Republic, Mo. – The Missouri State Board of Education gave final approval to a statewide A‑F school grading system, moving the plan created by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education toward implementation. The board voted 8‑1 in September to adopt the framework that Gov. Mike Kehoe ordered in his January executive order.
How the grades will be calculated
For elementary and middle schools, grades will reflect three components: academic achievement, value‑added growth, and progress toward proficiency in English Language Arts, literacy, mathematics and science. High schools will be evaluated on student academic achievement and value‑added growth in the same core subjects, plus Success Ready Graduate measures and the four‑year graduation rate.
Supporters highlight parental clarity
State Sen. Curtis Trent praised the system as a tool that gives families a simple, understandable metric for evaluating public education. “Parents, students, teachers, educators, should have an easy and clear metric by which the results of public education are evaluated and made available for parents to know how their school is doing,” he said.
Critics warn the single letter grade may miss key factors
The Missouri School Boards’ Association raised concerns that the grading model could overlook important elements such as whether schools have sufficient resources to meet state standards. Executive director Melissa Randol said, “This particular program really doesn’t give you all the information as a parent, as a community member, and as a student in terms of the progress our schools are making.”
Randol also pointed to the state’s funding gap, noting that Missouri schools already face a shortfall between the funding formula’s requirements and the resources actually provided. At the same board meeting, members decided not to request the roughly $300 million needed to fully fund schools under the new system.
Local districts await implementation details
In Republic, Superintendent Dr. Tyler Overstreet said district leaders are still waiting for specifics on how the grades will be calculated. “I don’t think there’s one single data point that can reflect the impact and value that our schools bring to our students each and every day,” he said, adding that the added reporting burden could shift more responsibility onto local taxpayers.
Overstreet warned that without the statutory funding required by state law, districts may struggle to provide needed resources. “We are not being appropriated the resources that the state statute requires us to be funded by the state legislator, and that’s gonna limit our ability to provide what our students need,” he explained.
Potential benefits for school improvement
Sen. Trent argued the grades could help identify why some schools outperform others despite differing funding levels. “It’s useful to understand, even with different funding levels being what they are, why some schools do much better than other schools. What those schools that are high performing are doing right and what the schools that are lagging are doing wrong,” he said.
Missouri currently ranks 49th nationally in the percentage of K‑12 public school funding provided by state resources, underscoring the financial challenges highlighted by school leaders.
Next steps
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will work with districts to develop the detailed calculation methodology and reporting timeline. Stakeholders, including parents, educators and local officials, are expected to provide feedback as the system rolls out over the coming school year.
For more information on the grading framework or to submit comments, Missouri residents can contact the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education directly.
Original reporting: KY3 Springfield (local) — read the source article.
