The Missouri State Board of Education has approved a three-year innovation waiver for 20 public school districts, including Affton School District, that will support the creation of a more meaningful way to measure student learning, demonstrate individual student growth, and influence future success for all Missouri students.
Missouri’s Assistant Commissioner of Education Lisa Sireno addressed the board on Aug. 15, on behalf of the Success-Ready Students Network. The SRSN includes 20 System Design Zone public school districts from across the state, which will now use growth-based assessments to replace MAP as the sole state measure of academic achievement. The districts will use information from growth-based assessments to design an accountability system that supports students in being high school, college, career, and workplace ready. These districts will continue to administer the MAP test unless and until a federal waiver request is approved by the United States Department of Education in the future. DESE and the SRSN will now work together to propose this federal waiver.
What is a System Design Zone
System Design Zone districts in the Success-Ready Students Network have been recognized as educational leaders in the state of Missouri.
System Design Zone districts who are part of the waiver and help lead the work of the SRSN are: 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.
The districts have asked for exemptions from specific requirements related to improving student readiness for employment, higher education, career and technical education, or any career and job training, and improving professional learning for teachers.
During the three-year period, System Design Zone districts will replace the existing Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) 6 Annual Performance Report with an alternative way of measuring district success and develop an alternative way to measure student growth and achievement. Districts will also engage students in acquiring Market Value Assets (MVA) to help them prepare for success in college, career, and life after graduation. MVA’s focus on real world learning experiences and include internships, industry-recognized certifications, entrepreneurship, and college credit programs.
The work of the System Design Zone districts in the Success-Ready Students Network will begin this fall and continue through the 2025-26 school year. Some of the key components of a new measurement system would include:
Measuring student growth multiple times throughout the school year
Providing immediate, timely feedback for the student, teacher, and families
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.