25 13.6 135 19.3 

LaNrenoe County 
LAWRENCE CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 828 43.0% 36% 70 . 2% $1,430.28 32 13.4 65 18.0 

Leake Coml.ty 
LEAKE CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 919 59.8% 40% 85 . 7% $1,295 . 40 26 13.7 45 17.0 
TUPELO SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 1671 25.1% 25% 33 . 4% $1,551 . 76 17 12 . 8 216 19 . 7 

Lee Coml.ty 
LEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1277 32.6% 55% 70.8% $ 1 ,422 . 84 23 11.9 85 15 . 8 
NETI'LETON LINE CONS SCH DIST 352 34.1% 52% 56.1% $1,357 . 66 6 15 . 2 7 22 . 7 

Lefl ore County 
GR.ED-M'.)()D SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 1170 62 . 9% 53% 80.8% $1,713.57 38 14 .8 71 19.1 
LEFLORE COUNTY SCHOOI. DISTRICT 1023 83 . 1% 49% 89 . 0% $1,515.25 64 12 . 0 0 0.0 

Lincoln Coml.ty 
BROOKHAVEN SEPARATE SCH DIST 1065 51.3% 29% 70.6% $1,611 . 21 51 13.9 66 19 . 0 
LINCOLN CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 745 2.5% 17% 65.3% $1,286 . 24 12 10.5 68 16 . 1 

~ County 
COLUMBUS MUNICIPAL SCH DIST 1803 62.7% 45% 76.4% $1,553 . 33 70 12.5 99 21.6 
~ES CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 1200 40.6% 41% 62.7% $1,287.55 26 11.6 68 17 . 9 

Mad1sal County 
CA.11,'TON SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 986 96.5% 53% 98.9% $1,374.98 50 13.5 2 17.5 
MADISON CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 567 94.0% 64% 96.3% $1,560.08 36 11.9 0 0.0 
RIDGELAND MJN SEP SCHOOL DIST 633 27.0% 60% 36.4% $1,360 . 95 12 13.9 41 18 . 7 

Maria'l County 
COLUMBIA SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 556 40.6% 38% 67.5% $1,575 . 95 17 14.2 37 17 . 4 
MARION CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 741 46.1% 30% 85 . 7% $1,582.48 22 10.7 31 14.4 

Marshall County 
HOLLY SPRINGS SEP SCH DISTRICT 597 85.5% 27% 93.1% $1,341.47 51 10 . 6 2 8.0 
MARSHALL COUNTY SCH DISTRICT 1010 65.4% 52% 90.4% $1,428.50 49 10.9 20 15 . 8 

lb1roe County 
Al'>DRY SEPARJ\.TE SCHOOL DISTRICT 575 36.8% 45% 50.4% $1,485.16 11 13.7 44 19.0 
ABERDEEN SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 699 72.4% 42% 66.0% $1,468.56 25 13 . 4 39 16.6 
KJNROE CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 753 15 . 1% 25% 55.5% $1,342.76 8 9 . 6 47 16 . 4 

Mc:ntganery Coml.ty 
WINONA SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 415 52.7% 45% 85.5% $1,509.07 7 14 . 0 16 16.9 
M::>NTGa-1ERY CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 250 80.4% 52% 92 . 7% $1 , 487.82 16 11.6 7 19.4 

Neshoba (;aunty 
PHILADELPHIA SEPA.RATE SCH DIST 351 52.0% 33% 60.3% $1,467 . 10 17 11.1 40 16 . 5 
NESHOBA CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 897 21.9% 29% 60 . 1% $1,364.23 17 12 . 7 75 17 . 3 

Newta'l Coml.ty 458 60.7% 41% 74.5% $1,454.80 12 14.4 16 18 . 5 
UNION SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICT 215 29.0% 52% 54.9% $1,376.35 2 14.5 19 18 . 9 
NEWI'ON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 521 26.3% 25% 66.4% $1,400.98 8 10.9 36 16.5 

