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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools made significant strides in key academic measures for the 2024-25 school year, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Annual Performance Report. DESE released the report Thursday afternoon, highlighting year-over-year improvements among school districts across the state. CPS continued its upward trend. The district scored in the top 15% of school districts in Missouri, achieving 88.7%. That's a 2.2% increase from the 2024 APR score of 85.6%. It's also an 18.6% increase from the 2023 score. CPS Superintendent Jeff Klein said the district’s success reflects a consistent commitment from staff and students. "It represents a commitment that we've made to focus on the outcomes that are important and measure what we're doing and monitor the effectiveness of the programs we have in place. And at the end of the day, staff being committed to those outcomes for students is really a reflection," Klein said. "With the additional growth over the growth we saw last year, it's just a really proud moment for us," Proficiency rates improved in every content area on the Missouri Assessment Program, including a 3.1% increase in math and a 3.6% increase in science. In English Language Arts, CPS recorded a performance level of 339.9, compared to the state average of 385.5. In mathematics, CPS scored 315.5 compared to the state average of 373.8. In science, the state average was 377.3 compared to CPS at 339.9. The district also saw improvements in attendance, which has been a big focus for the district since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to DESE's APR, for 2024 and 2025 the district had 80% of its students attending school 90% of the time. The district said it remains focused on improving student attendance to reach the state's 90% goal. 'If you're in school 90-percent of the time or more, you will do better on these assessment. I think it's two times better as well. So just being in school and participating in school and that community you're going to be a better student. You're probably going to have fewer behavioral issues," Board of Education President John Lyman said. "We saw a big attendance dip just after COVID. It's been difficult to pick that back up, but we've seen that a little bit of improvement over the past couples of years, based on a variety of different efforts we've had at the building level to communicate with families," Klein said. "The importance of attendance to reward and incentivize students and families for their attendance," DESE reported the district continues to maintain a high graduation rate, exceeding 92%. For Lyman, the steady graduation rate shows the district's dedication to its students. "It shows that our teachers, our faculty or staff, they truly care. This is a calling for them to come and do this, to work with our students to help them learn and grow and be better to help them have a plan when they graduate and leave Columbia Public Schools," Lyman said. The APR also reported CPS received 58 of the 60 available points possible in the Continuous Improvement. The district also received 119.5 out of 140 possible points in academic performance. Out of the 20 categories in the Performance section, DESE reported CPS maintained or improved in 19 categories.
