Missouri officials are considering sweeping accreditation changes for the state’s public schools that would add new statewide tests and require districts to better monitor how their graduates fare in college.
The new version of the Missouri School Improvement Program would focus solely on how students perform academically. The state would no longer take into account such factors as the ratios of students to teachers and whether districts offer certain courses, such as art and physical education. Districts also would be reviewed annually instead of every five years.
The state board of education gave initial approval to the plan, but the changes have raised some fears that ratios of students to staff would increase and that art and music would be overlooked.