22 



10 11 12 13 
Number Number 
blacks whiles 

took ACT/ Average took ACT/ Average 
completed ACT completed ACT 

core scores 

12 15. 3 

15 13.7 
3 14.0 

6 11.5 
5 18.6 

38 16.8 
3 22.3 

18 14.4 

12 16.1 
8 13.6 

6 13.3 
2 23 . 0 

14 18 . 9 
49 12 . 8 

28 16.5 
0 0.0 

24 15.8 
7 13.9 

32 15.3 
22 12.1 

4 17.5 

9 16.1 
13 11. 7 

32 11.6 
10 15.8 

4 16.3 
18 13.6 

3 11. 7 

2 17.0 
8 12.1 

2 12.5 
7 18.0 

6 16.3 
0 0.0 
2 19.0 

core 

4 

73 
30 

94 
14 

73 
56 

33 

14 
155 

4 2 
6 

40 
0 

33 
15 

74 
41 

2 
0 

29 

29 
11 

0 
9 

23 
24 
24 

6 
6 

20 
39 

13 
7 

14 

scores 

17.5 

23.0 
18.2 

19.6 
21. 4 

21.8 
21. 5 

20.6 

20 .1 
21.2 

17.6 
21. 3 

21.8 
0.0 

21.4 
20.7 

22.5 
20.0 

17.5 
0.0 

19.7 

18 . 8 
16 . 7 

0.0 
18.4 

21.3 
18.8 
17.9 

21.8 
20.7 

19.3 
19.6 

18.8 
21.9 
20.4 

14 

Number 
blacks 

took ACT/ 
no core 

9 

11 
6 

11 
2 

36 
22 

14 

14 
9 

17 
4 

24 
15 

23 
1 2 

46 
19 

18 
14 

8 

8 
9 

19 
39 

7 
7 
5 

5 
8 

15 
10 

6 
2 
6 

15 16 

Number 
Average whites 

ACT took ACT/ 
scores no core 

14.2 

13.1 
9.5 

10.0 
9.0 

12.5 
12.4 

12 . 1 

11.6 
12 . 0 

11. 4 
11.3 

12.3 
9.3 

10 . 6 
10 . 5 

10.8 
10.8 

10.1 
11.5 
12.1 

12.1 
9.3 

8.9 
9 . 6 

12.3 
12.7 
8.4 

12.8 
11.0 

10.9 
9.0 

12.5 
14.5 
8.2 

2 

15 
16 

60 
12 

49 
79 

32 

31 
61 

43 
1 

31 
0 

33 
53 

25 
27 

0 
0 

12 

8 
20 

2 
11 

21 
15 
23 

10 
1 

20 
36 

3 
12 
22 

17 18 

Total 
Average Number 

ACT students in 
scores Grade 12 

12.0 

17.8 
13.4 

13.9 
13.6 

17.0 
17.7 

15.3 

15.6 
15.9 

14.0 
31.0 

15.5 
0.0 

16.5 
14.8 

18.8 
14.9 

0.0 
0.0 

16.4 

12 . 3 
13.1 

8.0 
13.6 

16.6 
13.l 
14.7 

14.0 
12.0 

13.8 
14.9 

17.0 
17.3 
14.0 

23 

82 

158 
100 

285 
48 

413 
323 

144 

164 
331 

212 
45 

187 
182 

188 
163 

309 
202 

162 
128 
56 

94 
159 

124 
142 

91 
120 
155 

77 
50 

81 
189 

68 
31 
92 

19 

Number 
blacks in 
Grade 12 

71 

76 
39 

25 
20 

248 
98 

62 

98 
83 

69 
15 

118 
151 

96 
4 

194 
82 

156 
120 
15 

38 
73 

106 
93 

33 
87 
23 

41 
40 

42 
41 

41 
9 
24 

20 

Number 
whites in 
Grade 12 

11 

82 
61 

260 
28 

165 
225 

82 

66 
248 

143 
30 

69 
31 

92 
159 

115 
120 

6 
8 

41 

56 
86 

18 
49 

58 
33 

132 

36 
10 

39 
148 

27 
22 
68 

21 

O/o 
blacks 

took core 

16.9% 

19 . 8% 
7.7% 

24.2% 
24.7% 

15.3% 
3.1% 

29.1% 

12.2% 
9.6% 

8.7% 
13 . 0% 

11.9% 
32.4% 

29.0% 
0.0% 

12.4% 
8.5% 

20.5% 
18.3% 
26 . 4% 

23.6% 
17.7% 

30.2% 
10.8% 

11.9% 
20.7% 
12.8% 

4.9% 
19.9% 

4 . 7% 
16.9% 

14 . 5% 
0.0% 
8.3% 

22 

O/o 
whiles 

look core 

36.7% 

88.9% 
49.2% 

36.1% 
50.4% 

44.3% 
24.9% 

40.2% 

21.2% 
62 . 5% 

29.4% 
20.2% 

57.7% 
0.0% 

36.0% 
9.4% 

64.2% 
34.2% 

35.3% 
0 . 0% 

71.0% 

51.9% 
12.8% 

0.0% 
18.3% 

40.0% 
