7 facts about education in Missouri

Missouri has an education problem.

We have many great schools and amazing teachers, but many children are still left behind. Sometimes the school is not the right fit for the child. Sometimes great teachers are held back by outdated bureaucracies. And, sometimes families are trapped without access to a good school.

All of these issues result in an outdated system that is not working for our state or our students.

• In 2016, about 1 in 10 students in the state attended a low-performing school
• Less than half of Missouri’s school children are proficient in Math
• Only two-thirds are proficient in English
• Missouri is the only state in the nation with a growing proficiency gap on NAEP tests

• Missouri has the seventh lowest rate in the nation of students scoring a three or higher on an AP exam
• Only 15 % of Missouri business owners believe that Missouri high schools are preparing students for the workplace
• 35.9 percent of Missouri high school graduates have to take at least one remedial course in college

• Statewide workforce initiatives ignore the failures of our K-12 system
• Missouri’s economy has hardly grown over the past 20 years
• Improving education could create $1 trillion in new economic activity

The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri is leading the charge to improve education.

• We are on the streets, in the capitol, and across the state
• We support and strengthen the voices of families who need access to better education
• We spread the movement for school choice through door-to-door canvassing
• We provide advocacy training for parents, students, and teachers
• We bring those voices to the state capital to demand better options

• An effort to destroy public education
• An attempt to make money off of children’s education
• A move to segregate schools
• An attempt to destroy public or local control over education.

• Giving families power over their children’s education
• Expanding education options to disadvantaged students
• Giving families, not district leaders, control over how to spend funding for their children’s education
• Helping teachers have freedom in their classrooms to make real connections and change

• Private school leaders fighting for Education Savings Accounts
• Transfer students hungry for charter school expansion
• Innovative non-profits seeking to improve education
• Parents of children with special needs seeking a caring and challenging classroom
• New grassroots groups giving voice to disadvantaged neighborhoods

You can help CEAM in its mission to improve education for parents, students and teachers. Join our action network today!