Missouri

		REPORT CARD
		NAEP exams		% Scoring proficient
		1996 8th grade math		22%
		1996 4th grade math		20%
		1996 8th grade science		28%
		1994 4th grade reading		31%
		QUALITY COUNTS 1999 grades
		Standards and assessments		C-
		Efforts to raise teacher quality		B
		School climate		C-
		Resources (funding):
			Adequacy	D+
			Equity	F
			Allocation	C-

M issouri's real accomplishment last year was passage of a law to prevent the Kansas City and St. Louis public schools from going broke if they lose desegregation funding later this year. The American Federation of Teachers gives Missouri poor marks for the clarity and specificity of its standards. For now, the state's accountability system is focused on district performance, but Missouri plans to start evaluating individual schools in 2000.

* NOTE: The equity grade is based on 1994-95 data, the most recent available.

© 1999 Editorial Projects in Education

Vol. 18, number 17, page 155