Michael Q. McShane, Director of National Research at EdChoice, Susan Pendergrass, Director of Research and Education Policy at Show-Me Institute, and Patricia Levesque, Chief Executive Officer of ExcelinEd discuss the state of accountability in education, why state leadership is critical, and how Missouri and other states can reform their accountability systems.
Accountabilty Matters
Missouri schools are failing to teach the core subjects of reading and math and the most recent test scores show that students are falling further behind. Missouri’s Department of Secondary and Elementary (MO DESE) has not offered the level of transparency regarding student performance that is necessary to create an education system focused on higher standards, reducing achievement gaps, and results-based accountability. The status quo is leaving thousands of students behind without the fundamental skills to pursue higher education or compete in the modern labor market. In response to DESE’s failure to perform one of its most basic functions, we launched The Missouri School Rankings Project and MoSchoolRankings.org.
