Just like students, Missouri school districts receive grades. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the 2016 Annual Performance Report for Missouri school districts Monday.
Each K-12 district receives points in five different categories: academic achievement, subgroup achievement, college and career readiness, attendance and graduation rates.
The points are added together and divided by 140, the total amount of points possible, creating a final percentage that is used to measure each school district's performance.
The Jefferson City Public School District received an overall score of 76 percent, which is more than a 5 percent increase from 2015. The Columbia Public School District improved from 84 percent in 2015 to nearly 87 percent in 2016.
“Overall performance improved from 2015 to 2016, it’s not something that we are pleased and happy and content with," said Amy Berendzen, the director of school and public relations for Jefferson City Public Schools. "It’s an ongoing process to continually improve and be better in ensuring kids learn.”
Berendzen said JCPS implemented a new program at the beginning of the 2015 school year which has helped improve the district’s score.
“I think that the reports show that we are headed in the right direction in Missouri," said Sarah Potter, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Communications Coordinator. "I don’t think we are fully there but it’s exciting to see school districts making progress.”
In order to be fully accredited in Missouri, you must receive at least 70 percent.
“We’re really proud of our school districts and charter schools because we did find that 98% of them are fully accredited," Potter said. "That’s really exciting to see and that means we’re preparing students for college, for career, for life after high school graduation.”