School district leaders in the Success-Ready Students Network made a presentation to the Missouri State Board of Education on June 6, requesting board approval for a three-year waiver that will support the creation of a more meaningful way to measure learning, demonstrate individual student growth and influence future success for Missouri students.
Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District is proud to join this network of 20 “System Design Zone” public school districts from across the state that are requesting to pilot an alternative, growth-based student assessment to replace the MAP test, and ultimately implement a better accountability system as well.
WATCH: Missouri State Board of Education Meeting
The Success-Ready Students Workgroup was commissioned by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2022, and this group’s recommendations led to creation of the Success-Ready Students Network, which has been working in collaboration with DESE to create the Demonstration Project that was presented to the state board on June 6. The Demonstration Project includes a School Innovation Waiver request under Missouri Revised Statutes, Chapter 161.214, and is based on the Missouri definition for competency-based learning, to create a model and approach that can ultimately benefit students throughout the state.
"Students are at the center of this work," said Dr. Mike Fulton, Success-Ready Students Network facilitator. "We want to focus on learning, and make sure that this work honors all children in Missouri, developing approaches that meet all of their needs to become high school, college, career and workplace ready."
The current state assessment is designed to provide system-level feedback, and the accountability system, MSIP 6, measures school district performance using lagging indicators. The goal of the Success-Ready Students Network is to shift to better tools that provide ongoing feedback to students, teachers and parents, and support continuous improvement for school districts.
“This work brings real-world learning to all classrooms in Missouri — to all kids, in all aspects, in all corners of our state," said Jenny Ulrich, superintendent of Lonedell R-14 School District. "It engages each student as part of the process through interim assessments several times a year, versus a one-time test. This is a shift that allows deeper engagement of students in their own learning journey, and that is a huge key. In order to address these needs and these purposes, we need new tools. We are asking for the ability to use leading indicators versus lagging indicators. We would like to have data in real-time to help drive instructional decisions for our kids, which in turn engages students in their own learning journey. And that’s what we’re asking for our kids.”
The Missouri State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the Demonstration Project with Waiver Request in August. If approved, the work of the System Design Zone districts in the Success-Ready Students Network would begin this fall and continue through the 2025-26 school year.
Dr. Flieg shared that as public school educators, we know that Missouri MAP test data does not provide a timely, transparent reflection of student learning that students, parents and teachers can understand. It does not provide teachers with what they need to effectively inform instruction, and it limits instruction by focusing on compliance, rather than learning. The current statewide tests are given in the spring semester, and those scores are only received by educators the following school year, after the student has moved on to the next grade level.
“Much of the work of the SRSN aligns with our current practices, and we have many of these systems in place, such as through-year testing and a focus on college, career and workplace readiness, but these practices are not currently being recognized by the state in terms of accountability,” she said. “Our district began NWEA testing as a pilot project a few years ago, and this growth-based, through-year assessment quickly grew as teachers began to share and discuss the real-time data they were receiving on students’ growth and progress. This allows teachers to adjust instruction to meet the needs of their students throughout the year. This type of assessment is more individualized and allows our teachers to understand what our students need to be empowered in their own learning. We are excited to move forward with our partner districts in building new ways of thinking about assessment, accountability, and individualized learning.”
Some of the key components of a new measurement system would include:
Measuring student growth multiple times throughout the school year
Immediate, timely feedback for the student, teacher and parents
Student awareness of where they are and engagement in setting future goals
Active student learning using different pathways and varied pacing
Student progress based on evidence of mastery, not seat time
Student engagement in real-world learning experiences that support high school, college, career and workplace readiness
What is the Success-Ready Students Network?
The Success-Ready Students Network is a diverse group of 59 Missouri school districts, four universities and 14 state and regional education organizations, working in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Together, they are designing a better way for each student to engage in meaningful learning, demonstrate individual growth and prepare for future success.
School districts in the network serve approximately 30 percent of all Missouri students in grades K-12.
This work has been made possible so far thanks to financial support from the Kauffman Foundation. Looking ahead, the SRSN has submitted a grant proposal to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to secure funding to continue supporting this important work.
For more information about the Success-Ready Students Network, please visit srsnmo.org.
What is a System Design Zone?
System Design Zone districts in the Success-Ready Students Network have been recognized as leaders in the state of Missouri.
System Design Zone districts will lead the work and include Affton, Branson, Center, Confluence Academy, Fayette, Lebanon, Lee’s Summit, Lewis County, Liberty, Lindbergh, Lonedell, Mehlville, Neosho, Ozark, Parkway, Pattonville, Raymore-Peculiar, Ritenour, Ste. Genevieve and Shell Knob.