Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System
Download Assessment and Accountability Data Files
What is STUDENT ASSESSMENT DATA in Classic Format?
Formal statewide assessment programs were established in Mississippi as required
under the Educational Reform Act of 1982. The first testing programs, implemented
during the 1986/1987 school year, included the Stanford Achievement Test (NRT),
the Basic Skills Assesment Program (BSAP) for Grades 5 and 8, and the Functional
Literacy Examination (FLE). The custom BSAP and FLE state testing programs had
been piloted during 1985/1986.
The testing programs evolved over the years with newer or different versions of an NRT,
phasing out of the BSAP, and the addition of high school Subject Area Tests. During
school year 1998/1999, plans were finalized for the development of an entirely new
assessment program. A new NRT and a writing assessment were implemented during the
1999/2000 school year. During that school year, a new criterion-referenced assessment
system for grades 2-8 and a new Subject Area Testing Program were piloted. The first live
administration of the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) and the new Subject Area Tests
in Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and U.S. History from 1877 occurred in 2000/2001.
Beginning with the tests administered during the 1990/1991 school year, aggregated data
files were created and saved. When needed, the data files were copied to floppy
disks and delivered by mail. During the fall of 1998, the newly established Office
of Research and Statistics (ORS) implemented a public HTTP (web) and FTP server, posted
the aggregate data files on the FTP site, and converted the Test Data Retrieval System
(TDRS) -- originally available only on the MDE LAN -- for web access.
The Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System (MAARS) web application
replaced the old Test Data Retrieval System for assessment results from 2003/2004 and
later school years. Assessment results from 1998/1999 through 2002/2003 can still be
accessed from TDRS using the following link...
[Test Data Retrieval System]
CLASSIC FORMAT refers to data files containing non-disaggregated assessment results
at the school, district, and state level. Classic format assessment data files are currently
available for download for every statewide test administration from 1990/1991 through
the previous school year. The page you were viewing when you clicked to get here contains
links that make it easy to download classic format data files from the last several years.
The last link in the "Student Assessment Data in Classic Format" section displays a listing
of all the classic format assessment files stored on the ORS FTP server.
The term, "Classic Format" distinguishes the non-disaggregated results from files containing
assessment results showing the performance of separate subgroups as required under the
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).