The Missouri Annual Performance Reports

<p><a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/g/FabioBalbi">Fabio Balbi / Shutterstock</a></p>

Accountability | November 4, 2019

By Susan Pendergrass | Read Time 1 min

Although the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recently changed the Annual Performance Reports (APRs) they issue to public school districts and schools, DESE has issued the reports for many years. APRs assign schools and districts point for their performance across five areas: academic performance, subgroup academic performance, attendance, college and career readiness, and high school graduation.

But how well do those points reflect school performance? This report (available at the link below) correlates APR points per category to the underlying data used to calculate the points. And not surprisingly, the relationships are not that strong. Reporting on school performance is a central duty of state education agencies, and DESE’s effort leaves substantial room for improvement.

About the Author

Susan Pendergrass

Before joining the Show-Me Institute, Susan Pendergrass was Vice President of Research and Evaluation for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, where she oversaw data collection and analysis and carried out a rigorous research program. Susan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, with a concentration in Finance, at the University of Colorado in 1983. She earned her Masters in Business Administration at George Washington University, with a concentration in Finance (1992) and a doctorate in public policy from George Mason University, with a concentration in social policy (2002). Susan began researching charter schools with her dissertation on the competitive effects of Massachusetts charter schools. Since then, she has conducted numerous studies on the fiscal impact of school choice legislation. Susan has also taught quantitative methods courses at the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, at Johns Hopkins University, and at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. Prior to coming to the National Alliance, Susan was a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education during the Bush administration and a senior research scientist at the National Center for Education Statistics during the Obama administration.

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