St. Joseph School District students make significant improvement in MAP scores  

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- The St. Joseph School District's Board of Education met for a board meeting Monday, where one of the highlights of the night, was the district's growth in student proficiency on the Missouri Assessment Program.

Stacia Studer, assistant superintendent of academics and education services, shared several factors she believes contributed to the increase.

She said the success came from the hard work of teachers, building leaders and students across the district.

"We did so good. Our teachers, our building leaders and our students really stepped up, and so I am just the person to share the good news," she said.

In English language arts, or ELA, the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced increased from 38% last year to 44.7% this year.

Math scores also saw an increase, going from 37% last year to 44.5% this year.

"I just cannot thank enough the teachers, building leaders and really our students who really bought in and said we want to lead with the best in the St. Joseph School District," Studer said.

Studer said the district plans to continue recognizing those accomplishments as a way to keep students and staff encouraged.

"You know, in sports we have all-state, we have district honors, we have all-city honors, so we are going to continue our work with the assessment program," she added.

Looking ahead to the next school year, Studer pointed to a new goal for the district called "Fifty is Nifty." The goal is to reach 50% proficiency in English language arts, math and science, and 55% in social studies.