The annual Mississippi Department of Education Accountability Model was released today at noon, and Oxford School District has topped the rankings for the first time in history.

Oxford High School was not far behind on the list of individual high schools, coming in at seventh, up two spots from last year.

The model, which ranks every high school in Mississippi, uses test scores, graduation rates, and more to base their rankings on, and is a strong indicator in district and high school performance.

“We’re really excited to be number one in the state of Mississippi,” OHS principal Bradley Roberson said. “Oxford is known for winning state championships in athletics and academic competitions, among other things, but this is a state championship that we can all be proud of as the Charger family. That goes for every student, parent, teacher and Oxford stakeholder in the community.”

The model uses a base system of averaging English, Math, US History, and Biology state test scores, as well as graduation rate, college and career readiness, and ‘acceleration’ – a category that measures participation and performance of students in AP and Dual Enrollment courses, into a point system out of 1,000 points.

While the district topped the rankings with a score of 745, Oxford High School fell in at seventh out of the 293 Mississippi high schools with a score of 792, falling behind only Lewisburg, Desoto Central, East Central, Ocean Springs, Long Beach, and Hernando.

Another accolade for Oxford High School is that their score is up 30 points from last year’s total of 762, which ranks fourth amongst all “A” schools in the state.

While the release is certainly good news for the Oxford School District, Roberson admits that all the work is not yet done.

“We’re excited, but we’re certainly not satisfied,” Roberson said. “We still have kids that are struggling and we need to find ways to meet their needs as well. Until all of those percentages are 100 in the accountability model, we still have work to do.”