TL;DR
A 74 report identified Missouri public schools where some student groups facing barriers to reading achieved stronger results than statewide averages. The examples include schools serving low-income students, English learners and students with disabilities, but the data does not explain why they performed well.
A report by education news outlet The 74 has identified Missouri schools where students facing common barriers to reading outperformed statewide benchmarks, including low-income students, English learners and students with disabilities. The findings offer state policymakers places to investigate as Missouri continues changing how schools teach reading, though the data alone does not show which school practices produced the results.
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The 74’s Bright Spots project looked beyond schools’ overall scores. It adjusted for student demographics and sought schools whose reading outcomes were stronger than expected given their average poverty level. The project screened data from 42,000 schools and identified 2,158 Bright Spots nationally. The report also compared results for specific student groups in Missouri.
In 2025, just under 42% of Missouri third-graders scored proficient or higher on the state reading test. For low-income students, the share was under 30%. Among schools with at least 20 low-income test-takers, 83 had economically disadvantaged students scoring above the statewide average for all students, according to the report. It named Cedar Springs and Cole Camp elementary schools as community schools with strong results for low-income students, while noting that selective magnet schools Mallinckrodt Elementary in St. Louis and John T. Hartman Elementary in Kansas City may be harder to compare or replicate.
The report also highlighted results for English learners and students with disabilities. At McKelvey Intermediate, 71% of English learners scored proficient or better on the third-grade reading test, 30 percentage points above the state’s overall rate. Five schools had English learner proficiency rates above the statewide rate for all students. Statewide, 14% of students with disabilities reached the third-grade proficiency benchmark; at Lakeview Elementary in Wentzville, that group scored above the statewide average for all students. The report said North Kansas City and Lindbergh districts each had two schools among the five highest-performing in the respective group comparisons.
Where Missouri Can Study Reading Gains
The findings give Missouri officials and educators specific schools to examine while the state works to improve reading instruction. The report says the state has invested millions in teacher training, evidence-based instruction, screening and interventions for struggling readers. Yet its fourth-grade reading results remain below their level a decade earlier. Studying classrooms and support systems at schools with stronger results could help policymakers identify practices worth testing elsewhere.
These comparisons also draw attention to performance gaps that statewide averages can conceal. The difference between the overall third-grade proficiency rate and the rate for low-income students was substantial in the 2025 figures cited by The 74. Results for English learners and students with disabilities show that outcomes vary among schools serving those groups. The figures may help focus further inquiry, but they do not establish that a particular curriculum, staffing choice or intervention caused higher scores.
The report cautions that some schools may benefit from exceptional leadership, unusually skilled teachers or local circumstances that other communities cannot readily reproduce. Its central value is to point to places for closer study, rather than to supply a ready-made model for every school.
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Reading Reforms Meet Falling Scores
Missouri has spent several years overhauling reading instruction, with state investments in professional development, evidence-based teaching, literacy screening and help for students who struggle. The report says many of these efforts are still being put in place and that statewide results can take years to reflect changes.
National Assessment of Educational Progress data cited by The 74 show that Missouri’s average fourth-grade reading score fell 10.4 points from 2013 to 2024. The report describes the decline as one of the largest in the country and says the 2024 score distribution included more low performers and fewer students in the middle and higher ranges than in 2013. These NAEP figures cover fourth grade, while the school examples in the report rely mainly on Missouri’s third-grade state reading test.
The project’s approach reflects a distinction between high scores and school contribution. Raw scores may reflect what children know when they arrive at school or literacy support they receive at home, the report says. Adjusting for student demographics and examining group results is intended to identify schools performing better than might be expected from poverty levels alone. Such comparisons can identify patterns, but they cannot by themselves explain how those patterns came about.
“Data alone can’t tell us why these schools succeed. But it can tell us where to start looking.”
— The 74, describing its Bright Spots project
What the School Data Cannot Explain
The report identifies schools and student groups with comparatively strong results, but it does not establish which practices caused those outcomes. It does not say whether a particular curriculum, teacher training approach, intervention or local factor accounts for the differences, or whether the results would hold over time.
The comparisons also have limits. The report notes that income is strongly correlated with reading proficiency and that English learners may face added difficulty on English reading-comprehension tests. Schools differ in their students and circumstances, while selective admissions at some magnet schools affect how their results compare with those of schools open to all local students. The report does not provide a full account of how each school’s student population or year-to-year results changed.
It is also not yet clear whether the statewide reading reforms will raise scores or how quickly any effect may appear. The fourth-grade NAEP trend and third-grade state-test results measure different grades and assessments, so they should not be treated as a single measure.
Further Study of Standout Schools
The report suggests Missouri policymakers visit schools with strong results, speak with teachers and principals, review curricula and observe how staff support struggling readers. Such work could help identify practices for further evaluation and reveal whether policy or implementation barriers are limiting progress elsewhere.
The next evidence to watch includes later state test results and future NAEP scores, alongside more detailed information about what the highlighted schools do. The 74’s findings establish potential starting points for that inquiry; they do not confirm that any one school’s approach can be transferred successfully to another district.
Key Questions
Which Missouri school had a strong result for English learners?
McKelvey Intermediate had a 71% proficiency rate among English learners on the third-grade reading test, according to The 74. The report says this was 30 percentage points above the statewide proficiency rate for all students.
How did low-income students perform statewide?
In 2025, fewer than 30% of low-income Missouri students scored proficient or higher on the state’s third-grade reading test. The overall rate for students was just under 42%, according to the report.
What did the report find about students with disabilities?
Statewide, 14% of students with disabilities met the third-grade reading proficiency benchmark cited in the report. At Lakeview Elementary in Wentzville, students with disabilities scored above the statewide average for all students.
Does the report explain why these schools had stronger results?
No. The report identifies schools with comparatively strong outcomes but says the data cannot show why they succeeded. It recommends classroom visits, interviews and examination of curricula and student supports to investigate possible explanations.
Source: rss
