What Mississippi Got Right About Reading

Mississippi’s reading gains have been called a “miracle,” but literacy expert Kymyona Burk says the real story is about sustained effort and all the pieces of reform coming together.

“We've called it the Mississippi Marathon because the work continues,” Burk says. “Until we have all of our students 95% or more — the research actually says 95% or more of our students can learn to read and to read well. And so, until we hit that number … success is never final. Reform is never complete.”

Burk helped lead Mississippi’s early literacy reforms starting in 2013, when the state ranked near the bottom nationally. Since then, the state has posted some of the largest gains on national assessments, even as scores have declined elsewhere. Now a senior policy fellow at ExcelinEd, Burk helps other districts enact literacy policy, but she emphasizes that adoption alone isn’t enough: implementation, consistency, and clear expectations are what make reform stick.

“When I think about our implementation of our policy, we looked at those mays versus shalls. What is it that we have to do as a state? What do they have to do as a district or a school? And how do we enforce that but also provide them the guidance and support in being able to do that?” she says. “So, I think that's also the missing piece, what's mandatory versus what's optional? And if you're going to move a state forward, you have to be very clear about what's mandatory. And a lot of people don't like that word. They don't like that it's been mandated.”

In this episode, the EdCast dives into Mississippi’s literacy turnaround and explores the essential elements states need to achieve meaningful, lasting reading success.

Transcript

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JILL ANDERSON: I'm Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast. 

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Kymyona Burk says Mississippi's reading success isn't a miracle as much as a marathon. She's a literacy policy expert who helped lead Mississippi's early literacy reforms starting in 2013, when the state ranked near the bottom nationally. Since then, it's posted some of the largest gains on national assessments. Today, she works with states to pass and implement literacy policies. While national NAEP reading scores have been declining, Mississippi has moved in the opposite direction. Burk says the gains come from a long-term commitment to evidence-based instruction, sustained leadership, and investment in teachers. I wanted to understand how Mississippi achieved these gains and what other states might learn. First, I asked if we know how to teach reading, why are national NAEP scores still struggling?

KYMYONA BURK: I think that we have known how to teach reading for decades, but there's always been, as there is with so many other topics, there's always an opposing group, an opposing idea around how to best do anything, honestly. And so that's been the same with reading. That's why it was called the reading wars. And I don't know if the reading wars have actually ended or if it's now just the science of reading has become a louder voice now in the conversation with all of the proponents of it. And it's not just educators. We now have parents who are more aware and educated about the idea of the science of reading. We have other stakeholder’s advocates, policymakers.

The biggest, I guess, catalyst for this conversation and for it to not just be a conversation but for it to move into classrooms to make that change in the classroom instruction has been about educating all of our stakeholders on what the science of reading is and how it benefits a majority of our students as opposed to some of the other practices around balanced literacy or three cueing strategies that are temporary and that do not lead to long-term gains in reading.

JILL ANDERSON: You were someone who was closely involved in the work and the reforms from what I guess we would say is the early years. What do you think has allowed Mississippi to stay the course because reform can be slow and fragile?

KYMYONA BURK: It does appear that it happened overnight, but it did not. I talk about our big three, that we had the backing of our governor, who is dyslexic, who had just been elected governor in 2012, and this law passed in 2013. Then we had our legislature. We had our ed chairs from our house and our Senate education committees who were also on board. And then we had the State Department of Education. And Dr. Carey Wright came on board, I believe, October or November that same year of 2013.

So we had our legislature, who would pass the policy, our governor, who would sign it, of course, and then the State Education Agency that was on board, and had the opportunity to weigh in on the policy as it was being written, as it was being revised, as it was being debated in the legislature. So, I think that a combination of those things allowed us to first have the leadership. And then we had the funding so we can talk about an unfunded mandate, but we had the funding also and the support, not just quietly we pass a bill, and the governor has signed it. But very present, very present legislators who were taking interviews, who were really going to bat for this initiative and why, at that time, it was the right time for us to go bold in Mississippi.

