Missouri is moving forward with a new A-F School and District Grading Framework designed to give parents and the public a simplified picture of academic performance. 

On Sept. 15, the Missouri State Board of Education approved the proposed framework, allowing the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to continue technical development and simulations using school and district data. The framework is not yet final, and no public grades have been released. 

The proposed system would provide an annual letter grade for eligible schools and districts and would be separate from Missouri’s existing MSIP 6 accreditation system. 

Grades would be calculated primarily from academic achievement and student growth, with high schools also including graduation and Success Ready Graduate measures. For K-8 schools, the proposed calculation is 38% achievement, 33% value-added growth, and 29% growth toward proficiency. High schools would be based on 28% achievement, 28% value-added growth, 22% Success Ready measures, and 22% graduation. The proposed scale ranges from an A at 89–100% to an F below 50%.

Accountability and transparency are important. Parents and communities deserve understandable information about how their schools are performing. The concern is whether one letter can accurately represent the quality and effectiveness of an entire school. Consider a comparison outside of education. 

Imagine two equally skilled and hardworking dentists. One practices in an economically disadvantaged community where many patients consume more sugary foods, have less consistent oral-health routines, and may have less access to preventive care. The other practices in an affluent community where patients generally have healthier diets, regularly brush and floss, and receive consistent preventive care. 

If we simply measured the number of cavities among their patients and assigned each dentist an A-F grade, would that grade really tell us which dentist was doing a better job? The first dentist could be doing exceptional work and making tremendous improvements in the health of patients while still having worse overall outcomes because of circumstances largely outside the dentist’s control.

Schools face a similar challenge. Students arrive at school with different experiences, resources, needs and levels of support. That does not excuse poor performance or eliminate the need for accountability. It does, however, demonstrate why a single letter grade deserves careful scrutiny. 

A single grade may be easy to understand, but easy to understand does not necessarily mean it tells the whole story. Missouri educators have also raised concerns about adding another accountability system on top of MSIP 6, ensuring districts have adequate time to verify data, protecting instructional time, and determining how socioeconomic factors may influence school grades.

DESE will now develop technical documentation, run simulations using actual school and district data, share results with superintendents, gather feedback, and continue refining the framework. State Board members have indicated that changes can still be made as concerns emerge during the simulation and review process.

For Cassville R-IV, our focus will not change. 

We will continue concentrating on student achievement, academic growth, graduation, college and career readiness, and providing a safe and supportive environment for every student. We support meaningful accountability and will use reliable data to identify both our successes and areas needing improvement. 

At the same time, our community should understand that when A-F grades eventually arrive, a letter grade will be one piece of information; not the complete measure of a school, its students, its staff or the progress being made within its classrooms.

Merlyn Johnson is the superintendent of the Cassville school district. He may be reached at [email protected].