House endorses bill revising standards on tests

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The House gave initial approval Wednesday to legislation lowering the standards that Missouri students must reach to be judged "proficient" on state standardized exams.

The bill would set proficiency benchmarks that are in line with -- but no higher than -- the standards used by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Supporters say the change would make it easier to measure Missouri students against schoolchildren in other states and help more schools meet performance standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Currently, Missouri's definition of "proficient" applies to students who actually perform ahead of their grade levels on the tests.

Given such a relatively high standard, about half of Missouri schools were labeled as failing to show "adequate yearly progress" toward the proficiency goals established in the federal law. The designation could result in additional federal requirements for schools remaining on the list for several years.

Definition revision

The bill by Rep. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, would redefine "proficient" to equal the grade-level performance standards under the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The National Assessment, in use for 35 years, tests samples of public and private school students in fourth, eighth and 12th grades to gauge the nation's academic performance.

Cunningham's bill, which needs a final House vote before moving to the Senate, was amended Wednesday to allow school boards in unspecified "metropolitan" areas to require students to attend school through 17.

Statewide, the compulsory attendance age would remain at 16.

Also adopted was an amendment requiring school districts to consult sex offender registries when setting school bus routes.

Yet another provision tweaks the school funding formula by eliminating the option for school districts to count their highest summer school enrollment during a three-year period.

Some legislators said the current method allows districts to get more state money than to serve students. The bill would require all school districts to use the same year's enrollment data.

Incentives discussed

The House also debated, but did not vote on, a bill that would allow school districts to offer incentives for teaching hard-to-fill subjects, such as math or science, or for undertaking difficult tasks such as large classes.

Teachers could have to agree to teach for up to three years in exchange for the incentives.

The bill would revise a current state law requiring every school board to adopt an annual salary schedule "applicable to all teachers."

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On the Net:

Education bills are HB1040 and HB1041.

Missouri Legislature: http://www.moga.state.mo.us