JILL ANDERSON: That almost feels like it's perhaps unusual to have that much buy-in and support, especially politically.

KYMYONA BURK: Yeah, it's unusual. I talk to a lot of policymakers. The first question I ask is, have you talked to the Department of Education? Do you know what they need? It really goes beyond this checklist because now there are a lot of states that are saying, we're just going to adopt what Mississippi has adopted and voila, the whole miracle thing. But it's so much more than that. It really lies in the implementation of it and the support that you have and the leadership that you have.

I think what's also unique is that even now, 13 years later, major players have moved along, but we're still seeing improvements. I think about that all the time about what do I contribute to that. Dr. Wright, first of all, stayed there 10 years.

JILL ANDERSON: That's rare.

KYMYONA BURK: That's very rare. I was there for the first six years, and then the literacy director that held the position after me started off as one of my literacy coaches. So, we had the consistency. Kristen Wynn, she knew the model. She had come up the ranks within the literacy coaching cadre, and she knew the model. She became the literacy director. Once our governor left office, our lieutenant governor became governor, and he had been the lieutenant governor during the entire time. So, he understood the literacy initiative and knew that it needed to be protected.

So it had become ingrained in the practices now around literacy reform in the state, that this is something that we were going to continue to fund, continue to nurture, and continue to stay true to the model, the framework, but knowing that there were opportunities to strengthen the model, but not stray too far away from the things that were working. But how do we then modify it to address the times? Because, of course, right after I left in 2019, then there was COVID. And so, there were some things that also changed with that. But we've stayed true to invest in people. We invested in teacher knowledge. It has paid off in a significant way here.

JILL ANDERSON: Knowing that you're someone now who works in policy and you're working with other states to try to get policies passed, do you think that is a big sticking point that you see, where maybe the buy-in just isn't there to get everybody wanting to do this?

KYMYONA BURK: In my role, I actually work in policy and implementation. We call ourselves a think tank and a do tank. I work alongside our advocacy team who work directly with policymakers to draft policies. I testify during committee — during legislative sessions to talk about the importance of the law. But then the second part of the work is actually working with State Department of Education literacy leaders. So, we have our accelerated literacy network that is comprised of representatives from 38 states in DC that we meet with quarterly to talk through implementation.

So actually, as of now, there are about 45 states plus DC that have adopted varying degrees of science or reading policy. So now the policy is catching on. And it's not just red states. They're also blue states. Recently, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, we have a lot of states now that are coming on board. New York has talked about going back to the basics. So, we have a variety of states from a variety of political affiliations understanding that in order to move our country forward, that we have to have a literate society.

JILL ANDERSON: Right.

KYMYONA BURK: So now we agree on something, but it's about how it's being done that is the question that really needs to be addressed. Does the agency, again, have the capacity? Does it have the people? Who's leading it? Does the initiative or the priority for the initiative change when leadership changes, whether it's the governorship, whether it's the state chief or the legislature? How do you maintain sustainability? What is the plan for continuing the growth? It can't just be the buy-in from the state department. It has to be local school districts. Schools, they also have to buy into it. All of that requires a great and solid communications toolkit.

I tell people all the time, my first two years of leading this effort in Mississippi was communications. It was convincing different stakeholders that what we were doing was best for kids, that this would be accountability for the adults. Once we give you this knowledge and support you in this knowledge, we're going to help you get there with kids. And that was a different show of force from our Department of Education. When they saw the state agency — because I was a teacher, right, here.

So, I knew if you saw an MDE badge, obviously, did something wrong. Or they're coming to your school to figure out some things. But we had to change that perception and become of service to our schools and districts and help them with best practices. So, there were a lot of things that happened behind the scenes that we had to build relationships for people to trust that this was going to work, and that we were going to help them make it work. There was a lot of course correction along the way.

JILL ANDERSON: Where does implementation most often seem to break down?

