ST. LOUIS - Report cards are in for Missouri schools, and the numbers look mostly good for St. Louis area school districts.
The Annual Performance Report looks at factors like college readiness, attendance, and overall academic performance. All schools within the St. Louis region scored within accreditation range, and more than half scored above a 95%.
Schools need a 70% or above for standard “accreditation.” This year, Riverview Gardens and University City are on the cusp: it could still be good news for Riverview Gardens though, which was unaccredited in 2014.
Anything between 50 and 70 percent is in range for “provisional accreditation.” This year, that includes St. Louis City, Ferguson-Florissant, and Normandy districts.
SLPS celebrated regaining their full accreditation this year, but now they’re down from almost 75%.
It’s been a tumultuous year for Ferguson-Florissant schools, but they say they’re already thinking of getting ahead.
"While I am pleased that we remain fully accredited, I am not satisfied with the rate of change. Significant change takes time and the results of our combined efforts will take some time to become evident," Dr. Joseph Davis, Superintendent, said in a statement. "I want more for our students now. We continue to evaluate our practices and take action based on our findings for the sake of all students."
They also say that in some cases, a show of weakness could actually be seen as a sign of improvement.
“Ferguson-Florissant School District is committed to increasing access to post-secondary education, so all of our juniors take the ACT. This results in a lower average score than some districts where only higher performing students take the test,” a district representative explained in a statement. “Our advanced placement points dipped due to decreased participation and performance.”
In Normandy, even a low score can still be good news: their score is up from about 54% last year, and 30.4% the year prior—a sign of consistent improvement.
The APR scores are not the only factors in considering school accreditation. Previous years, as well as external factors, are considered as well.
Here are the school districts based on percentage points earned and as compared to 2016:
100:
Sunrise Up from 88.8
Orchard Farm Up from 99.3
Pattonville Up from 94.6
99.3:
Fort Zumwalt
Francis Howell
Brentwood Down from 100
98.6
Valley Park
Jefferson Co: Up from 93.6
Rockwood Up from 98.2
Kirkwood Down from 99.3
Parkway Up from 98.2
Clayton
98.2:
Festus Down from 98.9
Lindbergh Down from 98.9
98.1
Fox Up from 96.1
Ladue
97.5
Wentzville Up from 97.1
Maplewood Up from 96.1
Webster Groves
96.4 - Affton Down rom 96.8
96.1
Windsor
Bayless Down from 97.9
95.4 - Hancock Place Up from 91.4
93.2 - Crystal City Up from 86.8
92.1
Northwest
Mehlville Up from 91.4
91.1 - St. Charles Down from 91.4
90.7 – Dunklin Up from 86.1
90.4 – Grandview Up from 86.8
89.3 – Hillsboro Down from 91.1
87.1 - De Soto Up from 84.6
85 - Hazelwood Down from 86.1
80.4 - Jennings
77.9 - Rittenour Up from 71.4
70.7 - Riverview Gardens Down from 74.6
70 - University City Down from 72.5
68.2 - St. Louis City Down from 74.6
67.1 - Ferguson-Florissant Down from 70.4
62.5 - Normandy – 62.5 Up from 54.6
