On the eve of the release of Mississippi’s 2014 Statewide Accountability Results, State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carey Wright outlined her plan to lift the state from the bottom of national education rankings at Wednesday’s monthly Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Wright, a 35-year veteran in the education field with experience as both a teacher and administrator, detailed the areas she believes are key in raising test scores and better preparing Mississippi students for graduation.

“The first is early childhood education. That’s something that is very near and dear to my heart,” Wright said.

“Setting higher academic standards and also, last but certainly not least, how do we enhance our career and technical education that we have in Mississippi?”

Wright has long been a proponent of strong pre-K standards and addressed the need for more early childhood education opportunities in Mississippi to ease the transition for children heading into elementary school.

“I’m a firm believer that we need to have more children who have access to high-quality pre-K programs,” she said. “That’s where they get their start, not only in school, but in life. These programs prepare kids, not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and physically.”

For the first time in Mississippi history, a kindergarten assessment test was administered in the fall to more than 40,000 kindergartners throughout the state. The results, according to Wright, revealed a worrisome trend.

“Two out of every three incoming kindergartners are not prepared,” she said. “If there’s ever a piece of evidence that is compelling for us to be investing in early childhood education, that’s it.”

Wright also discussed the importance of raising the state’s academic standards.

According to the 2014 Quality Counts report conducted by Education Week, Mississippi ranks 51st in the U.S. for K-12 achievements. The report also indicated that only 12 percent of the state’s high school students are career and college ready in the combined content areas of English, math, science and reading.

“If your goal is to improve outcomes for children, those standards need to be set high and they need to be incredibly rigorous,” Wright said. “Our state department adopted a set of high, rigorous standards and our school systems pressed forward and implemented these standards, and we’ve been doing an incredible job with that.”

The speech highlighted the transformation Wright hopes to make in a state marred by poverty and limited resources, while showcasing the steps that she and the Legislature are now taking to enhance the educational opportunities for Mississippi’s children.

“I believe we’ve got an opportunity to change the trajectory of this state. I believe that in my heart of hearts. I come in every day believing that,” Wright said. “I did not come here to remain at the bottom. I said I have never enjoyed being last at anything I’ve done, so my commitment is to you for the long haul and to the children of the state for the long haul.”