| Vital Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Public schools | 2,260 |
| Public school teachers | 65,169 |
| Pre-K-12 students | 905,941 |
| Annual pre-K-12 expenditures | $6.8 billion |
| Minority students | 22.3% |
| Children in poverty | 16% |
| Students with disabilities | 16% |
| English-language learners | 1.6% |
Summary of Grades
Missouri scores at or above average in two of the four graded policy categories in Quality Counts.
In the area of standards and accountability, Missouri falls far short of average, ranking among the last states in the nation. In English and mathematics, the state lacks standards that are clear, specific, and grounded in content according to American Federation of Teachers. In addition, Missouri does not have assessments aligned with its standards in science and social studies nor does it sanction or provide assistance to all low-performing schools.
The state fares better on teacher quality. It does particularly well on indicators related to accountability for teacher quality. Missouri includes teacher-qualification data on school report cards and is one of only 14 states that hold teacher education programs accountable for the classroom success of their graduates.
Missouri does even better on school climate, ranking in the top group of states in this category. Missouri includes school safety information on its school report cards and has a law in place to enforce penalties for incidents of school violence. The state also has a relatively strong charter school law as rated by the Center for Education Reform.
Missouri earns an average grade in resource equity. Despite a better-than-average wealth-neutrality score, its wealthier districts still tend to have higher per-pupil funding levels than do poorer districts.
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Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