72.5% 
18.2% 

16.5% 
61 . 2% 

51.4% 
26.4% 

48.6% 
31.8% 
20.6% 

23 

Total O/o 
took core 

19 . 5% 

55.7% 
33.0% 

35.1% 
39 . 6% 

26.9% 
18.3% 

35.4% 

15 . 9% 
49.2% 

22.6% 
17 . 8% 

28 . 9% 
26 . 9% 

32 . 4% 
9.2% 

31.7% 
23.8% 

21.0% 
17.2% 
58.9% 

40.4% 
15.1% 

25 . 8% 
13.4% 

29.7% 
35.0% 
17.4% 

10.4% 
28.0% 

27.2% 
24.3% 

27 . 9% 
22.6% 
17.4% 



2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
Total 'lo Average Average Number Average 

enrollment 'lo receiving per Number black whites white 
grades black 'lo free pupil ex- blacks ACT took ACT 

District Name 9-12 students drop outs lunch penditure took ACT score ACT score 

Noxubee County 
NOXUBEE CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 782 99.5% 35% 97 . 7% Sl,512.09 27 10.8 0 0 .0 

Oktibbeha Cbmty 
STARKVILLE SEPARATE SCH DIST 1146 48.4% 37% 57.6% $1,454.15 51 13 .1 116 22.1 
OKTIBBEHA CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 511 78.6% 30% 90.5% $1,425.80 29 9.0 16 14.5 

Panola Cbmty 
N PANOLA CONS SCHOOL DISTRICT 516 94.9% 59% 97.9% $1,491.36 34 11.0 2 15 . 5 
SCX1I'H PANOLA CONS SCH DISTRICT 1267 50.4% 25% 77.1% $1,340.51 33 13.6 66 17.5 

Pearl River County 
PICAYUNE SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 1098 26.2% 33% 51.2% $1,368.26 23 11.1 121 18.2 
POPLARVILLE SEPARATE SCH DIST 581 18.9% 38% 56 . 4% $1,457 . 95 8 10.9 66 16.9 
PEARL RIVER CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 550 5.7% 30% 54.4% $1, 155.32 3 9 .3 53 15.4 

Perry Cbmty 
RICHTON SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 295 26.0% 23% 65.6% $1,483.35 4 11.0 23 15.5 
PERRY CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 478 34.5% 41% 79.5% $1,585.64 6 8.2 25 14.4 

Pi.ke County 
M::Ca-18 SEPARATE SCH DISTRICT 1054 55 . 9% 41% 75.7% $1,522.32 47 12.0 57 21.0 
SOUTH PIKE CONS SCHOOL DIST 715 70.8% 58% 89.8% $1,358.18 19 11. 7 15 18.8 
NORTii PIKE CONS SCHOOL DIST 397 36.2% 42% 61.3% $1,370.74 5 16.0 26 18.8 

Paltotoc County 
PONTOTOC SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 430 33.7% 48% 49 . 1% $1,272.72 12 15.2 46 18.9 
PONTOTOC CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 674 13.3% 30% 42 . 2% $1,678 . 48 9 9 . 6 64 17.8 

Prentiss County 
PRENTISS CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 792 10.9% 37% 70 .6% $1,561. 76 6 10.7 69 15.0 
BAU:WYN SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 303 37.2% 43% 62 . 4% $1,389.70 7 15.0 28 16 . 7 
BOONEVILLE SE?A.qATE SCH DIST 275 18.3% 43% 49.8% $1,489.43 1 14.0 44 17.7 

Quitman County 
QUITMAN CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 602 87 . 0% 54% 95 . 5% $1,517.76 40 10.4 6 12.2 

Rankin County 
RANKIN CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 3270 22 . 0% 28% 40.4% $1,320.13 49 11.1 315 19.7 
PEARL MUN SEPARATE SCH DIST 1070 17 .6% 47% 36.3% $1,382 .11 25 12 .8 109 17.2 

