How Does Missouri Stack Up?
What does it mean when we say only 47.6% of Missouri’s students are proficient in math? Because each state has their own proficiency standards, how are we to know how our students stack up nationally? Is it true that some states “dumb down” their standards to appear more proficient? TIME magazine has taken much of the guesswork out of the problem.
Read the Time.com article and see how Missouri students fare against national standards.Let the Race Begin
Missouri was one of 40 states who submitted applications to compete for over $4 billion in federal dollars for education reform last month. The funds will only be rewarded to those states that can demonstrate they have pursued reforms that are meaningful, lasting and systemic. The bar will be high and the competition stiff. In a recent press release, Education Secretary Arne Duncan noted that “we’re going to invest in those states that we’re most convinced can demonstrate to the country what’s possible”. To win money, states must also begin distinguishing between effective and ineffective teachers—and consider that information when deciding whether to grant tenure, give raises, or fire a teacher or principal. States must remove legal barriers to linking student test scores to teachers’ performance. Sadly, this is where Missouri fell short. Numerous states including California, Massachusetts and Tennessee passed last minute legislation adopting education reform initiatives before the applications were due. Awards will be given to those states that have made commitments, not promises. Winners will be announced in April and a second round of applications will be accepted in June. Let’s hope our Missouri legislature is ready to pull the trigger on any bills that would promote substantive education reform so that we’ll be eligible for our piece of the pie.
View Missouri's Race To The Top Application.
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Following the Kansas City School Board’s vote to accept Superintendent John Covington’s plan to address a $50 million budget deficit and decreased student enrollment by closing 28 Kansas City schools and eliminating 700 jobs, an article in the New York Times cites education experts who suggest that the School Board is responsible for years of inaction and dysfunction leading the district to the brink of bankruptcy.