The proposed bill aims to enhance accountability measures for elementary and secondary schools in Missouri by introducing a new section, 160.524, to chapter 160 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Under this section, the state board of education is tasked with developing an annual accountability report card for each public school district, public school, and public charter school. This report card will provide comprehensive information on school performance, including student outcomes, and will be designed to meet federal reporting requirements. The report cards will be published in a standardized and accessible format, ensuring that they are easily understood by parents, taxpayers, and other stakeholders. Additionally, the state board will assign ratings to schools based on a zero-to-one-hundred scale, ranging from "A" for excellent outcomes to "F" for inadequate performance. Furthermore, the bill establishes the "Show Me Success Program," which will provide financial rewards to schools that demonstrate high student performance or significant academic growth. Schools that do not test at least ninety-five percent of their students will have their ratings lowered. The accountability measures will also include a growth-to-proficiency metric to assess student progress and a requirement for schools to report various performance metrics, including graduation rates and post-graduation outcomes. The bill emphasizes continuous improvement by adjusting the rating scale to raise expectations when a significant percentage of schools achieve high ratings, thereby promoting ongoing enhancement of student outcomes.

Statutes affected:
Introduced (5496H.03): 160.524