KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Board of Education announced on Tuesday that it will take no action on the Kansas City, Mo. School District’s accreditation classification.
Dr. Stephen Green was notified last month that despite improved test scores, the Kansas City Public Schools would not receive provisional accreditation.
On Monday, the board reviewed and then reiterated its original decision, and told district leaders that it wants to see three years of annual performance reports before it will determine if the improvement is a trend.
This past year the district earned more than 40 percent more points on the district’s report card. But in September, Chris L. Nicastro, Commissioner of Education, said that there is a concern that many students are still struggling and while the district has shown some progress, some 70 percent of students in all four subject areas are not scoring proficiently.
“We were pleased to see the progress students made in Kansas City schools this year in science and math. But we must do what we believe is in the best interests of the children,” Nicastro stated in a September release.
Nicastro also stated that one year of district performance is not sufficient to determine a positive trend. The district’s advances in its Annual Performance Report were tied back to gains made from 2011 and 2012 school years where the district produced “extremely low results.”
Related link: State Board of Educations hears update on long-term plan for unaccredited districts, with research focused on KC.