KYMYONA BURK: Funding, and clear guidance on what it is that you're supposed to do. [CHUCKLES] For example, if a state adopts a policy to provide professional development for teachers, but there's no funding to do that. And then districts are now left with the tab. And then they have to begin thinking about their priorities, right? OK. So, we have to purchase curriculum and assessments and all of these things. Where do we find the money to do that? It makes the lift a bit lighter if the state provides funding for that. Also, the guidance, who should be trained? What happens after training? Literacy coaches being in schools is a critical factor to ensuring that what they learn in this training actually transfers into actual practice in the classroom.

So, I think funding and then guidance on how to do the thing that you're being asked to do or asked to change, or shift is going to be extremely important. I've talked to several administrators and school boards who sometimes just say, tell us what to do. I think there's this notion that, especially states, they just want to be left alone. What we have found is that we've been able to show that we know what best practices are. And the reception of that is, OK. Great. Now tell us what it is we're actually supposed to be doing. So, we invested heavily in guidance to schools and districts, to administrators, to their role, to teachers, to parents and families, and to district leaders, how they are to support these efforts, implementing them and going forward.

JILL ANDERSON: What did it ask of teachers? They're on the front lines. They have to actively do this work. What did it demand of them?

KYMYONA BURK: For some teachers, it demands a mindset shift because there are some teachers who were trained in balanced literacy or trained in whole language and have been using the same materials that they've been using for a very long time that may include some of the practices that we're now saying are not leading to student gains. So first, it requires that type of buy-in from teachers to say, OK. I'm willing to learn a new thing. I'm willing to change my perception with the evidence. I'm glad you asked that question. I don't think anyone has ever asked me that question before. What does it require of teachers?

So first, the shift in mindset around this type of instruction aligned to the science of reading. And then the next is going to be their time, their time as a learner in this space because even some of the practices, even if we've said that we believe in the science of reading, has it really been with fidelity or with these new resources that we're saying are more aligned? And data and action to data and analysis of data and the action that goes along with the data, and that sometimes teachers have looked at data in a way where they've looked at it as a percentage. The shift is now we have to look at individual kids. These numbers represent children.

So, it's one thing to say that we have 70% of our students in my class that have passed this test. But it's another thing to say that Jill has not passed the test. I need to see what's keeping her from moving into the next level. So now, looking at data more closely based on individual students' needs and doing some reflection in our teaching practices to say, OK. Well, how can I teach this in a way that Jill understands? Or what do I need to now do in interventions? How do I look at the data to group my students? So, it requires a bit more thoughtful processing of the data and then some very individual or small group instructional techniques in order to ensure that those students are getting the foundational skills they need.

JILL ANDERSON: It just speaks volumes about how this has managed to be so successful. All the key pieces that you need were there, and it just seems like too often that one piece might be missing when another place tries to set forth in some type of reform. I'm thinking about, Alabama, which was, of course, before Mississippi. But they had made gains, and then they lost funding for literacy coaches. And then you started to see it fall apart. It's almost like the real miracle is this idea that Mississippi just did not give up. We're talking 10, 13 years now.

KYMYONA BURK: Exactly, keeping the foot on the gas. But a part of that, too, is OK. So, let's just say you have states that have a lot of funding because our funding is $15 million per year. That's it. There's no external funding, philanthropic funding. Our state legislature committed to — beginning in 2013, it was $9.5 million the first year, and it's been $15 million every year since then committed to the funding. But if you have states that have a lot of funding, but in their policy, there are a lot of mays versus shalls, meaning that it leaves a lot of these things that we're talking about, these critical components optional, then there may be some districts within the state that say, you know what? We're actually going to do that. And they may start seeing some gains.

Or you may see some districts that say, we don't really have to do it if we don't want to do it. I don't have to send my teachers to professional development. I don't have to opt in for coaching. And they may not see gains. So, when I think about our implementation of our policy, we looked at those mays versus shalls. What is it that we have to do as a state? What do they have to do as a district or a school? And how do we enforce that but also provide them the guidance and support in being able to do that? So, I think that's also the missing piece, what's mandatory versus what's optional? And if you're going to move a state forward, you have to be very clear about what's mandatory.

