In this policy brief, we build on our previous brief, Missouri's School Accountability System, and take a deeper dive into two specific components of school accountability systems—school rating systems and accountability indicator weights. We discuss the weight of academic growth within performance indicators at the elementary and middle school level and consider the proposed changes to these areas under SB 341 and HB 558. We add evidence by examining school accountability systems in states with high growth and conclude by providing policy recommendations based on our findings.

In this policy brief, we describe Missouri’s current accountability system for traditional public and public charter schools—Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP) 6—and how it differs from the prior version known as MSIP 5. We add context by detailing federal school accountability system requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which also impacts the work of schools in Missouri.

This brief examines Missouri’s 2022 NAEP results, which are the first look into NAEP performance after the pandemic. We focus on Missouri’s performance changes over time, gaps between student groups, and comparison to national trends.

UPDATED: This brief examines changes to enrollment in schools under the Archdiocese of St. Louis, describing research on enrollment changes over the last ten years from the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and using data from the Private School Universe Survey (PSS) from the U.S. Department of Education over the last 20 years. We describe trends in St. Louis and other major archdioceses and conclude with highlights of the current strategic planning processes for the Archdiocese of St. Louis and other large archdioceses

In this brief, we provide an overview of how federally mandated special education services translate to virtual educational environments and examine how Missouri districts communicated information regarding these services in their Fall 2020 reopening plans.

In this brief, we use data from a statewide sample of Missouri traditional and charter school districts’ 2020-21 reopening plans. We describe the characteristics of districts that planned to provide students with devices and internet access for distanced learning.

In this policy brief, we describe the national landscape of recent higher education policy changes and how such decisions may impact the future of higher education admissions.

In this policy brief, we describe the National Center for Education Statistics’ Condition of Education Report. The 2020 edition focuses on Internet access, postsecondary degree completion, as well as examines trends and patterns across all levels of education in the United States. We focus on changes over time and add some additional data from outside sources to create relevance for Missouri’s education landscape.

In this policy brief, we take a dive into the ACT results for Missouri’s class of 2019 and how the decreased participation rate impacted scores in Missouri.