By Amber Duke
Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves detailed how conservative education reform led his state’s school system to achieve some of the best outcomes in the country, a phenomenon dubbed the “Mississippi Miracle,” in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller.
The Associated Press in 2023 referred to the state’s skyrocketing test scores for fourth graders as the “Mississippi Miracle,” explaining, “Mississippi went from being ranked the second-worst state in 2013 for fourth-grade reading to 21st in 2022.”
An updated National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card from 2024 shows Mississippi leading the nation in demographic-adjusted 4th- and 8th-grade scores and it went viral on social media.
Mississippi has the best demographic-adjusted NAEP (4th & 8th grade) scores now
The “Mississippi Miracle” started in 2012 when the Republican governor/legislature introduced phonics-based instruction and began to hold back ~10% of 3rd graders per year who fail a reading test pic.twitter.com/BYtlXePzRd
— Arjun Panickssery (@panickssery) April 7, 2025
The chart also caught the attention of Vice President JD Vance, who tweeted, “This is pretty incredible. Smart education reform drastically improved Mississippi’s schools.”
“It’s truly remarkable, and it’s something I’m very, very proud of, and it’s something that even Vice President Vance has started tweeting about a time or two, and so it’s been kind of interesting,” Reeves told the Caller.
This is pretty incredible. Smart education reform drastically improved Mississippi’s schools. https://t.co/HkjQouo2S4
— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 8, 2025
Reeves credits getting “back to the basics” for his state’s soaring educational outcomes. In 2013, while Reeves was serving as lieutenant governor, Mississippi passed sweeping education reform legislation, including the “Third Grade Reading Gate,” mandating that schools hold back children who don’t meet certain reading standards before the end of third grade. The state reintroduced phonics — teaching students to sound out words — in its reading education and spent $15 million a year on reading coaches. (RELATED: ‘Plainly Illegal’: Red States Sue Biden Admin Over New Title IX Rules)
The percentage of students who both failed the test and were held back from advancing to the third grade decreased from 9% in 2019 to 6.5% in 2023.
“The other side went crazy … they said, ‘well, we’re going to have to hold back half of our students,’” Reeves recalled. “No, we raised the level of expectations and Mississippians did what Mississippians do — they rose up and they met those increased expectations.”
Reeves said the state has raised the cutoff for advancing from the third grade to the fourth grade three times in the past ten years and has seen reading levels continue to improve. Using the reading model, Mississippi implemented similar standards in its math programs and then hired career coaches to assist students who don’t end up going to college with early career development.
“‘The results speak for themselves,” Reeves asserted.
The demographic-adjusted NAEP scores compare students from similar demographic and income groups to students in those same groups across states.
“These reforms not only work for some of our kids and some of our districts, they are working for all of our kids. Look at African American fourth graders when compared to their peers. In 2013, they were 45th best in the nation. Last year, how are black fourth graders when compared to their peers? Number three in the nation,” Reeves explained.
Hispanic students in Mississippi rank number three in the nation in reading and first in the nation in math. (RELATED: Learning Loss Greater In School Districts That Stayed Remote Longer, Study Shows)
“By the way, our high school graduation rates during this time have risen from 72% of our kids graduated from high school to, last year, 89.9% of our kids are graduating high school,” Reeves added.
In addition to the new testing requirements, Mississippi also added new charter schools, created an Educational Savings Account (ESA) program for parents of children with disabilities so they can put their children in programs designed to meet their needs, and followed Florida in providing letter grade ratings for public schools.
“It’s really not a miracle at all,” the governor asserted. “It’s really a result of conservative reforms implemented in public education — they’re making a huge difference for kids.”
