K-12 test scores dropped in Missouri amid the pandemic. This week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released preliminary statewide 2020-21 Missouri Assessment Program data. The tests show 45 percent of students are proficient or advanced in English, 35 percent in math and 37 percent in science. Results from social studies exams will be available in the coming weeks. Compared to results from the 2018-19 school year, that represents a drop of four points in English, seven points in math and five points in science.
State education officials say that because the 2020-21 MAP tests were taken under unprecedented circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Board of Education voted in December 2020 to waive the results for state and federal accountability purposes.