Scott County 
FOREST SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 480 57 . 7% 48% 74.4% Sl,570.57 12 14.5 25 16.7 
SCO'IT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1106 40.3% 41% 73.8% $1,347 . 17 23 12.6 55 17 .5 

Sharkey County 
ANGUILLA CONSL SCHOOL DISTRICT 205 98.0% 41% 97.9% $1,412 . 61 18 10.2 0 0 . 0 
SHARKEY-ISSAQUENA CONS SD 456 77.9% 50% 91.8% $1,354.73 37 11 . 0 6 15.0 

Simpsal County 
SIMPSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1238 47.0% 46% 74.8% Sl,396.01 40 11.1 74 16.0 

Sl!lith County 
SMITH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 912 30.5% 27% 62.8% $1,440.16 13 12.4 78 17.6 

Stooe Cbmty 
STONE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 650 28.5% 41% 58.5% $1,386 . 11 12 10 . 7 59 17.1 

S\mflower County 
DREW SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICT 397 73.6% 51% 91.2% $1,497.50 23 13.1 7 16.0 
INDIANOLA MUN SEP SCH DISTRICT 1077 93.5% 57% 93.0% $1,401.13 94 12.6 3 17.0 
SUNFLCME:R COUNTY SCHOOL DIST 430 94.6% 55% 96.7% $1,423.47 33 12.3 1 18.0 

Tallahatchie Cbmty 
EAST TALLAHATCHIE SCH DISTRICT 485 67.7% 69% 85.6% $1,372.90 13 10.3 18 17.1 
W TALLAHATCHIE CONSL SCH DIST 409 92.5% 68% 98.1% $1 , 327.68 26 11.0 5 16.8 

