5 Key Things to Remember As You Interpret the 2022 APR Scores

By: Ashley donaldson burle

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the latest Annual Performance Report (APR) scores—a quantified measure of performance and progress towards the Missouri Learning Standards—for local education agencies (LEAs) and schools. APR scores are part of Missouri’s school accountability plan, meant to be a tool to understand how schools are operating and determine the educational impact they are having on students. APR scores are also used to determine LEA accreditation classifications.

This year’s APR scores were highly anticipated as they are the first release under the newest iteration of the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) 6. MSIP 6 is composed of several metrics that fall broadly under two sections—Performance and Continuous Improvement. Generally, Performance is worth 70% of an LEA’s score while Continuous Improvement is worth 30%. For a full breakdown of MSIP 6 and changes from MSIP 5, check out our brief on Missouri’s School Accountability Plan.

The new APR scores downgrade most districts in the state indicating the scores may be more rigorous than under previous MSIP iterations. The median score for districts under the new system is 77% (down from 96% in 2018). Additionally, while accreditation cannot be lowered based solely on the 2022 APR scores, more than 100 districts would be considered provisionally accredited based on new APR data (previously this number was less than 10). In this blog, we provide five key things to remember as you interpret the 2022 APR score data.

1. The 2022 APR scores serve as a benchmark and are not comparable to previous APR scores. MSIP 6 has different accountability criteria and weighting than the previous system, so 2022 APR scores cannot be compared to previous APR scores. This is similar to when tests are changed to align with new standards—scores on the old and new tests are not comparable. The 2022 APR scores serve as our point of reference moving forward.

2. The 2022 APR scores use only one year of outcome data to calculate Performance indicators. This affects the APR scores in two key areas:

Achievement Status: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on academic performance as demonstrated by recent NAEP and MAP results. Lower test scores will be reflected in LEAs achievement status points without any additional years to potentially mitigate it.

Achievement Growth: The Missouri Growth Model typically takes two prior years of MAP scores into account to determine students’ growth. The growth calculations for the 2022 APR use 2021 data as a baseline, meaning only one prior year is used to measure students’ growth in the 2022 APR scores. Using multiple years to inform the Growth Model helps to provide a clearer picture of student growth.

Starting with the 2024 APR scores, Performance indicators will be calculated using three years of data. Having more data points will help to provide a more comprehensive picture of student performance.

3. Progress points—awarded for year-over-year changes in accountability metrics—are not calculated in the 2022 APR scores. Because the 2022 data is needed to establish a baseline for future Progress calculations, no Progress points are awarded this year.

4. LEAs were not evaluated for all indicators under Continuous Improvement in the 2022 APR scores. As part of the transition period, every LEA automatically received full points for the Improvement Planning and Climate and Culture Survey portions of the APR this year. Additionally, the LEA Response to Standards portion of Improvement Planning was not assessed this year. Both will be fully implemented and incorporated into the 2024 APR scores.

5. The 2022 APR score alone cannot result in a decline in LEA classification. To allow LEAs to transition to accountability under MSIP 6, LEA accreditation classifications will not be lowered due to APR performance until 2024.