A Jefferson County school district superintendent called proposed legislation to create an A through F scoring system a way to claim the state’s public school system is failing.
Other county school district officials and the Rockwood School District warn that the narrow parameters of an A-F scale based on a 0 to 100 score would not truly reflect what occurs in the classroom.
Members of the House and Senate have created separate proposals in response to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s executive order to create an A through F scale. Kehoe issued the executive order in January during his State of the State address.
The order calls for the state’s education department to draw up a plan by June 30. The State Board of Education would have to approve the change for it to go into effect.
“Parents deserve clear, easy to understand information about how schools are performing so they can make the best decision for their children. That is why today I signed another executive order creating a statewide school accountability, (by an) A through F grade card,” Kehoe said Jan. 13 during the State of the State. “Missouri’s current accountability system places too much weight on administrative process rather than student success, and it does not give a straightforward picture of how schools are actually performing.”
Fox C-6 School District Superintendent Paul Fregeau said his district welcomes accountability, but he also sees flaws in the proposed legislation.
He said he was opposed to the initial versions of the House and Senate bills that had provisions increasing the threshold to score an A through D by 5 percent the following year if 65 percent of school districts score an A or B in the previous year.
“This is absolutely ludicrous,” Fregeau said Feb. 3 during a Fox C-6 Board of Education meeting. “I’m not pulling any punches here. They’re trying to set us up for failure, so they can say look at it, a third of the schools in the state got Cs, Ds and Fs. We have to do something different. Money has to go elsewhere. Money has to go to private schools, who do not have to participate in this rating system even though they’re now getting public money.
“They are attacking our teachers, our principals, our districts and trying to make us look bad. They are setting us up to fail.”
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee passed a version of the bill, HB 2710, that scrapped the automatic threshold increase, labeling it unfair to have a “forever changing target.”
It also removed a provision that would lower schools’ score by one letter grade if less than 95 percent of its students took the state’s standardized test. Instead, lower testing rates would be noted on the report cards but without penalizing the overall score.
The Senate bill, SB 1194, still has those two provisions.
“It is still in process, and it is difficult to predict what the outcome will be,” Fregeau said on Feb. 18 about the two bills. “I’m glad there is continued discussion in looking at different ideas.”
Both the House and Senate proposals include the public posting of a “standardized, clear and easily accessible” report card with a letter grade based on students’ scores on the state’s standardized test.
Grading under the bill would be based on Missouri’s standardized test scores in English, math and science, as well as how much students improve, and graduation rates. Other factors, such as passing trade or early college classes, would be considered for high schools.
High schools also would need to report on outcomes of their graduates, including how many attend college, enter the military, or get “living-wage” job.
Festus R-6 Superintendent Nicki Ruess said attempting to simplify a school district’s work into a single letter grade may not fully account for the wide range of variables, programs and priorities that exist within a school system.
“In Festus, our community has been incredibly supportive of our schools,” she said. “Together, we prioritize goals through our Continuous School Improvement Plan and make strategic decisions based on the needs of our students. Academic performance is critically important, but so is ensuring students graduate with meaningful career pathways, college credit opportunities and the skills necessary to become productive citizens.
“If state accountability systems focus primarily on standardized test performance, districts may feel pressure to restructure schedules and course offerings in ways that unintentionally reduce those broader opportunities.”
The letter grades would add a third measurement of school performance, on top of the Missouri School Improvement Program, which is in its sixth iteration and commonly referred to as MSIP6, and a report card for schools the education department creates each year.
Missouri school districts receive an Annual Performance Report (APR) score based on graduation and attendance rates; advanced coursework; career preparation experiences; Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores in reading and math; scores on the ACT and other national exams; and the number of graduates entering college, the workforce or military service, according to DESE.
State education officials also started using a three-year composite score to evaluate districts last year.
“The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has already implemented a comprehensive accountability system through MSIP6, approved by the State Board of Education, which measures school success across multiple indicators,” Northwest School District officials said in a statement. “Creating a second grading system is unnecessary, potentially confusing for families and could siphon funding away from schools that need additional support and resources. This executive order moves the goalposts once again and ensures that few, if any, school districts across the state can be successful when expectations constantly shift.”
Rockwood School District officials said in a statement that they value transparency, accountability and high expectations for student learning, and support statewide measures that would accurately reflect the work done in classrooms across the district and state.
“However, we have serious concerns that a single letter grade would oversimplify the complex work that is done by educators in our classrooms meeting the various needs of each of our students,” the statement said. “By failing to account for resource gaps and varied student needs, an A-F accountability model risks misrepresenting our schools, and without careful design and educator input, this approach also risks undermining public confidence rather than helping students succeed.”
The House and Senate bills also proposed an incentive system that would provide additional funding for high-performing schools. The original bills call for a funding boost of $100 per student for schools with the top 5 percent of scores in academic performance and growth, and a bonus of $50 per student for schools in the top 10 percent.
The House committee kept the incentives but gave the responsibility to the state’s education department to determine award amounts and criteria. The bill directs officials to give bonuses to districts based on academic growth, student improvement over multiple years, improvement among historically underserved groups, career readiness and literacy.
Hillsboro R-3 Superintendent Jon Isaacson said connecting funding and possibly additional funding to narrower achievement measurements may reduce districts’ commitment to providing students with opportunities in agricultural education, career and technical programs, and dual-credit opportunities.
“If accountability systems focus primarily on standardized test performance, districts may feel pressure to restructure schedules and course offerings in ways that reduce those opportunities,” he said. “I don’t want to cut dual credit or agriculture and career-tech programs just to protect a letter grade.
“Ultimately, the key question is whether the A–F system reflects what Jefferson County families expect from their schools: preparing students not just for tests, but for real life after graduation,” he said.