Growth Dashboard

Instead of simply comparing Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scale scores year to year to track growth, experts advocate using statistical models which examine the relationship between the previous year’s score and the current year’s scores. Because standardized test scores often reflect factors outside schools’ control, student growth is a fairer measure of how well schools are doing at promoting student learning. This report communicates both 2025 growth scores and, to give a more stable picture of growth, three-year average growth scores for each of the highest-scoring schools across the state .

 Every state tracks student growth, using statistical models that estimate annual student level growth in tested subjects. Different states use different models and methods. This policy brief examines the types of student growth models across U.S. states, focusing on their methodologies, transparency, and implications for educational equity. Growth models such as Student Growth Percentiles (SGP), Growth to Proficiency Models, and Value-Added Models (VAM) provide critical insights into student progress and inform accountability measures. This is the first, national, publicly-available data set of the student growth models used in each state. Analysis reveals a widespread reliance on SGPs and similar frameworks, with some states incorporating demographic controls to address equity concerns.

Abstract: When looking at the actual impact that schools are having on student learning, it is vital to look at student growth. This is especially important for schools that enroll high percentages of low-income students. Opposite of growth are single point-in-time measures such as proficiency, which do not adjust for where students start the year. Missouri has the best growth model in the country. This report combines three years of growth data, and then looks at the quartile of Missouri schools enrolling the highest percentage of low-income students. The data show that some of the highest growth schools in Missouri also enroll some of the highest percentages of low-income students. Recognizing, rewarding and replicating the successes of these schools is the best path to improving outcomes for the state’s most vulnerable students.

This 1st Edition of PRiME’s Missouri Three Year Statewide Growth Report which covers data from the 2021-22 and 2023-24 school years.

When we talk about how students are doing in subjects like reading and math, it’s more helpful to look at how much they grow over time rather than just where they stand at one moment. This report continues the PRiME Center’s efforts to highlight Missouri’s excellent schools by examining student growth in the state's most rural schools over the last three years.

PRiME Center’s recent report highlights the Missouri schools serving students from low income households that are producing large gains in reading and math.

The PRiME Center’s Executive Director, Dr. Collin Hitt, breaks down the Missouri Growth Model and answers frequently asked questions about Growth Scores.   

This 4th Edition of PRiME’s annual Missouri Statewide Growth Report covers data from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

This 3rd Edition of PRiME’s annual Beating the Odds Growth Report covers data from the 2021—2022 school year.

This 3rd Edition of PRiME’s annual Growth Reports covers data from the 2021—2022 school year.

What is the Missouri Growth Model? This infographic outlines why PRiME Growth Report are useful in measuring how much a student has learned in a given school year.

In this report, we use the PRiME Growth Score, a translation of state-calculated growth scores from the Missouri Growth Model, to highlight the schools achieving the top student growth while serving high concentrations of low-income students. This report focuses on the highest-growth schools serving the highest proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch, those where the student body eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch (FRL) is in the fourth quartile. We rank top-growth schools in both English language arts and math and divide the rankings according to three school types.

In this report, we describe the PRiME Growth Score, highlighting the top schools in terms of student growth. We use the results of the Missouri Growth Model to translate these scores into more understandable results. Importantly, while PRiME Growth Scores were assigned to all schools with growth NCE scores assigned (that is, schools that serve students in Grades 4-8), this report focuses on the highest-growth schools across the state in both English language arts and math for schoolwide and subgroup achievement categories.