Establishes new accountability measures for public schools, charter schools, school districts, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The State Board of Education may assign duties specified in the act to DESE or contract with a third party under state law. By July 15 of each year, the State Board of Education shall provide a confidential version of the school accountability report cards to each school district, public school, and charter school. Within 36 hours of the delivery of the embargoed report cards, the report cards shall be published on the DESE website in a clear and easily accessible location, and by August 15 of each year, the report cards shall be published in a clear and easily accessible location on each school or district website.

The State Board of Education shall assign each school district, public school, and charter school a letter grade rating of A-F based on a 0-100 scale, where an "A" rating represents excellent student outcomes, a "B" rating represents more than satisfactory outcomes, a "C" rating represents satisfactory outcomes, a "D" rating represents less than satisfactory outcomes, and an "F" rating represents a failure to produce adequate outcomes.

Each public school and public charter school shall earn a school rating and may be eligible to earn a performance-based funding award based upon student performance on the state-mandated annual summative assessments. A school district, public school, or charter school that does not test at least 95% of its students in the annual assessments shall have its rating lowered by one level.

The "Show Me Success Program" is created to provide financial awards to schools that experience high student performance. The program includes a "Success Ready Graduate" measure for high schools. If funds are available, public schools and charter schools shall receive $100 per student if the school is in the top 5% of student performance statewide under criteria established by the State Board of Education. A school may earn $50 per student if the school is in the top 10% but below the top 5% of student performance statewide. These rewards shall begin after the 2026-27 state-mandated annual summative assessment and shall be based on the results of such assessment. Funds shall be used for nonrecurring bonuses to school faculty and classroom staff.

DESE shall use a criteria-referenced growth measure, called "growth to proficiency", in addition to the existing normative value-added growth measure. Growth to proficiency shall evaluate for each student with two consecutive years of Missouri Assessment Program performance levels whether that student has made sufficient academic progress to put such student on a trajectory to reach grade-level proficiency within three years or by 10th grade, whichever comes first.

The act describes the factors that shall be used in determining a school's or a school district's A-F rating. These factors include students' academic achievement status, academic growth, and, for high schools, the four-year graduation rate and a success ready graduate measure to be calculated by DESE based upon factors including students' achievement of Advanced Placement scores of 3 or higher, International Baccalaureate scores of 4 or higher, dual enrollment course completions with a "C" grade or higher, and career and technical education certificates, as provided in the act. For schools serving students in kindergarten through 8th grade, academic achievement level shall represent 40% of the rating, value-added growth shall represent 30% of the rating, and growth to proficiency shall represent 30% of the rating. For high schools, academic achievement level shall represent 25% of the rating, value-added growth shall represent 25% of the rating, growth to proficiency shall represent 25% of the rating, the success ready graduate measure shall represent 15% of the rating, and the student four-year graduation rate shall represent 10% percent of the rating.

School districts, public schools, and charter schools shall also report, for high schools, the number of graduates who, within six months of graduation, attend postsecondary education or training programs, serve in the military or in national or community service, or are employed in a living-wage career as determined by a governmental agency or non-governmental organization with expertise in living-wage calculation.

The State Board of Education shall additionally develop an annual accountability report card for DESE for the purpose of providing information about DESE's performance in supporting districts and schools in producing positive outcomes for students. This report card shall consider factors specified in the act, such as the school and district ratings, student proficiency on the statewide assessments, and an anonymous annual survey of all leaders of Missouri local educational agencies regarding their satisfaction with DESE's efficacy and timeliness of support and communication.

The A-F grading scale for schools shall automatically increase to ensure rigor in the calculation such that when success is achieved, the following school year, expectations are raised so performance does not stagnate. Specifically, when 65% percent of schools earn an A or a B, the following school year, the school grading scale shall increase by five percentage points to earn an A, B, C, and D. OLIVIA SHANNON