And a lot of people don't like that word. They don't like that it's been mandated. But again, I always say, if it wasn't for the policy part of the work in Mississippi, we would not have been able to make the improvements that we had initially starting top-down approach. And now these practices have become ingrained in the everyday practices of our schools and our districts and our leaders, who are now accustomed to going to professional development. Or they're accustomed to visitors coming into their schools to see what they're doing. So, we've changed the culture in our schools and in our districts as well.

JILL ANDERSON: Do you think there's a case of the payoff doesn't come quickly enough, and people lose hope?

KYMYONA BURK: Yes.

JILL ANDERSON: Because they don't see it in the data because it takes a long time for that to shift.

KYMYONA BURK: That's one of the major questions I get from policymakers while I'm testifying. How soon can we see results? And I say, well, it depends. And no one likes that answer. It depends on what happens after the governor's signature. It depends on the supports that are in place. It depends on the priorities that remain at the center, the North Star. It depends on how well we monitor data before we get data or monitor data and really look at our state assessment data to see if it's aligning to what our children know and do, and how they are considered proficient within our state. So, it depends on what happens after that. But also, it's the persistence. And it's, again, keeping it at the center. 

And it's all of the things that you keep your finger on the pulse of as you're monitoring these efforts. And I always say determine your metrics. If your metrics are not clearly outlined in the policy, like we did. The policy may say, you need to do professional development, or you need to have coaching. But how are you measuring the effectiveness of those individual pieces as well as those components together? We have a few studies that we partnered with research organizations to really evaluate our professional development, teacher knowledge, our professional development with coaching those teachers who had coaches. We've also looked at our retention component. So, we've had some external evaluations of our efforts along the way too.

JILL ANDERSON: All right. I want to flag something because you talked about no one liking the word "mandate." An interesting piece of Mississippi is the third-grade retention piece.

KYMYONA BURK: The elephant in the room.

JILL ANDERSON: The elephant in the room. But I have to ask you about it because I think —let me make sure I understand it, that if a third grader does not pass the literacy exam, then they're held back.

KYMYONA BURK: Partially. The third-grade retention component has gotten a lot of attention.

JILL ANDERSON: Yeah.

KYMYONA BURK: But it's really all of the preventative measures that should be getting the attention. This is more than just a third-grade teacher's responsibility. We shouldn't wait until third grade to say, oh, wow, there's an issue. And now we have to do all these intensive supports. So yes, there is an assessment at the end of the third grade. It is our state assessment that third graders would normally take anyway. But it's the English language arts portion of the assessment that is used for determining promotion or retention. The students have two opportunities to retest, but then there are also good-cause exemptions.

So that's why I said partially. Good-cause exemptions range from students that have a significant cognitive disability to English learners that have fewer than two years of English instruction. And then also, there are some exemptions for students with an IEP or 504 or students who have been previously retained for two years. So, there are good-cause exemptions. And many of the retention policies that you see across the country, they're going to have, if not exactly those good-cause exemptions, they'll have a majority of those good-cause exemptions. And some even add a student portfolio as an opportunity for students to progress to the next grade.

JILL ANDERSON: What I am most curious about is whether other states need some sort of retention policy, if that's a vital piece of the success of this type of a model.

KYMYONA BURK: Yeah, I think that the retention component, and it's been studied and cited by, I know, Marcus Winters out of Boston, the Wheelock Policy Center, that having that type of retention component in third grade changes adult behavior. And so, teachers now understand that there is this pivotal moment in third grade. And it gives more accountability to kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers as well. As you know, state assessments for our country begin in third grade. So, what's the measure? How do we know how are kids are doing in kindergarten or first grade or second grade, are being prepared for third grade?

So, it creates another level of accountability for what's happening in those earlier grades and the sense of urgency to ensure that they're identified early and provided with those interventions. Someone asked me before, too, about the retention component. And do you think the retention component is what has led to the success? And I said, well, if we think that retention is what did it, then we're not thinking the way that the law was intended, which is all of those other components, again, screening early, interventions early, training teachers, giving them the knowledge. Those are the components that change the instruction in the classroom.

