Mississippi is a typical American southern state.

No state epitomizes the American South better than Mississippi: First-time visitors are often struck by how friendly residents are — the "southern hospitality" for which this part of the country is famous. They’re also likely to be amazed (and far less pleased) at the year-round heat and humidity.

Smaller class sizes in early grades translated into students scoring higher on math tests in later grades in Tennessee’s experiment to see if smaller classes improved education, a study said of Friday.