In 2024, the Mehlville School District saw more students scoring advanced or proficient on Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests across almost all grade levels and subjects.
The district showed the most improvement in middle school math, high school government and seventh-grade English language arts.
District-wide improvements in 2024:
- English language arts scores grew by 3.77 percentage points, with 51.07 percent of students testing advanced or proficient in 2024.
- Math scores grew by 6.87 percentage points, with 44.57 percent of students testing advanced or proficient in 2024.
- Social studies scores grew by 10.14 percentage points, with 53.14 percent of students testing advanced or proficient in 2024.
- Science scores grew by 0.33 percentage points, with 42.93 percent of students testing advanced or proficient in 2024.
“I’m proud of our teachers and instructional leaders for their hard work in helping our students achieve at high levels,” said Dr. Jeff Haug, Superintendent of Schools. “We’ve been focusing on professional learning communities to help ensure that all students receive the best instruction. Our shared priority is on increasing student engagement and academic rigor.”
Professional Learning Communities are groups of educators who meet regularly to discuss academic achievement data, learning standards and high-yield instructional strategies. These groups of teachers also identify which students might benefit from academic interventions.
The district would not be seeing this success without the support of the community, Dr. Haug said. Over the past 10 years, the community has invested in the schools through several propositions, most recently through the passage of Prop E. Prop E is helping the district retain as well as recruit high-quality teachers and support staff. That community investment is directly benefiting our 10,000 students, Dr. Haug said.
“The hard work by our teachers and staff is paying off,” Dr. Haug said. “I am excited that we are on track for continued improvements in academic achievement.”
>> Watch the presentation to the Mehlville Board of Education on MAP test results.
>> See the MAP test report to the Board of Education.
MAP scores are one way the Mehlville School District measures student success. MAP tests are required in Missouri public schools and measure how well Missouri students are learning the skills and knowledge outlined in the Missouri Learning Standards. Students get scores that place them in one of four performance levels: Advanced, Proficient, Basic and Below Basic.
Mehlville shows dramatic improvement in Annual Performance Report scores
Mehlville School District also saw its Annual Performance Report score jump to 93.2 percent. This places Mehlville’s score among the top 5 percent of school districts in the state.
Annual Performance Reports, published by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provides data on the individual performance of local education agencies. The APR score is based on the standards and indicators in the Missouri School Improvement Program. APR scores are used by the Missouri State Board of Education to determine accreditation status. Mehlville School District is fully accredited.
Mehlville School District had APR scores of 79.4 percent in 2022 and 77.9 percent in 2023. The jump in 2024 scores validates the district’s efforts to improve academic performance for its students.
“With our community’s support, Mehlville School District continues to be on the rise,” Dr. Haug said. “I am proud of the work our teachers and staff do every day to empower and support our students.”
A commitment to meaningful accountability
While Mehlville School District staff have worked hard to improve both their MAP scores and APR score, the district remains forward-thinking when it comes to accountability and student assessment.
Mehlville School District is one of 20 districts in Missouri working to design a better way to measure student success. This group, the Success-Ready Students Network, is piloting more accountable measures of each student’s success in our schools beyond standardized testing.
While the current APR provides performance scores for most school district/charter schools, the Success-Ready Students Network (SRSN) has launched an alternate APR for 20 proactive school district/charter schools. As a member of this network, Mehlville School District has published a Success-Ready Students Dashboard, which goes beyond standardized testing. This alternate model, approved by the State Board of Education, seeks to align assessment and accountability to promote personalizing learning and real-world learning opportunities in ways that support every student in being high school, college, career and workplace ready.
Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger has expressed her support for the 20 districts participating in the network.
“They are leading the way, exploring competency-based learning models thinking about how best to expand real-world learning experiences for students while clearly demonstrating a student’s readiness for their next step after graduation,” Commissioner Eslinger said. “We look forward to this ongoing collaboration.”