2024-2025 Public Education Snapshot

2024-2025 Public Education Snapshot in Depth

Thank you to our Legislators for Supporting Missouri Students

Who we serve

The statewide information can be found here on the DESE Missouri Compressive Date System. 
You can also use this Dashboard to break the numbers down by school district. 

Annual Performance Report

You can review the latest APR data by district here. You can also find building by building data on the same webpage under the MSIP 6 APR tab. 

  • 785,000+ (92%) students attend fully-accredited public schools.

Literacy

  • 14,373 K-8 educators are enrolled in or have completed Science of Reading training.
  • 95% of local education agencies have one or more teachers enrolled in or have completed Science of Reading training.

Educator Recruitment & Retention

  • 32% increase over the past three years of enrollment in teacher education programs.
  • 1st in the nation to launch a Statewide Educator Job Board.

Early Learning

  • 1,406 more children served than last year in publicly funded preschools.
  • Capacity to serve 52.6% of children, under age 5.
  • 11.9% (177) reduction in child care licensing rules per Executive Order 25-1580, 750 developmental screenings for children three months to kindergarten entry.

Academic Achievement

  • Overall, statewide results have continued to demonstrate positive momentum. Compared performance levels in 2023-24.
    • English Language Arts showed improvement, with one exception.
    • Mathematics showed improvement, in grades 3, 6, 7, and 8
    • Science showed improvement in grades 5 and 8
    • Grade 8 Science and Algebra I showed the greatest gains
      • 19.9 average ACT score (national average 19.4)
      • 91.4% 4-year graduation rate (regional avg. 89.04%)

Vocational Rehab

Find out more about vocational rehabilitation here. 

  • Top 10 in the nation for four out of five categories for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) common performance measures.

Educator Initiatives

  • Last school year, nearly 1,000 more teachers returned to the classroom compared to previous years
  • The nationally recognized Teacher Recruitment and Retention Playbook, developed by DESE and the Community Training and Assistance Center, features evidence-based, highly effective eight cornerstones of a state system of recruitment and retention

Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force

Updates and information about the school funding task force can be found here. 

  • Seventeen appointed members are charged with making recommendations to the Governor by the end of 2026 on how to update and improve the mechanism used to provide state funding to public schools in Missouri. The goal is to help ensure that every student in Missouri is supported with adequate resources to achieve success.

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

DESE Funding

  • DESE FY2026 Revenue Sources $8,630,865,463
    • General Revenue 54.7%
    • Federal Relief 1.0%
    • Federal 18.9%
    • Proposition C 1% Sales Tax for Education 15.1%
    • Classroom Trust Fund (Gaming) 5.1%
    • Lottery, Bingo, & Tobacco Settlement 3.5%
    • Other 1.6%
  • DESE Flow Through Funds $8,423,724,692 (97.6% of revenues)

 

2026 Focus

  • Assess all students for literacy using state-approved literacy assessments
  • Increase number of students demonstrating high-academic performance
  • Improve support to Missouri's lowest performing schools
  • Enhance data quality and analytics
  • Maximize access to quality early learning programs and services
  • Continue to invest in educators (competitive salaries)
  • Provide resources, effective tools, and programs to improve attendance rates
  • Continue to provide support and guidance on AI technology to all public schools