HERMANN — The numbers of the state’s latest assessment of students’ progress are not kind to Gasconade County R-1 School District.

With a troubling number of students — essentially across all grades scoring at “Basic” or “Below Basic” levels — district directors are left scratching their heads as to the cause, and possible fix, of the problem.

The R-1 Board of Directors Thursday night got its first look at the state’s 2021-22 assessment results during a special workshop session held at the The Bank Bar in Downtown Hermann. The results for all the state’s public school districts, which were presented to administrators late last year, were embargoed from public discussion twice by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. R-1 Superintendent Geoff Neill said the embargo meant that if directors wanted to review and discuss the results, they would have been forced to do it in a closed session and he didn’t want to do that, preferring to wait until it could be discussed publicly.

“Typically, we would have this discussion with you guys in the fall,” Neill told the board.

Associate Superintendent Leslie Lause outlined the results of the assessment test to the board members. The test measured student progress in the earlier grades in English-Language Arts and Math, in Science for fifth- and eighth-graders and across several subjects for the high school students. While R-1 students in third -through-seventh grade scored above the statewide average, more students failed to reach “Advanced” or “Proficient” levels. The eighth-graders fell below the statewide average, the numbers showed.

Lause explained that the goal is to have majority of students in the classes score at “Advanced” or “Proficient” levels. The numbers fluctuated from grade to grade, but for the most part half or more of the students were ranked at “Basic” or “Below Basic” compared to the statewide average of students in the same grade. One subject especially concerning for the younger students was in Math.

“I don’t know what the answer is” for the poor performance in Math, Lause said.

Considering the majority of the test was given in the fall of 2021, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on public education might offer one explanation for the disappointing numbers. One class, Algera II, was tested in the spring of 2022.

One of the confounding aspects for administrators and teachers in interpreting the assessment numbers is that they do not give insight into why the numbers are not better.

“We’d love it to drill down to what skill they’re lacking,” Lause said. As associate superintendent, Lause is the district’s curriculum director.

As administrators continue to sift through the results, they will be considering their next moves to bring more students to a higher level.

“What are we going to do to get these kids (scoring “Basic” or “Below Basic”) to where they need to be?” Lause asked rhetorically.

Meanwhile, Neill told the directors that a satisfaction survey of district employees produced some encouraging responses. It also provided the administration with some interesting recommendations for improving employee satisfaction. Not surprising, perhaps, is that at the top of the list is a salary-and-benefit increase. Employees also would like to see a change made to the district’s leave policy, transitioning from the traditional leave to a Paid Time Off program.

Interestingly, at Hermann Middle School the key recommendation is to better manage student behavior and provide additional administrative support.

Other recommendations included such things as hiring staff to replace lost positions, smaller class sizes, more money for classroom supplies, more planning time for middle school faculty. Neill noted that there was even a recommendation for a shorter school day.

Veteran director Mike Pratte said there needs to be a similar survey taken of the student body. “We need to know how they feel,” he said.

Neill said such a survey will be a requirement in the latest version of the Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP). MSIP6 has yet to be put in place but is projected to be unveiled possibly as early as June.