I do want to talk about that Mississippi Miracle Group, the 2019 cohort of fourth graders who met the national average for the first time and moved Mississippi from 49th in 2013 when we started to 29th. And there were some articles about, well, maybe it was because they retained kids. That's why those students scored well. That third-grade cohort that went on to tie the national average in 2019, over 95% of those students had passed to fourth grade. So, the one thing that we saw is that when we first began the retention implementation in 2014, 2015, we had about 85% of our students who passed on the first try.

And then you had good-cause exemptions. So, then a couple of percentage more passed. Every year, our first-time pass rate increased. So, we have better prepared teachers. We have better prepared students. And it was reflected in the data. So, by the time that group took the third-grade assessment in 2017, 2018, over 93% of those students passed on the first try. And by the time good-cause exemptions were, over 95% of those students went on to fourth grade. And that's the fourth-grade cohort that met the average for the first time.

So again, it's not the retention itself, like keeping kids back helps raise scores. It's all the things that we're 
doing to prevent retention, to prevent the reading difficulties in the later grades that contribute to this success. I think that having that retention component in third grade keeps us from socially promoting kids. It allows us to ensure that those students are ready for the complex text and all of those things that they encounter in fourth grade. It's a last resort. No one wants kids to be retained. That's not the goal of the law is to retain kids. We want to ensure that students get what they need in order to be ready to transition to fourth grade.

JILL ANDERSON: When we see pockets of success alongside widespread struggle, do we interpret that as proof the model works or proof that scaling reform and American education is more complicated than just passing the right law?

KYMYONA BURK: Both and. It proves the model works. I think that when it was just Mississippi, it was OK for people to say that it was a miracle. But now we've seen improvement in Louisiana. We've seen improvement in Alabama, in Indiana, in Tennessee. And the thing that we have in common is not just that we adopted policy, but you can really peel back the layers to see the implementation practices are very similar as well. It's been an all-hands-on-deck, beginning with the State Education Agency identifying a hub or a specific office that is tasked with ensuring that all of these things are implemented. I think that what happens is that when the policy is adopted, but the way in which it is implemented varies greatly, as I mentioned before.

So, there are some states that say we're adopting the model that Mississippi had. With our model, for example, with literacy coaches, we deployed our coaches to the lowest performing schools. They're working in schools. Now, another state decided to adopt one reading specialist for every school district. Some school districts have 100,000 kids, where others may have 200 kids. So how impactful would one literacy specialist be for a school district? I think drawing a line in the sand around implementation and what that looks like for all. There are some states that have waivers. If you're an A district or a B district, then there are some things that you don't necessarily have to do. But in those A districts and B districts, I bet that there are still some students who are struggling.

And so, if we really want to move a state, we have to also look at our students who are in our lowest 10% or our lowest 25%. And regardless of what the grade is for the school, we still have to be very intentional about providing those individual students the support that they need. They're a part of the overall score, so we can't hide them. Or we can't just say, well, a majority is doing OK. Then that's what's going to make improvement. The policy is extremely helpful, but the implementation is what's going to show the real impact, not just in data, not just in numbers, but in how well students can transition throughout the other grades and have a better quality of life.

JILL ANDERSON: Because it's not like we can just copy exactly what was done in Mississippi into New Mexico or into West Virginia. It just doesn't work that way.

KYMYONA BURK: But there are people who are making it work, modifying it to fit their schools, their districts, their structure even.

JILL ANDERSON: I have to ask you, though, calling this the Mississippi Miracle doesn't fully give it credit for what it is.

KYMYONA BURK: It does not. We've called it the Mississippi Marathon because the work continues. Until we have all of our students 95% or more, the research actually says 95% or more of our students can learn to read and to read well. And so, until we hit that number, like our chairman says at ExcelinEd, success is never final. Reform is never complete.

JILL ANDERSON: On that note, thank you so much.

KYMYONA BURK: You're very welcome. This has been great.

JILL ANDERSON: Kymyona Burk is the senior policy fellow at ExcelinEd. I'm Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast produced by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Thanks for listening. 

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