24 



10 11 12 13 
Number Number 
blacks whites 

took ACT/ Average took ACT/ Average 
completed ACT completed ACT 

core 

12 

25 
9 

13 
16 

9 
1 
0 

2 
1 

15 
12 

1 

4 
2 

0 
3 
0 

14 

17 
12 

7 
6 

7 
6 

20 

3 

5 

10 
42 
14 

5 
9 

scores 

13.5 

15.8 
12.0 

12.7 
15.5 

11.3 
9.0 
0.0 

14.0 
12.0 

13 . 9 
12.3 
20.0 

21.5 
10.5 

0.0 
17.7 
o.o 

11.8 

14.5 
11. 7 

17.3 
16.5 

11. 7 
18.3 

12 . 8 

11 . 3 

11.2 

14.0 
14.8 
12.5 

13.2 
14.9 

core 

0 

87 
8 

0 
33 

85 
29 
18 

11 
11 

41 
11 
13 

26 
40 

23 
5 

36 

0 

227 
62 

16 
22 

0 
2 

43 

49 

37 

2 
2 
0 

8 
2 

scores 

0.0 

23.5 
16.0 

0.0 
19.2 

19.4 
19.8 
18.6 

17.5 
16.1 

22.5 
20.7 
21.6 

21.9 
19.5 

18.0 
22.6 
18.1 

0.0 

21.4 
18 . 8 

17.6 
21.4 

0.0 
21.5 

17.6 

18.5 

19.1 

15.5 
21.5 
0.0 

21.5 
17.0 

14 15 16 

Number Number 
blacks Average whites 

took ACT/ ACT took ACT/ 
no core scores no core 

15 

26 
20 

21 
17 

14 
7 
3 

2 
5 

32 
7 
4 

8 
7 

6 
4 
1 

26 

32 
13 

5 
17 

11 
31 

20 

10 

7 

13 
52 
19 

8 
17 

8.7 

10.5 
7.6 

9.9 
11.8 

11.0 
11.1 
9.3 

8 . 0 
7.4 

11.1 
10.6 
15.0 

12 . 0 
9.3 

10.7 
13.0 
14.0 

9.7 

9 . 3 
13.8 

10.6 
11.2 

9.2 
9.6 

9.3 

12.7 

10.3 

12.4 
10.9 
12 . 2 

8.5 
8.9 

0 

29 
8 

2 
33 

36 
37 
35 

12 
14 

16 
4 

13 

20 
24 

46 
23 

8 

6 

88 
47 

9 
33 

0 
4 

31 

29 

22 

5 
1 
1 

10 
3 

17 18 

Total 
Average Number 

ACT students in 
scores Grade 12 

o.o 

17.7 
13.0 

15.5 
15 . 8 

15.4 
14.7 
13.7 

13.6 
13.1 

17.4 
13.5 
15.9 

15.0 
15.0 

13.5 
15.4 
16.0 

12 . 2 

15.2 
15.1 

15.0 
15.0 

o.o 
11.8 

13.9 

15.9 

15.4 

16.2 
8 . 0 

18.0 

13.5 
16.7 

25 

124 

206 
97 

77 
212 

223 
117 
99 

51 
105 

166 
89 
59 

78 
133 

176 
49 
55 

97 

649 
218 

81 
201 

37 
84 

210 

199 

117 

39 
159 
76 

70 
54 

19 

Number 
blacks in 
Grade 12 

123 

100 
76 

73 
107 

58 
22 
6 

13 
36 

93 
63 
21 

26 
18 

19 
18 
10 

84 

143 
38 

47 
81 

36 
65 

99 

61 

33 

29 
149 
72 

47 
50 

20 

Number 
whites in 
Grade 12 

1 

106 
21 

4 
105 

165 
95 
93 

38 
69 

73 
26 
38 

52 
115 

l!J7 
31 
45 

13 

506 
180 

34 
120 

1 
19 

111 

138 

84 

10 
10 
4 

23 
4 

21 

% 
blacks 

took core 

9.7% 

25.1% 
11.8% 

17.8% 
15 . 0% 

15.4% 
4.5% 
0.0% 

15.1% 
2.8% 

16.2% 
19.0% 
4.7% 

15 .2% 
11.3% 

0 .0% 
16.5% 
0.0% 

16.6% 

11.9% 
31.3% 

15 . 0% 
7.4% 

19.3% 
9.2% 

20 . 3% 

4.9% 

15 . 0% 

34.8% 
28.3% 
19.5% 

10.6% 
18.0% 

22 

% 
whites 

took core 

0.0% 

81.8% 
38.5% 

0.0% 
31.4% 

51.6% 
30.6% 
19.3% 

29.1% 
16.0% 

56.0% 
42.3% 
34.5% 

50.3% 
34.7% 

14.7% 
16.2% 
80.1% 

0.0% 

44.8% 
34.5% 

46.7% 
18.3% 

0.0% 
10 . 8% 

38.6% 

35.4% 

44.2% 

19.4% 
19.4% 

0 . 0% 

35.4% 
49.4% 

23 

Total % 
took core 

9 .7% 

54.4% 
17.5% 

16.9% 
23.1% 

42.2% 
25 . 6% 
18.2% 

25.5% 
11.4% 

33.7% 
25.8% 
23.7% 

38.5% 
31.6% 

13.1% 
16.3% 
65.5% 

14 . 4% 

37.6% 
33.9% 

28.4% 
13.9% 

18.9% 
9 . 5% 

30.0% 

26.1% 

35.9% 

30.8% 
27.7% 
18.4% 

18.6% 
20.4% 



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
Total % Average Average Number Average 

enrollment % receiving per Number black whites white 
grades black % free pupil ex- blacks ACT took ACT 

District Name 9-12 students drop outs lunch penditure took ACT score ACT score 

Tate County 
SENATOBIA SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 421 36.6% 40% 54 . 1% $1,281.40 7 16.0 28 16.0 
TATE CXlUN'lY SCHOOL DISTRICT 953 51.2% 35% 80.1% $1,268.75 30 9 . 7 43 15.9 

Tiwah County 
NORTH TIPPAH CONSL SCHOOL DIST 403 17.5% 23% 55.0% $1,468.76 3 9.0 31 15.0 
SOUTH TIPPAH CONSL SCHOOL DIST 736 27.1% 32% 65.6% $1,421.85 14 12.4 74 17.3 

Tishcmingo County 
IUKA SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICT 349 6.8% 30% 53.6% $1,271.13 0 0.0 28 18.9 
TISHc:t-iINGO CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 586 3.8% 21% 59.4% $1,378.90 3 16.3 61 16.7 

