Schools are identified for CSI and TSI because of persistently low performance. The state uses performance on a variety of indicators, including measures of achievement, English language proficiency, graduation rates, and other measures of school quality or student success, to identify these schools.
- There are three ways that Mississippi identifies CSI schools (previously identified as Priority schools):
- any high school with a graduation rate of 67 percent or below;
- the lowest five percent of our public Title I schools; and
- any public Title I school that does not improve after being identified as an additional TSI school.
- Mississippi identifies TSI schools based on the consistent underperformance of student groups. We define consistently underperforming student groups as follows:
- scores in the lowest 50 percent on the overall accountability index results;
- scores in the lowest quartile of average reading/language arts or mathematics gap-to-goal (current percent proficient less the 70 percent long-term goal) for the most recent three years of accountability calculations;
- scores in the lowest quartile of improvement toward reading/language arts or mathematics gap-to-goal closure over three years.
- Mississippi looks at performance for the following student groups: racial and ethnic student groups, students in low-income households, English language learners, and students with disabilities.
- In the past Mississippi identified focus schools and only identified 10 percent of its schools. Under ESSA, we now must identify any school with a consistently underperforming student group of students, even if that is more or less than 10 percent of our schools.
- Schools not identified for CSI, and with subgroups meeting criteria above, will be rank ordered highest to lowest based on the most recent overall accountability index (including all indicators), and the lowest-performing schools will be identified for TSI annually.
- The number of schools identified will be based on the total number of public schools in Mississippi, resulting in 5 percent of all public schools being identified for TSI.
- The schools identified as additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI) are a subset of TSI schools. These schools have student groups that have performed comparable to that of the lowest five percent of Title I schools in the state. and will be identified annually.