Holden unveils report cards for Missouri school systems

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Report cards for every school in Missouri are now available to the public on the Internet.

The school accountability report cards are a result of a 2001 law requiring accountability measures such as test scores, teacher experience levels and average spending per student to be made available to the public.

"I believe this is an important step forward in providing vital statistics about our public schools to parents, teachers, school board members, legislators, the news media and taxpayers," Gov. Bob Holden said in a statement Tuesday.

The school reports also include information about disciplinary actions, including suspension and expulsion rates, and the percentage of teachers who hold regular, temporary or substitute teaching certificates.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education also released a state-level report for the 2001-2002 school year, which showed a slight decline in school enrollment and the high school drop out rate.

ON THE NET

Report cards: dese.state.mo.us/schooldata