Tunica County 
TUNICA COUN'IY SCHOOL DISTRICT 577 98.6% 49% 98.1% $1,345.04 15 13.5 0 o.o 

unicn County 
NEW ALBANY SEPARATE SCH DIST 531 29.7% 31% 42.6% $1,599.49 9 10.9 57 18.4 
UNION COUNIY SCHOOL DISTRICT 705 10.0% 32% 46.6% $1,267.59 7 12.1 60 15.7 

wal thall County 
WALTIIALL CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 779 57.2% 38% 82.8% Sl,407.62 29 13.6 37 18.4 

Warren County 
VICKSBURG SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST 1034 84.4% 62% 86.1% $1,516.02 66 13.8 18 22.7 
WAR~ COUNTY SCHOO[. DISTRICT 1828 28.4% 30% 43.4% $1,382.85 42 12.4 209 19.4 

Washingtcn County 
GREENVILLE SEPARATE SCH DIST 1965 87.6% 52% 86.9% $1,486.97 152 14.7 18 15 . 1 
HOLLANDALE CONS SCH DIST 346 97.0% 31% 96 . 5% $1,492.89 44 10.4 1 15.0 
LELAND CONS SCHOOL DISTRICT 542 74.2% 51% 86.6% $1,669.96 30 13.6 21 19 .6 
WESTERN LINE co~s SCHOOL DIST 542 57.2% 53% 86.9% $1,589.15 27 12.3 22 15.3 

Wayne County 
WA~~ COUN'IY SCHOOL DISTRICT 1156 47.0% 35% 80.4% $1,387.65 41 10.8 63 16.9 

webster County 
WEBST"'....R CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 624 10.4% 30% 59.1% $1,494.07 12 13.2 88 15.3 

Wilkinson County 
WILKINSON CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 346 100.0% 75% 94.8% $1,594.69 33 10.6 1 7.0 
LOUISVILLE SEPARATE SCH DIST 1194 55.8% 40% 76.8% $1,398.77 35 11.1 76 17.4 

Yaloblsha County 
COFFEEVILLE CONS SCHOOL DIST 293 72.8% 52% 90.3% $1,380.80 8 13.1 11 16.2 
WATER VAUEY CONS SCH DIST 419 45.2% 39% 64.0% $1,237.59 10 13.1 24 16.8 

Yazoo County 
YAZ.00 CITY SEPARATE SCH DIST 979 73.5% 52% 81.4% $1,403.90 51 11.4 40 17.4 
HOLLY BLUFF CONS SCH DIST 72 74.7% 13% 96.9% $1,734.78 4 8.8 6 14.5 
YAZ.00 CO SCHOOL DISTRICT 385 71.1% 58% 87 .1% $2,072.44 22 10.2 11 16.9 

