[October 2, 2025] As a product myself of the Louisiana educational system in the 1950s and 60s, I can attest to the abysmal rates of reading and arithmetic achievement. Mississippi and Louisiana were competitors in the race to the bottom in national education. However, things have turned around, and we have what is known as the Mississippi Reading Miracle.
Rich Lowry, one of the New York Post’s best opinion writers, says this is “a miracle [that] defies the laws of nature.” The gains in education in Mississippi have been “extraordinary,” as the Magnolia State’s reading levels have improved significantly. As he tells the story, there is nothing miraculous about it. The state adopted phonics and set high standards for its kids. The result is better reading instruction.
More good news is forthcoming. Other Southern states have taken up similar policies. The state of Mississippi, which was ranked 49th in fourth-grade reading results (likely tied with Louisiana) about a decade ago, rose to ninth in 2024, according to the gold standard in measuring academic achievement, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
I currently live in New Jersey, which has a powerful Teachers’ Union; the state is richer, and invests heavily in primary school instruction (read that as sky-high taxes), one of the highest in the nation. They rank 35th in reading. We are all aware that Mississippi is a state with a low income level. If we statistically adjust for socio-economic status, Mississippi ranks 1st in the country on fourth-grade reading.
I know plenty of teachers where I live, and they pride themselves on the quality of education in New Jersey. When I point out that Mississippi spends far less on education and trounces them in the NAEP rankings, they have little to say to me. New Jersey employs the “whole-language” approach to reading. Now, a largely discredited theory of learning.
The failure of wealthy Blue states to achieve the same level of success as historically undereducated Southern states is surely galling. They only have themselves to blame. The phonics approach is effective and scientifically proven, as evidenced by the results in Mississippi.
“Their example shows that, no, it’s not impossible to teach children, and no, it’s not very costly. It’s a good sign that even California just passed a phonics bill. It’s fully within our power, so long as we insist on the basics, to give kids a skill absolutely essential to their development and their futures. No miracles necessary.” – Rich Lowry, NY Post, 30 September 2025
The politics of the Teachers’ Unions are holding kids back as the union leadership insists upon the failure of the whole-language approach. This is not the first time the “experts” have failed our children in America, and the educational system shows that real leadership matters more than politics.
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🇺🇸 NEVER be surprised at what good leadership can do. Our school systems are overdue good, proper leadership as they continue to fail. We also need Christian men to take over from the whiny, bratty, liberal, fat women running them today. 🇺🇸
Wild.
Updated data here based on controlling for race and socio-economic status: “What States Have the Best Schools?”
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/10/what-states-have-the-best-schools.php
Note to Gen. Satterfield, New Jersey scores better.
Even I can’t pass their tests! 😀😀😀😀😀
Idiot Savant, your tongue in cheek humor is always the best. On a serious note, this should be a wake-up call for real educators – you know, the ones who an actually care about educating kids instead of indoctrination. Wake up to the fact that there are proven methods of teaching young kids. And then there are theories that maybe work. Which would you choose? A no brained, as Gen. Satterfield is fond of saying.
Lady Hawk, the bottom line is the education experts failed …………
“I know plenty of teachers where I live, and they pride themselves on the quality of education in New Jersey. When I point out that Mississippi spends far less on education and trounces them in the NAEP rankings, they have little to say to me. New Jersey employs the “whole-language” approach to reading. Now, a largely discredited theory of learning.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield. This is not a totally discredited theory but one that simply doesn’t pass the smell test while there are better methods out there.
Excellent article, Gen. Satterfield. This shows, naturally, that those in America’s leadership on education have “spectacularly failed” (to use a term of endearment from Gen. Satterfield). Maybe they should pay close attention next time to Gen. Satterfield’s “Rules.”
Public education in American has been crashing for several decades since the dumbing down of standards. The dumbing down was an attempt to bring up the scores of blacks to they don’t “feel bad.” Well, I guess that didn’t work. Oh, they will never admit this was the real reason the current theory of education has failed, because it was never about improving education at all. And then they doubled down and brought in DEI and other crazy batshit ideas.
ouch … give em hell
Embarrassing for Northern States …. ha ha ha ha ha …. and they think they are the queens of education. Blah ha ha ha.
LOL. If I could laugh harder, I would too. Mississippi and Louisiana finally got tired of kowtowing to the “experts” in education and rejected what clearly does NOT work and adopted an “old and looked-down-upon” phonics method. Looks like the modern experts were wrong. And, of course, the experts will never admit it. And where are the experts from? The north where all the Ivy League schools are located. Looks like the educational experts have once again failed us and our kids and grandkids.
Maybe, just maybe, they should follow Mississippi’s lead. That, they will never do because it would be 1) admitting they were wrong and 2) it is below them to follow those “ignorant southerners.”
So very true.
What else is there to say? Frontier Man nailed it.