The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced statewide results for both the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) and district Annual Performance Reports (APR) for the 2017-18 school year. More than 413,000 third- through eighth-grade students and an additional 175,000 high school students participated in the state’s testing program, leading to more than 1.05 million total assessments being administered to Missouri public and charter school students. 

Due to changes in learning standards, completely new assessments in English language arts and math were administered in 2017-18; therefore, it is important to note that the 2017-18 results are not comparable with results from previous tests in those subjects. More than 2,500 Missouri teachers and other stakeholders crafted the Missouri Learning Standards that were adopted in spring 2016. The new standards were developed with a goal of setting higher expectations for students, which was reflected in a more challenging, teacher-developed set of state assessments. 

A field test was given during the 2017-18 school year for science, so schools did not receive official MAP scores, nor was science reflected in calculations for the 2017-18 APR scores. New science assessments will be administered during the 2018-19 school year. 

This year’s APR data reflected a slightly heavier focus on non-academic factors such as high school readiness (K-8 districts), college and career readiness (K-12 districts), attendance, and graduation rates. Schools continued to prepare students for success after graduation, with tangible results: more students both participated in advanced placement courses and scored a 3 or better on AP exams, enrollment increased in dual enrollment and Project Lead the Way courses, and a greater number of students earned industry-recognized credentials. 

More than 97 percent of Missouri districts and charter schools scored at least 70 percent of the possible points on their APR. For public school districts, this places them in the fully accredited range, while charter schools do not receive an accreditation classification under current guidelines. 

All public school district and charter school MAP and APR data can be found by accessing DESE’s comprehensive data system portal here. First-time users are encouraged to watch a brief tutorial to assist with recent updates to the portal design.