State Board of Education approves new math cut score, updated excused absence policy

State Board of Education approves new.

Key points

• Woodward Hines is providing $800, 000 that will support concerning 170 children in foster care attend college in Mississippi.
• The new cut score will ensure the Mississippi Department of Education meets the provisions within SB 2294, known as the Mississippi Math Act.
• The adjusted cut score, now set at 560 or lower, will apply to the Grade 5 Statewide Mathematics Assessment.
• Patient with burn injuries to 96% of their body treated, discharged from Mississippi Burn, Hand and Reconstruction Center.
• The Board additionally approved the policy on reporting unexcused absences during Thursday's gathering in relation to the passage of SB 2103.

State Board of Education approves new math cut score, updated excused absence policy. By: Jeremy Pittari – August 24, 2026.

In practice, the Mississippi State Board of Education additionally heard an update on efforts to improve the ClassWallet system for teachers' classroom funds.

New cut scores for the fifth grade math assessment and an updated excused absence policy were adopted by the Mississippi State Board of Education during a session last week.

Establishment of the new cut scores and excused absence policy were mandated as part of the passage of legislation passed by the Mississippi Legislature during the 2026 session.

In practice, the new cut score will ensure the Mississippi Department of Education meets the provisions within SB 2294, known as the Mississippi Math Act.

Notably, the adjusted cut score, now set at 560 or lower, will apply to the Grade 5 Statewide Mathematics Assessment. Chief Academic Officer Wendy Clemons remarked the actual number was established through a collaboration of math teachers throughout the state along with support from the Center for Assessment.

"They wanted an indicator that reflected an ambition of the state and our students, yet an attainable expectation, " Clemons remarked.

In practice, the cut score will be one of a number of indicators of a student's proficiency in math and provide a starting point for educators to determine the level of remediation that may be required.

"I do want to point out that the indicator is not to be applied as a criteria for student promotion or retention. This is not a gate in any way. This is a score that helps educators determine the need for intervention or to serve a potential deficiency in a student, " Clemons explained.

For context, the goal is to ensure students are prepared to take Algebra I early on in high school. Clemons would like to see more high school freshmen taking Algebra I instead of waiting until their sophomore or afterwards years.

"Ultimately, we want to make sure that when students leave fifth grade and they go into the sixth grade that we have defined or identified any potential deficiencies that would make Algebra I more of a challenge for them, " Clemons elaborated.

Board member Glenn East reminded his colleagues that control of how to provide remediation remains at the local level with the school districts.

In practice, the Board additionally approved the policy on reporting unexcused absences during Thursday's gathering in relation to the passage of SB 2103.

Provisions in the legislation set a standardized method for recording unexcused absences statewide. The policy states any a child who misses 33% of the school day will be considered absent. A child is allowed up to five total excused absences per semester, of which only three can be via a parent's note. Extra absences after the three will require a written excuse from a medical provider, and after five excused absences all others that semester will be counted as unexcused.

Absences due to suspension or expulsion will not be excused but additionally will not result in the student being noted as truant. Approved reasons for an excused absence included in the policy are for a student having a dental or medical appointment, a death or illness in the immediate family, and religious events, to name a few.

Other than setting a statewide precedent for absences, the legislation additionally clarified whether a student engaged in a school-related extracurricular activity should be counted as absent.

In previous years, some districts have counted students attending athletic competitions, band contests or other extracurricular activities as absent, even though they were participating in a school activity. The new policy clearly states students participating in athletic contests, music festivals or contests, rodeo events and school field trips, among others, are to be "considered present for average daily attendance reporting purposes."

Board member East believes attendance is an significant trait to instill in the state's young residents.

"We know that in Mississippi, in any state, not being late, being there every day, good attitude, keeps you a job, " East remarked. "And if you have some skillset when you get there it makes it better and makes the promotions come quicker."

In response to a number of complaints lodged by teachers and local vendors, changes continue to be produced to the state's new electronic system that provides teachers access to their Education Enhancement Funds.

In practice, the state appropriated $25 million to be applied by teachers to purchase necessary items for their classroom. The state funding provides 34, 298 teachers with $748 to purchase the items.

Previously, physical cards were issued to teachers, but the lack of a spending cap on each card and delays in access to funding forced the Mississippi Department of Education to move to the digital-based ClassWallet system. The old system's clunky nature led to some EEF funds going unspent in previous years, authorities stated.

While most teachers did obtain faster access to the funding in the new system, there were some hurdles. Some teachers were initially unable to access the funding and there were complaints regarding a lack of local vendors on the approved list.

Nevertheless, spending of the funds is moving faster than last year. State Superintendent Dr. According to Lance Evans, as of last week, teachers throughout the state have spent just over $10 million out of the EEF account. That figure reflects a $1.5 million growth over the $8.5 million spent at this time last year.

"Which was the driving goal, the driving reason why we wanted to create that transition. We want to create sure our teachers are spending their dollars, " Evans went on.

For context, the initially small number of approved local vendors in ClassWallet caused teachers to pay out of pocket for some items and seek reimbursement afterwards.

Evans remarked the department continues to work to rectify those matters. As of last week, 80 extra local vendors were went on to the approved list.

"We did not like the fact that teachers had to pay out of pocket and then be reimbursed, " Evans stated. "So we did everything we can to try to decrease the potential for that happening."

In practice, the new system is additionally giving the department insight into how the funds are being spent, and which regions benefit the most from the EEF program. Regarding the Author(s).

Jeremy Pittari is a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast. Born and raised in Slidell, La., he moved to South Mississippi in the early 90s. Jeremy earned an associate in arts from Pearl River Community College and went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's of arts in journalism. A week after Hurricane Katrina, he began an internship as a reporter with the community newspaper in Pearl River County. After graduation, he accepted a full-time position at that news outlet where he covered the recovery process post Katrina in Pearl River and Hancock Counties. For almost 17 years he wrote concerning local administration, education, law enforcement, crime, business and a variety of other topics. Email Jeremy: [email protected].

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In short, state Board of Education approves new math cut score, updated excused absence is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.