Will the New Commissioner of Education Bring More Accountability to Missouri School Districts?

I guess we have our answer. On November 25, 2024, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the newest Annual Performance Report (APR) scores under the state’s accountability system—the Missouri School Improvement System (MSIP 6). Each district and school received an APR score based on a variety of factors, including student performance, during the 2023–24 school year. The score is a percentage of the points the district received out of its total possible points (which varies by district), and that number is supposed to determine whether a district is considered “accredited” by the state.

So, what happened last year and what does it mean? It’s hard to say. DESE’s press release states: “The data shows that Missouri schools are meeting the more rigorous requirements and higher expectations set forth in MSIP 6 . . .” This is according to the new commissioner who took over the department last summer. And then in a bulleted list, there’s this: “The APR will not be used for classifying LEAs this year.” (LEA stands for local education agency.) In other words, for the tenth year in a row, the accountability system will not be used for district accreditation. Why not? DESE doesn’t say. Also, when DESE plans to update district accreditation, which won’t be for another two years, it is going to use a three-year rolling average of the APR scores instead of a single year. Why?

What is clear is that the state board of education and the new commissioner are punting when it comes to accountability for school performance. Parents who want to know how their children’s district is doing—both in real terms and compared to other districts in the state—have to rely on sites like MoSchoolRankings. That’s information DESE ought to provide. The state leaders of public education in Missouri either have no confidence in their measurement system or they have no confidence in their schools.