Missouri State Board of Education Meeting Report (June 14, 2022)

Update on Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission

As noted in previous State Board Reports, Teacher Recruitment and Retention are a priority for the State Board. The members of the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission held their first meeting on June 17, 2022. They will hold three additional meetings virtually before their report and recommendations to the board in October 2022. These meetings will occur virtually on July 20, August 23, and September 12, and they are open for the public to view; the agenda and link to the meeting will appear on the Blue Ribbon Commission’s web page on the DESE website.

The 22-member committee includes ten business leaders, four state legislators (Senators Cindy O’Laughlin and Lauren Arthur; and Representatives Ingrid Burnett and Brad Pollitt), three members of the State Board of Education, a representative from the Governor’s staff, one DESE staff member, one local school board member, and two former state teachers of the year, Darrion Cockrell (MNEA Member) and Misty Grandel.

The goals of the commission include:

• Developing strategies that address teacher recruitment and retention.
• Providing recommendations for increasing teacher pay and improving retention.
• Addressing long-term and sustainable funding for increased teacher compensation.
• Strategies to attract students to pursue a career in education.
• Investigating the factors impacting the well-being of teachers and respect for the profession.

As of the meeting on June 17, the key takeaways and themes that the commission will likely continue conversations around were:

• There is tension with the current formula and funding.
• Teachers need a living wage, but that is not enough. What would total compensation look like?
• Equity in funding across districts in Missouri.
• Equity of teacher representation needs to be the center of recruitment and retainment.
• How do we attain stakeholder input in order to gain support from those outside of this commission?

Missouri NEA was present at the commission meeting, has provided data to subcommittee members, and will keep members informed as this commission continues to meet and report to the State Board.

Increasing Appropriately Certified Educators

Due to the vast number of vacant teaching positions either open or filled by individuals that are not appropriately certified, DESE’s Office of Educator Quality recommends that the board authorize the department to grant certificates, beginning in this current test window, to those test-takers who score within the -1 Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) range of the established qualifying score on all initial teacher certification exams. The -1 SEM accounts for only “a few items on a test.” The Board accepted this recommendation. (This does not include the elementary exam that was

It is important to note that this recommendation is not lowering the cut score for granting certification; it is opening the window slightly to account for errors in the test itself to replace educators who are not appropriately certified with those who are fully prepared. All teacher candidates still must maintain a GPA of 3.0 and, for some, up to 50 hours in content classes.

MNEA advocates for rigorous quality teaching standards for entry into the profession and, according to the Resolutions (G-3), believes that “these standards, as established by a state standards board1, should include above-average college grades, field training experience that includes successful completion of student teaching, and passage of appropriate pedagogical and subject matter tests. Tests should be only one element of comprehensive assessment for completion of a teacher preparation program as well as for certification/licensing into the profession…The Association also believes that certification procedures should be regularly evaluated to determine whether biases—cultural, economic, sexual orientation, gender identification, racial or age—are perpetuated by the requirements for certification.”

We support the DESE recommendation because no single test score (especially from a recently deployed exit assessment) should outweigh all other components of teacher preparation. This recommendation from DESE still falls within the resolutions as it upholds the cut score for achievement on assessments and still maintains multiple requirements for teacher candidates to receive certification. Further, standardized tests are never bias-free, and a test-taker’s achievement could potentially fall within the -1 SEM.

MSIP 6

The State Board heard an update from DESE staff and members of the Missouri School Improvement Program Advisory Committee regarding the ongoing development and implementation process for MSIP 6 since the April Board Meeting. The 2022-23 year begins the 3- year cycle of new standards that include recognition for improvement over time. Key changes since April include:

• Initial classification under MSIP 6 follows 2023-2024 school year.
• Status and growth are weighted equally in performance scoring (24%-24%).
• Continuous MAP Performance Index (MPI) calculation scale revised (Below Basic = 1.0-2.9 points).

Looking ahead, MSIP Advisory Committee (MAC) continues to meet, report developments, establish status targets and hold public hearings in the summer of 2022. Annual Performance Reports will be drafted in the Winter of 2022. Classification under MSIP 6 will be official in the Fall of 2024.

Literacy Initiatives

A priority area for the State Board is early literacy where they focus on overseeing all literacy initiatives to ensure they are aligned with the science of reading. The Board heard a report from DESE staff and members regarding current and proposed Literacy Initiatives for Missouri. The report gave an overview of the science of reading, the initiatives Read, Lead, Exceed, and The Path Forward, and the accountability/overall impact of these initiatives.