JEFFERSON CITY — State lawmakers heard a range of suggestions from the public Wednesday on how to improve Missouri’s school accreditation program and oversight mechanisms.
Advocates representing public schools, charter schools and teachers from across the state told an interim Senate committee that the process through which districts are evaluated could be altered to better hold schools accountable — though their recommendations ran the gamut.
The hearing comes a day after the state released preliminary test scores from the 2021-22 school year, which showed students making slight gains in certain areas but falling short of academic levels achieved prior to the pandemic.
Proficiency in math and science courses across all grade levels increased slightly, while reading declined across almost all grade levels. District-specific test scores will be released in December.
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Testing scores are one factor used in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s accreditation process, which also encompasses graduation rates and other variables. Commissioner Margie Vandeven told the committee last month that any decisions to revoke districts’ accreditation status won’t come until 2024, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Missouri NEA, a union representing teachers and education staff across the state, pushed for a change in the accreditation process that is “adaptive” depending on the circumstances of schools.
“We turn a whole district into one number and then there are very serious consequences that are attached to that number,” said Otto Fajen, the group’s legislative director. “It creates a very high-stakes environment.”
Others who testified in favor of school choice argued for the need of more accessible school rankings or a system that allows families to compare schools. Groups that represent or advocate for charter schools pointed to their accountability programs as examples.
Peggy Taylor, former president of the Nixa school board and current chair of Missouri Charter Public School Commission, said the commission has “a legal and, I would argue, moral obligation” to close its schools that fail to meet standards. Charter schools currently operate within the Kansas City and St. Louis City areas.
Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican who has chaired the Senate’s education committee during the legislative session, criticized schools specifically within the St. Louis City region that have fallen short of test score standards.
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“The fact that we have school systems that have failed for years to teach our kids how to read, for me, is breathtaking,” O’Laughlin said. “Sometimes I think there’s so many oversight things that there’s really no oversight.”
O’Laughlin was the original sponsor of a legislative package that passed this year beefing up literacy requirements and intervention programs in schools, which passed with bipartisan support.
The Republican-led legislature dialed up their scrutiny of public schools during their session this spring, proposing an array of bills attempting to hold school boards’ feet to the fire and investigate curriculum focused on race and equity. They passed a bill that delivers millions of state dollars to charter schools, without subtracting that money from public school districts.
Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.
