Education in Missouri is provided by both public and private schools, colleges, and universities, and a variety of public library systems. All public education in the state is governed by the Missouri State Board of Education, which is made up of eight citizens appointed by the

Governor of Missouri A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and confirmed by the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two ye ...

History

Elementary and secondary education

Administration of primary and secondary public schools in the state is conducted by the

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is the administrative arm of the Missouri State Board of Education that works with school officials, legislators, government agencies, community leaders, and citizens to mainta ...

. Education is compulsory from ages seven to seventeen in Missouri, commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers:

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. The public schools system includes kindergarten to 12th grade. District territories are often complex in structure. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district. High school athletics and competitions are governed by the

Missouri State High School Activities Association The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...

(MSHAA). Missouri education also includes a virtual school program called Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program (MOCAP). The Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) is an annual set of mandatory

standardized test A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...

s taken by students in grades 3 through 8. Students also complete exams at the end of completing certain courses, with certain exams required for graduation, including Algebra I (required), Algebra II, American History, Biology (required), English I, English II (required), Geometry, Government (required), and Personal Finance. There also is an alternate MAP test designed for students with cognitive disabilities who meet grade level and eligibility criteria, and an assessment of English proficiency for students classified as English Learners.

Homeschooling

Homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

in Missouri is not regulated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The state does not provide any monetary assistance or curriculum or materials to home schoolers. Parents who decide to home-school must provide 1,000 hours of instruction during the school year pursuant t
Section 167.031
of the Missouri revised statutes. Parents must also keep a daily log and sample of academic work. Homeschool students frequently attend their local colleges and universities. According to Missouri State University's Enrollment department, homeschool students had higher than average ACT scores and better end-of-semester GPA than their peers.

Charter schools

Charter schools are permitted in metropolitan and urban areas of the state. The state board of education considers them public schools and there are no tuition charges.

Colleges and universities

Public colleges and universities in Missouri are administered by the

Missouri Department of Higher Education In January 2019, Gov. Mike Parson signed Executive Order 19-03 to move the Division of Workforce Development and the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) under the Department of Higher Education. The department transformation ...

. The state system of higher education includes 13 four-year universities and 20 two-year colleges, which includes the

University of Missouri System The University of Missouri System is an American state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, and ten research and technology parks. Nearly 70,000 students are cu ...

, the state's public university system. The flagship institution and largest university in the state is the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

. The others in the system are

University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a public research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Established in 1963, it is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System and its newest. Located on the former grounds of Belle ...

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

and

Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,645 students (fall 2020) study engineering, busi ...

. The state also maintains another set of public universities that are not part of the University of Missouri system, which include

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Co ...

Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citi ...

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

in Springfield,

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presid ...

in Kirksville,

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Worl ...

in Maryville and the

University of Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...

in Warrensburg. The state also funds a $2000, renewable merit-based scholarship known as Bright Flight, which is given to Missouri students attending an in-state university who earned a composite score on the ACT or SAT in the top 3 percent in Missouri, or a score among the top 5% of test takers nationally. Private universities in Missouri include

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, ...

, Washington University in St. Louis, Maryville University and

Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. There are numerous junior colleges, trade schools, theological seminaries, and church universities.

References