The Mississippi Department of Education released accountability ratings Thursday for every school district and individual school in the state from the 2014-2015 school year, and the Vicksburg Warren School District maintained the same “D” grade from previous years.

“Is it where I want us long term? Absolutely not. Are we going to get better? Absolutely we are. But I am proud of what was done,” VWSD superintendent Chad Shealy said.

There were 19 districts with an “A,” 43 with a “B,” 54 with a “C,” 30 with a “D” and no “F” districts in Mississippi.

“One of the important things for us to look at is 64 percent of all the districts in the state dropped in accountability level, we did not,” Shealy said.

This was the final year scores can be given under a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education that reads if the newest grade is lower than the previous year’s grade based on testing scores alone, the school district can maintain the grade from the previous year.

Vicksburg Warren did not have to use the waiver and held at a “D” even with test scores factored into the equation.

“We didn’t need our waiver to maintain our rating,” Shealy said. “In and of itself that was a win even though it wasn’t where I want it.”

The reason test scores are not being held accountable is because during the 2014-2015 school year the state used the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or PARCC test that will not be used again in the schools.

Shealy said there were also a number of discrepancies here because some schools took the test with paper and pencil while others took it online, which technical difficulties hindered.

“We haven’t had a consistent test. We haven’t had a consistent curriculum,” Shealy said of the shift from Common Core to Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards.

Dr. J.P. Beaudoin, chief of research and development at MDE, said in a press release the 2014-2015 accountability rating can not be compared to the 2013-2014 rating because students used different tests rending the grades as not a valid measure of progress.

Shealy noted Clinton schools went from an “A” to a “C,” but he doesn’t feel like those schools have truly declined that much in one year.

“It’s just incomparable,” he said. “But because there’s a state law and federal requirement they had to do something.”

State superintendent Dr. Carey Wright said in a press release it is best to mark progress through comparison of graduation and proficiency rates considering all schools are transitioning between tests and a new accountability model.

The current accountability model used to determine the rating was first used during the 2013-2014 school year and focuses on student growth, especially the lowest performing 25 percent of students, using a standards-based model and graduation rates.

Dropout prevention is one of the main factors Shealy has been working on through various programs because he noticed the high dropout rate when he came to Vicksburg. He said the graduation rate has gone from 52 to 66 percent in the nearly three years he has been here.

“Our graduation went up 12 percent, which is huge in comparison of the rest of the state, which was at 6 percent,” Shealy said.

In the 2015-2016 school year students took a test from Questar, which the state plans to stay with for years to come. Shealy hopes this consistency will give him more accurate growth statistics by having a steady benchmark to compare between years.

Accountability ratings are typically announced in October, but because of data quality errors these scores were delayed and not released until Thursday.

The 2015-2016 scores are expected to come out on time this October.

“This is two year old data,” Shealy said. “The eighth graders that took this are now 10th graders… Some of the principals aren’t even here anymore, some of the teachers aren’t even here anymore.”

Vicksburg Warren School District Schools were also graded individually.

Beechwood Elementary

2014 Official grade C

2015 Without wavier C

2015 Official grade C

Bovina Elementary

2014 Official grade C

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade C

Bowmar Avenue

2014 Official grade B

2015 Without wavier B

2015 Official grade B

Dana Road Elementary

2014 Official grade N/A

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade N/A

Redwood Elementary

2014 Official grade D

2015 Without wavier C

2015 Official grade C

Sherman Ave Elementary

2014 Official grade N/A

2015 Without wavier F

2015 Official grade N/A

South Park Elementary

2014 Official grade C

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade C

Vicksburg High

2014 Official grade D

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade D

Vicksburg Intermediate

2014 Official grade C

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade C

Vicksburg Junior High

2014 Official grade C

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade C

Warren Central High

2014 Official grade C

2015 Without wavier C

2015 Official grade C

Warren Central Intermediate

2014 Official grade C

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade C

Warren Central Junior High

2014 Official grade D

2015 Without wavier D

2015 Official grade D

Warrenton Elementary

2014 Official grade D

2015 Without wavier F

2015 Official grade D