Concern shared over letter grades for schools

By Murray Bishoff Special to the Cassville Democrat

Purdy school board members took a closer look at the start of the 2026-2027 year at their September meeting, and forecasts of how changes at the state level may impact the district in the coming months. 

Superintendent Travis Graham shared the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s PowerPoint presentation on Gov. Mike Kehoe’s proposed letter grade evaluation for every school district. The plan, released in late August, confirms that DESE will make its assessment based on data already collected, giving districts no opportunity to clarify or improve any perceived issues. The State Board of Education approved the framework for the plan on Sept. 15.

Challenging the letter grade plan

New elements not previously included in past evaluations include literacy, which was not defined, and “growth to proficiency” over two consecutive years toward hitting that mark in the third year. 

The grade card for eighth grade to kindergarten would come from math, science, and English language arts, including literacy, comprising 38 percent of the score. “Value-added growth” would assess English language arts, math, and science, making up 33 percent of the score. The rest would come from growth-to-proficiency. For high school, DESE would tally academic achievement in English language arts, math and science for 29 percent of the score, then look at value-added growth in the same subjects for another 29 percent. Making up the rest of the assessment would be a high school’s four-year graduation rate and success-ready measurements, looking at career planning, college preparation and technical school certification. 

The district would get a final grade based on these same measures across all class levels. 

DESE anticipated a first look at the grade card assessment, based on school data from the 2024-25 year, would come out this fall, but not include data on literacy. All elements would be included in the letter grade issued one year from now. 

Graham shared a joint assessment developed by other public school superintendents that questioned whether all schools should receive a grade card. He wondered how DESE planned to fairly use its growth-to-proficiency standard on students who already scored at a proficient level. The superintendents further asked if the framework should be adjusted for demographic characteristics. Those decisions apparently had not yet been made. Graham noted that of the 16 states that have employed a letter grade assessment, six had paused the process and five had thrown out the plan altogether. 

The Missouri School Improvement Program Level 6 (MISP 6), now in use by DESE, intentionally connects school accountability and accreditation, Graham observed. “An A-F rating is fundamentally an accountability/reporting device,” he noted. However, state law requires the State Board to “establish requirements for the schools within each classification and formulate rules governing the inspection and accreditation of schools preparatory to classification.” He noted that was the case under MSIP 6, which is much different than issuing a new letter grade every year for school districts. 

With the public in danger of remembering only the letter grade assessment, because of its simplicity, Graham joined other school leaders in asking what safeguards were being put in place to prevent the ordinary parent from viewing the letter grade as accreditation. 

Federal funding concerns

Graham further noted the Trump administration, through the Federal Communications Commission, has announced plans to review federal funding for schools, narrowing its scope. E-Rate, a federal program, has been very important to districts like Purdy’s in covering costs for internet and Wi-Fi service throughout the district buildings. Public comment is open until Oct. 13. 

In board action, Ashley Terry was hired to serve as the supervising registered nurse. In extra duty assignments, Rebecca Botts will sponsor the National English Honor Society. Clara Lindsay will oversee the color guard. 

The board added a teacher to the substitute list. 

Reports

Board members also approved the special education local compliance plan as presented by Darcy Brown. She reported the district presently has six preschoolers on individual education programs, 25 in elementary grades, 14 in the middle school, and 36 in grades 7 and higher. A total of 95 students receive therapy from speech to vision, mobility, occupational and physical therapies. 

Julie Dalton, elementary principal, reported on beginning-of-school assessments for all students, identifying deficits so that corrective steps could be taken. Representatives from Step Up For Students were due on Sept. 24 to work with teachers on standards-based grading and proficiency scales. A team from the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support program planned a visit to provide staff and reading specialists on progress with implementing the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling program. 

Stephanie Heman, the new high school principal, shared a long list of extracurricular and athletic events plus student club activities. She discussed her plans to showcase a teacher weekly. 

Graham reviewed progress in recovering from the April 28 hailstorm that damaged most of the district building roofs. “We are coordinating with insurance to get the TPO [thermoplastic polyolefin] membrane roofs replaced per insurance recommendation,” Graham said. With two bids pending, a contractor has not yet been hired.

In the coming months, state lawmakers will begin filing proposed legislation for the coming session of the General Assembly. Graham pledged to update the board as priorities take shape. 

The board will next meet on Oct. 15.