ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT FOR ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS ISSUED BY STATE
Superintendent says district is “back on track” towards accreditation

St. Louis – The St. Louis Public Schools met five accreditation standards according to the Annual Performance Reports (APR) released today by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The five met standards include:

MAP test results in Grades 3 through 5 in Mathematics;
MAP test results in Grades 3 through 5 in Communication Arts;
Advanced courses;
Career education courses; and,
Career education placement.

“While St. Louis is not where it needs to be in educating all students, this report shows that we are back on track towards accreditation,” said Dr. Diana Bourisaw, Superintendent. “Our performance report for 2006, which reflects information from the 2005/2006 school year, would have likely been considerably worse if our current staff had not validated data that had been sent over the past several years,” she said.

For example, the District would not have met the standard for career education courses based on data that had previously been submitted to DESE as previous reports failed to include courses offered at Clyde C. Miller Career Academy and the St. Louis Public School’s Construction Careers Center.

“The administration of the St. Louis Public Schools has worked hard since this summer to evaluate the challenges related to accreditation and to validate the district’s data from previous years. We appreciate their cooperation and willingness to work with the Department to focus on the district’s needs,” said Stan Johnson, assistant commissioner of DESE’s Division of School Improvement.

The annual report also reveals that St. Louis Public Schools have made progress in five key areas, including:

MAP test results in Grades 6 through 8 in Mathematics (20 progress points);
MAP test results in Grades 6 through 8 in Communication Arts (10 progress points);
MAP test results in Grades 9 through 11 in Communication Arts (10 progress points);
The percent of graduates scoring at or above the national average on the ACT (one progress point); and,
The graduation rate (2 progress points).

“We are pleased to have made additional progress in these areas,” Dr. Bourisaw said. “The increase in the number of students testing at the proficient or advanced levels is a good sign for our incoming high school students, and the increase in high school students who scored well in Communication Arts is notable for a district that has struggled to improve achievement at the high school level,” she said.

This year’s APR for St. Louis does not yet have performance data for the percent of graduates who enter college. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, at the request of the District, is waiting for additional data to be submitted by the District.