How does Missouri measure up in higher education?
Missouri is erratic. We need consistent resources and leadership. Missouri is rich in data compared to other states, but when it comes to applying data to improve teacher quality, we fall behind. We set the bar too low, often sending low achieving teachers into the most challenging districts, compounding our mediocrity. According to 1999-2000 core data, 11 percent of new public school teachers in St. Louis and 6 percent in Kansas City couldn’t play for the NCAA because their ACT scores are too low. Yet we’re sending them to be school teachers in the districts that need the most help. How can we attract more talented people to teaching? We can’t pay high enough salaries to turn this around, but programs like Teach for America hold out some hope. Teach for America accepts high achieving college graduates and puts them into high-need schools. It is more important to have a talented teacher for a few years than an untalented one for 20. A national teacher corps could do the same thing on a
