[...] graders wait as Mississippi to set reading test score [...] grader Lacey Peeler admitted she was a little nervous about the high stakes attached to the test. Some lawmakers and local superintendents sought a delay this spring in the requirement to flunk students, saying Mississippi hasn't spent enough on improvement. The Republican failed third grade while fighting dyslexia, and says he succeeded later because of extra help from teachers. Pascagoula will offer summer programs to tutor students, but it's unclear if all of Mississippi's 146 school districts will make such efforts. Retention is controversial, because research shows students who fail a grade are much more likely to drop out. Gary Henry, a Vanderbilt University education professor, said third-grade efforts he studied in Georgia and North Carolina gave marginal readers an extra push. Mississippi has retrained teachers, in what officials called a doubling of professional development, and placed reading coaches in 87 low-performing schools this year.