EDUCATION PROFILES

Knowing Where We Stand

Our education profiles coalesce and analyze district, state and national data to create useful reviews of Missouri schools. Our Missouri Education Profiles highlight relevant figures and trends at the state level, while comparing our numbers to those of our neighboring states and the nation. We also produce area-specific profiles documenting important education statistics and issues specific to Saint Louis and Kansas City.

Our 2023 Missouri Education Profile is here.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST FULL SCHOOL YEAR AFTER COVID-19 CLOSURES

We used data from the 2021-22 school year to cover topics including Missouri’s teacher workforce, student enrollment and attendance, test scores, college outcomes, and education funding. This profile also includes a special SLU/YouGov Poll featuring Missouri voters’ opinions on education issues.

Key takeaways include:

• Missouri is hiring more new teachers, but fewer candidates are completing teacher preparation programs.

• Student attendance rates dropped to the lowest point in the last decade, while student discipline rates rose to their highest levels in the same period.

• Achievement gaps in state test scores remain unchanged, as the proportion of students who scored proficient/advanced was higher for White students than it was for Black students, by roughly 30 percentage points.

BY: ASHLEY DONALDSON BURLE, MEL FENSKE, DUNCAN CARSON, AND RICH HALL, PH.D.