The state system of measuring learning progress by its public schools students has changed. State education officials are assessing the results. This is the first year that Missouri has come into compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Law, meaning far more students were tested in more grades than ever before. More of those children than ever before met the federal standards as being proficient or advanced in their learning. The downside is that fewer school districts showed they were making adequate yearly progress. Deputy Education Commissioner Bert Schulte says that’s a reflection of the new assessment system which establishes new baselines for progress later. All of that is inside department stuff. What’s important, says Schulte, is the individual report sheet that goes home with the child. He says those numbers show parents and teachers what can be done to improve the achievement of that child. Schulte says the new Missouri Assessment Program provides more consistent performance measurements and will allow schools to keep better track of a student’s process than the old system did.
Related web sites:
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education