There are over one million school-age children in Missouri, and we estimate 61,000 (6% of all school-age children) are homeschooled. Missouri is one of 29 states that does not require homeschooling to be reported. Using methods that can be replicated elsewhere with publicly available data, we test three approaches to estimating homeschool participation: using American Community Survey (ACS) data; subtracting public and estimated private school counts from ACS school-age totals; and polling parents. We comment on the usefulness and limitations of each approach and provide a model for researchers seeking to estimate homeschooling trends in states that lack administrative data.

This report examines current physical education policy requirements in Missouri.

This report examines the unique challenges to and opportunities for school belonging for students in special education, along with best practices to support school belonging for special education students.

This report details Missouri teachers’ supplemental (non-base) pay and the Career Ladder program for teachers.

Currently, over a third of public school districts in Missouri utilize a four-day school week (4DSW). The overwhelming majority that currently use a shortened school week are small, rural school districts.  The primary reason cited by districts for transitioning to the 4DSW is to recruit and retain certified educators in an increasingly competitive workforce marketplace. While, up to this point, the four-day school week has been a rural school district phenomenon, this is beginning to change as larger districts also struggle to find and retain staff.  This study examined the 4DSW influence on job applications to the Independent School District (ISD), which adopted a four-day school week for the 2023-2024 school year. With over 14,000 students and over 1,200 certified staff, ISD is by far the largest 4DSW district in Missouri. As policymakers analyze the 4DSW, it is important to investigate how the size and diversity of a school impact a school district's ability to attract and retain teachers.  

In this report, we analyze the results of a survey sent to 900 Missouri and Arkansas parents, asking them their opinions about four-day school weeks, homeschooling, college likelihood, teacher salaries and entering the workforce, and school vouchers.

In this report, we dive into the results, focusing specifically on the education questions posed to voters on the Fall 2024 SLU/YouGov poll.

This report covers a program evaluation of the Summer Scholars program.

This brief documents changes in Missouri public school teacher retention during the COVID-19 pandemic and examines changes in teacher retention in districts that adopt a four-day school week calendar.

This report covers the ever-changing public education system in St. Louis.

This 3rd Edition of PRiME’s annual Growth Reports covers data from the 2021—2022 school year.

This 3rd Edition of PRiME’s annual Beating the Odds Growth Report covers data from the 2021—2022 school year.

In this education report we first provide some key background information regarding student mobility and its impact. We then use public data to describe what student mobility looks like across Missouri in comparison to neighboring states. Next, we call attention to the discrepancies in existing Missouri student mobility data and describe possible reasons for these discrepancies. We conclude with implications for education researchers and policy makers.

Since 2020, Saint Louis University (SLU) has worked with YouGov to poll Missouri citizens on current issues in politics and education. The PRiME Center funded a poll presented to 900 likely Missouri voters from February 14–February 26, 2024 to inform stakeholders on public opinion surrounding political and education-related policy issues. In this report, we dive into the most recent education results.

The following paper reports on variation in student demographics and outcomes in St. Louis’ public school system.

The following paper provides a primer in state education funding formulas, and a lesson in unintended consequences.

In this report, we define the problem of chronic absenteeism in Missouri and present data on school attendance in the state over the last five years.

In this report, we show how Missouri teacher salaries were reduced following the Great Recession.

In this report, we analyze changes in school-age population, public school enrollment, and school closures in Saint Louis City over the last three decades.

In this report, we use publicly available data to describe trends in postsecondary success for those students who graduate from a Missouri public high school and subsequently enroll as a first-time, full-time student at one of Missouri’s public postsecondary institutions of higher education. To measure success, we examine college enrollment trends, early college academic performance (remediation rates and college GPA), early college persistence, and eventual college completion for the Missouri high school graduation classes of 2010 through 2019. When possible, we compare trends in Missouri to national patterns and trends. We also examine trends over time within the state of Missouri, providing an in-depth examination of how these results vary by geographic region and high school characteristics, including school locale, racial composition, and income levels by highlighting outcomes for the class of 2015—the most recent cohort of postsecondary enrollees to exhibit 6-year completion rates.

In this report, we use publicly available data to describe patterns in college-intending behaviors and postsecondary access for Missouri high school students compared to national trends. We also examine trends within Missouri by looking at high schools serving unique student bodies, by locality, and by region. Finally, we examine results for the class of 2019, the most recent class to have successfully completed high school prior to COVID-19-induced disruptions.

The state of Missouri will soon consider transitioning back from state-appointed governance to locally elected boards in two districts in the St. Louis metropolitan area, having already done so in another. The PRiME Center reviewed the literature to find evidence-based strategies for successful transitions to local governance, as well as conducted an empirical study investigating stakeholders’ perspectives on appropriate strategies to exit state-appointed governance in Missouri school districts. The data were collected via interviews and focus groups from diverse stakeholder groups, including appointed and elected board members, administrators, educators, and parents (n=33). Thematic, emergent analysis revealed several main takeaways.

In this report, we use the PRiME Growth Score, a translation of state-calculated growth scores from the Missouri Growth Model, to highlight the schools achieving the top student growth while serving high concentrations of low-income students. This report focuses on the highest-growth schools serving the highest proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch, those where the student body eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch (FRL) is in the fourth quartile. We rank top-growth schools in both English language arts and math and divide the rankings according to three school types.

In this report, we use the PRiME Growth Score, a translation of state-calculated growth scores from the Missouri Growth Model, to highlight the top schools in terms of student growth. This report focuses on the highest-growth schools in each of the nine Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) supervisory regions. We rank top-growth schools in both English language arts and math and divide the rankings according to two school types.

In this report, we describe the PRiME Growth Score, highlighting the top schools in terms of student growth. We use the results of the Missouri Growth Model to translate these scores into more understandable results. Importantly, while PRiME Growth Scores were assigned to all schools with growth NCE scores assigned (that is, schools that serve students in Grades 4-8), this report focuses on the highest-growth schools across the state in both English language arts and math for schoolwide and subgroup achievement categories.