EXECUTIVE ORDER 26-01

WHEREAS, Missouri families, educators, employers, and taxpayers deserve clear and accessible information about the academic performance and growth of every public school, and public charter school in this state; and

WHEREAS, section 160.522, RSMo, requires the development and publication of school accountability grade cards for each public school district, public school, and public charter school, and federal law likewise requires transparent reporting of student achievement, growth, graduation, and other indicators; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri Constitution vests the supervision of instruction in the public schools in the State Board of Education, and state law charges the State Board of Education with formulating policies for the guidance of the Commissioner of Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”), and with classifying and accrediting the public schools of this state; and

WHEREAS, families and community members often find current accountability reports difficult to interpret, making it hard to understand whether a school is helping students reach proficiency, accelerate learning growth, and graduate ready for success in college, career, or service; and

WHEREAS, an A–F grade card system, grounded primarily in academic performance and growth, can provide families and communities with a simple, comparable, and rigorous picture of school quality while maintaining alignment with state and federal law; and

WHEREAS, the State of Missouri has made significant investments in early literacy, STEM, workforce readiness, and high-quality school options, and those investments should be matched by a transparent accountability system that rewards excellent schools, highlights schools with exceptional growth, and shines a light on schools in need of urgent improvement; and

WHEREAS, a clear and rigorous A–F grade card system will help ensure that more Missouri students attend schools rated highly for academic achievement and growth and will help align state, local, and philanthropic resources to expand effective schools and strengthen those that are struggling.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MIKE KEHOE, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Missouri, hereby establish a transparent A–F school grade card system to empower Missouri families. I order the State Board of Education to direct the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop, for the Board's consideration and adoption, an annual A-F school and district grading framework.

  1. Development of an A–F School Grading Framework

    The State Board of Education is hereby requested to direct DESE to develop, for the Board's consideration and adoption, an annual A–F school and district grading framework that:

    1. Assigns to each public school district, public school, and public charter school an overall rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on a 0–100 point scale, with the following descriptors:
      1. “A” – producing excellent student outcomes;
      2. “B” – producing more than satisfactory student outcomes;
      3. “C” – producing satisfactory student outcomes;
      4. “D” – producing less than satisfactory student outcomes; and
      5. “F” – failing to produce adequate student outcomes.
    2. Provides that any public school district, public school, or public charter school that does not test at least ninety-five percent (95%) of its students on required state assessments shall have its rating lowered by one letter grade.
    3. Allows for private schools to have the choice to opt-in to the letter grading framework to highlight their school performance by opting in to the state assessment.

    The A–F framework submitted to the State Board shall, at a minimum, include the following components:

    1. A “growth to proficiency” measure that evaluates, for each student with two consecutive years of Missouri Assessment Program performance levels, whether that student is on a trajectory to reach grade-level proficiency within three years in addition to existing normative value-added growth measures.
    2. Elementary and middle schools (K–8). For K–8 schools, the rating shall be based entirely on overall student academic achievement with the majority based on growth measures, including proficiency in English language arts, literacy, mathematics, and science as measured across the following categories:
      1. academic achievement level;
      2. value-added growth;
      3. growth toward proficiency.
    3. High schools (9–12). For high schools, the rating shall be based on overall student academic achievement, including proficiency in English language arts, mathematics, and science, as measured across the following categories:
      1. academic achievement level;
      2. value-added growth;
      3. Success Ready Graduate measure;
      4. four-year graduation rate.
    4. For districts, an analogous rating shall be calculated using the same method as for schools, aggregated at the district level.

    The proposed framework shall ensure that accountability grade cards are provided in a standardized, clear, and easily accessible form, designed to be easily understood by parents, taxpayers, school personnel, legislators, and the media, consistent with all state and federal law.

  2. Publication Timelines and Transparency

    DESE is directed, consistent with law and subject to State Board approval of the framework described in Section 1, to:

    1. Provide an embargoed version of the school and district accountability grade cards for the previous school year to each public school district, public school, public charter school, and participating private school no later than September 15 of each year; and
    2. Require each public school district, public school, and public charter school to publish in a clear and easily accessible location on its website the school and district accountability grade cards from the previous school year no later than September 30 of each year.
    3. Provide a statewide report card that provides the following:
      1. The percentages of Missouri students annually attending schools rated “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F,” with the objective of increasing the percentage of students attending more highly rated schools each year; and
      2. The performance of Missouri students on state assessments relative to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), with the objective that proficiency rates on both assessments be reasonably aligned.

  3. Continuous Improvement of the Grading Scale

    The State Board of Education is urged to adopt rules providing that the A–F grading scale shall automatically increase in rigor such that, when sixty-five percent (65%) of schools earn an A or B, the thresholds for earning an A, B, C, and D increase by five percentage points in the subsequent school year, to prevent stagnation and ensure continued improvement in student outcomes.

DESE is directed to submit to the Governor and the State Board of Education, no later than June 30, 2026, a comprehensive implementation plan outlining rule changes and a proposed schedule for first publication of A–F school and district grade cards aligned with this Order.

This Executive Order shall be effective immediately and shall remain in effect until amended, superseded, or rescinded by subsequent order.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Missouri, in the City of Jefferson, on this 13th day of January, 2026.

[signature of Michael Kehoe]
MIKE KEHOE
GOVERNOR

ATTEST:

[signature of Denny Hoskins]
DENNY HOSKINS
SECRETARY OF STATE

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