"Students in grades 2 through 8 are required to take the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT)," Superintendent Dr. C.L. Stevenson said. "The MCT is a an achievement test which can give you a snapshot of our students abilities by their scores on the test."

Stevenson said the test is a curriculum reference test that tests the students on the material they are taught during a school year.

"One of the biggest goals this district has is to make sure our students are taught a good curriculum by good instructors," he said. "I think everyone in the South Panola family is beginning to understand that what we teach and test on must be based on the same material.

"With everyone working together, we will continue to improve," he said.

Stevenson said, over time, the school district has seen improvement in scores in most if not all of the areas (reading, language and math) of the MCT.

"Our students scores on the test are above or near the state average in almost all of the areas of the test," Stevenson said. "The work of our students on this test have helped us maintain our level three status as a successful school."