MOScholars students score at national average in first report

The Missouri Treasurer's Office released its first academic performance report for the MOScholars voucher program on Wednesday. The document, compiled by the Saint Louis University PRiME Center, indicates that participating students performed near the national average in reading and mathematics during the program's initial three years.

The data places English language arts scores between the 46th and 51st national percentile. Math scores landed between the 47th and 49th percentile. For comparison, the PRiME Center analysis notes that Missouri students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress scored between the 45th and 47th percentile in 2024. Collin Hitt, executive director of the PRiME Center, described the findings as an encouraging baseline for future tracking.

Despite the central tendency of the scores, the report reveals structural gaps in data collection that limit its utility. Researchers could only validate test results for 77% of students in testing grades. The remaining students either did not submit scores or provided assessments that could not be verified against national standards. The report identified 27 different test types submitted by students, eight of which were not nationally norm-referenced assessments as required by state law for grades 3 through 10.

The Missouri Treasurer's Office had previously stated that the data was disjointed. A request for proposals issued in April 2025 described the existing test results as having no standard format. The document noted that nine different tests were being used across thousands of students, rendering the current state of data useless for measurement. The office contracted the PRiME Center in June 2025 to organize and analyze this information.

A critical element required by state law is missing from the report: family income levels. The statute mandates that reports aggregate data by grade, gender, income, participation duration, and race. The PRiME Center noted that insufficient data were collected to accurately report income information. Families qualify for MOScholars if their income is below 300% of the federal poverty line or if their child has an individualized education plan. Those qualifying via an IEP do not provide income data, creating a mix that researchers found inconsistent and incomplete for analysis.

Meghan Rackers, a MOScholars program specialist, stated in an emailed statement that collecting additional income data would violate privacy standards regarding the minimum information necessary for eligibility. She added that the program now has policies and partners in place to collect assessment scores more accurately. The office has also switched its software provider to improve data aggregation.

Senator Doug Beck, a Democrat from Affton, criticized the report for its incomplete nature. He argued that the document admits the Treasurer is not following the law and fails to answer key questions about student outcomes. Beck said the situation feels like a coverup and that the public deserves to know the truth about the vouchers.

The report does not cover the 2025-26 school year, in which the program more than doubled in size. Hitt said the testing sample will grow massively, providing a larger baseline for judging the program's future. The Treasurer's Office also released a parent survey showing 99% of respondents were satisfied with the program, though some noted issues with communication.

The data comes from the first three years of the program, which began in 2021. The law required the release of test results after the third year of data collection. The Treasurer's former chief of staff, Jackson Bailey, explained in April that the 2025-26 school year is the fourth year of the program but only the third year of test data collection. The office has experienced turnover since the program's creation, leading to the decision to outsource the final analysis to an external academic center.