26 



10 11 12 13 
Number Number 
blacks whites 

took ACT/ Average took ACT/ Average 
completed ACT completed ACT 

core 

2 
7 

1 
5 

0 
2 

10 

1 
1 

20 

34 
20 

102 
19 
15 
14 

8 

3 

15 
16 

2 
6 

23 
0 
6 

scores 

20.5 
10.4 

12 . 0 
16 . 2 

0.0 
19.5 

15.2 

16.0 
21.0 

13 . 6 

14.9 
14.1 

15.9 
11.6 
16 . 3 
13.2 

15 . 3 

19.0 

:!.1.1 
12.9 

18.0 
15 . 5 

13.5 
0.0 
9.8 

core 

10 
20 

4 
33 

15 
17 

0 

26 
10 

27 

14 
144 

5 
0 

16 
1 

15 

35 

0 
42 

7 
16 

16 
3 
2 

scores 

20.2 
16.8 

14.5 
19.2 

21.1 
20.5 

0.0 

21. 7 
20.4 

19.6 

23 . 4 
21.0 

17.0 
0.0 

19.8 
20.6 

18.1 

18.1 

0 .0 
19.1 

18.4 
18.6 

21.3 
13.3 
22.5 

14 15 16 

Number Number 
blacks Average whites 

took ACT/ ACT took ACT/ 
no core scores no core 

5 
23 

2 
9 

0 
1 

5 

8 
6 

9 

32 
22 

50 
25 
15 
13 

33 

9 

18 
19 

6 
4 

28 
4 

16 

14.2 
9.5 

7 . 5 
10 . 3 

0.0 
10 . 0 

10 . 0 

10.3 
10.7 

13 . 3 

12.5 
10.9 

12 . 3 
9.5 

10.8 
11.4 

9 . 7 

11. 2 

10.2 
9.6 

11.5 
9.5 

9 . 7 
8 .8 

10.4 

18 
23 

27 
41 

13 
44 

0 

31 
50 

10 

4 
65 

13 
1 
5 

15 

48 

53 

1 
34 

4 
8 

24 
3 
9 

17 18 

Total 
Average Number 

ACT students in 
scores Grade 12 

13 . 6 
15 . 1 

15.0 
15.8 

16.4 
15 . 3 

0 .0 

15.7 
14.8 

15.2 

20.0 
15.8 

14.3 
15.0 
19.0 
12.9 

16.5 

13 . 4 

1.0 
15.3 

12.3 
13.4 

14.8 
15.7 
15.7 

61 
175 

87 
178 

65 
149 

90 

119 
117 

141 

109 
396 

304 
81 
74 
77 

207 

153 

32 
215 

94 
64 

169 
25 
80 

19 

Number 
blacks in 
Grade 12 

22 
90 

15 
48 

4 
6 

89 

35 
12 

81 

92 
112 

266 
79 
55 
44 

97 

16 

32 
120 

68 
29 

124 
19 
57 

20 

Number 
whites in 
Grade 12 

39 
85 

72 
130 

61 
143 

1 

84 
105 

60 

17 
284 

38 
2 

19 
33 

110 

137 

0 
95 

26 
35 

45 
6 

23 

21 

% 
blacks 

took core 

9.0% 
7.8% 

6.6% 
10.4% 

0.0% 
35.0% 

11.3% 

2.8% 
8.5% 

24 . 8% 

37 . 0% 
17 . 8% 

38.3% 
24.2% 
27.3% 
31.8% 

8 . 2% 

18 . 9% 

46.9% 
13.3% 

2 . 9% 
20.7% 

18.5% 
0.0% 

10.5% 

22 

% 
whites 

took core 

25.9% 
23.4% 

5 . 6% 
25 . 4% 

24 . 8% 
11.9% 

0.0% 

31.1% 
9.5% 

44.7% 

82 . 3% 
50.8% 

13 . 3% 
0.0% 

83.8% 
21.2% 

13 . 7% 

25 . 5% 

0.0% 
44.2% 

27 . 3% 
45.6% 

35.7% 
47 . 4% 
8.7% 

23 

Total % 
took core 

19 . 7% 
15.4% 

5 . 7% 
21.3% 

23.1% 
12 . 8% 

11.1% 

22.7% 
9.4% 

33.3% 

44.0% 
41.4% 

35.2% 
23.5% 
41.9% 
27.3% 

11.1% 

24.8% 

46.9% 
27.0% 

9.6% 
34.4% 

23.1% 
12.0% 
10.0% 

Columns 19-23 are estimates based on LDF's extrapolations. All other data comes from School Profiles and ACT-Tested Graduating Class 1986 
supplied by the Mississippi Department of Education. 

27 



Appendix C: 

IHL CORE & GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS 

IHL Core General Education 

Required Required 
Subject Credits Courses Subject Credits Courses 

English 4 English I-IV English 4 E:1glish I-IV 

Math 3 Algebra I & II Math 2 Gen_ Math I 
Geometry Gen. Math II 

Science 3 Choose from Biology, Science 2 A Laboratory Science 
Chemistry, Physics and Consumer Science 
advanced courses in 
these three sciences. 
One course must be 
laboratory based. 

Social 2.5 U.S. History: 1877 Social 2 U.S. History: 1877 
Studies to Present ( 1 ) Studies to Present ( 1 ) 

U.S. Government (1 / 2) U.S. Government ( 1 / 2) 
Mississippi State and Mississippi State and 

Local Government (1 / 2) Local Government (1 / 2) 
Elective (1 / 2) 

Required Choose from foreign Electives 8 Choose from academic 
Elective language, math above courses or art, computer 

Algebra II or a science education, health and 
course physical education, 

journalism, music, oral 
Other communication, reading or 
Electives 4.5 Two credits of foreign vocational education 

language, a math course 
in the senior year, 
computer science, and 

Total 
typing recommended. 

Total 
Required Required 
Credits : 18 Credits: 18 

28