Although the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recently changed the Annual Performance Reports (APRs) they issue to public school districts and schools, DESE has issued the reports for many years. APRs assign schools and districts point for their performance across five areas: academic performance, subgroup academic performance, attendance, college and career readiness, and high school graduation.
But how well do those points reflect school performance? This report (available at the link below) correlates APR points per category to the underlying data used to calculate the points. And not surprisingly, the relationships are not that strong. Reporting on school performance is a central duty of state education agencies, and DESE’s effort leaves substantial room for improvement.
