{"id":8664,"date":"2026-02-09T05:55:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T05:55:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:55:41","slug":"missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Missouri Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger kicks of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education&#8217;s budget presentation to the House Budget Committee Feb. 3, 2026. The committee spent two days listening to the department&#8217;s budget request (Annelise Hanshaw\/Missouri Independent).<\/p>\n<p><span>A law passed last year to add a measure for grade-level equivalency as part of Missouri\u2019s standardized test reports may be scrapped as a casualty of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2026\/01\/13\/missouri-revenue-surplus-nearly-gone-as-gov-mike-kehoe-unveils-his-budget-plan\/\"><span>state\u2019s budgetary woes<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requested $1 million to add grade-level equivalency to the Missouri Assessment Program, which would largely be a one-time expense. Gov. Mike Kehoe\u2019s recommended budget excludes this item, one of $600 million in proposed cuts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Without this money, the education department can\u2019t afford to add grade-level equivalency in the coming year, the department\u2019s Deputy Commissioner of Financial and Administrative Services Kyle Kruse told the Missouri House Budget Committee last week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"halfwidth\">\n<div class=\"tipContainer\">\n<div class=\"tipTextContainer\">\n<h4>Need to get in touch?<\/h4>\n<h4>Have a news tip?<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tipIconContainer\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"mailto:info@missouriindependent.com\"><button>CONTACT US<\/button><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cThe implementation of a fifth level giving grade-level equivalence is going to be a very useful tool in ascertaining if students are achieving and progressing as they should,\u201d he said. \u201cThe lack of funding, at the very least, would delay the effort.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Currently, the Missouri Assessment Program breaks scores into four categories: below basic, basic, proficient and advanced. Education officials estimate that a score that meets but does not exceed grade-level standards is around the high end of \u201cbasic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Without a measure of grade-level performance, there is no way to discern what percentage of students are not meeting expectations. But concerned parents and policymakers, interpreting proficiency as grade-level performance, often cite the number of students scoring below basic and basic as falling behind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>State Rep. Brad Pollitt, a Republican from Sedalia and a former educator, sponsored the legislation to add grade-level equivalence to Missouri Assessment Program scores hoping to learn more about student achievement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cTo have a conversation, especially in the Capitol when it comes to accreditation and where our kids are scoring at, it helps if everybody can be on the same page with where our kids are at,\u201d he told The Independent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A small contingent of Republicans worried that Pollitt\u2019s legislation was an attempt to \u201cwater down\u201d school accountability. But he insists the intention is just the opposite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>    <\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\">A question of constitutionality<\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/p>\n<p><span>Kehoe\u2019s recommendation to exclude funding for grade-level reporting does not mean the idea is dead. State lawmakers could restore the funding over the coming months, and key to their discussions is whether state law mandates the change.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/revisor.mo.gov\/main\/OneSection.aspx?constit=y&amp;section=X%20%2021\" target=\"_blank\"><span>state\u2019s constitution<\/span><\/a><span> requires the General Assembly to provide funding for any requirements it passes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If state law mandates that the education department define grade-level equivalence, the legislature has to cover the cost, said state Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, a Democrat from Columbia. She asked education officials if they feel \u201clegally bound with no money to spend on the project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/budplan.oa.mo.gov\/media\/pdf\/fy27-dese-appropriation-books-governors-recommendations-0\" target=\"_blank\"><span>department\u2019s budget request<\/span><\/a><span> describes the implementation of new performance levels as \u201crequired\u201d by state law. But asked directly last week by members of the budget committee, education officials were judicious in their responses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Lisa Sireno, assistant commissioner of quality schools, didn\u2019t indicate whether she thought the change was mandated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAt the very minimum, not having access to funding to support this work is going to delay the work,\u201d said Lisa Sireno, assistant commissioner of quality schools, largely mirroring Kruse\u2019s earlier comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When asked whether the department believed the change was required and whether it could carry out the work without the requested funding, a spokesman told The Independent that the department \u201cwill work to fulfill its obligations under the law within the appropriations authorized by the legislature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Gabby Picard, spokeswoman for the governor, said in an email that Kehoe doesn\u2019t believe it was an unfunded mandate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/senate.mo.gov\/FiscalNotes\/2025-1\/0999S.14T.ORG.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span>state\u2019s fiscal analysis of the law<\/span><\/a><span>, which included an array of education provisions, estimated a cost of just over $1 million. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/budplan.oa.mo.gov\/media\/pdf\/fy27-dese-appropriation-books-governors-recommendations-0\" target=\"_blank\"><span>proposed budget<\/span><\/a><span>, said their funding request was based on the fiscal note.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Many of the other provisions in the bill included disclaimers that they are \u201csubject to appropriation,\u201d a common phrase to make programs optional under budgetary constraints. But the section on grade-level equivalence doesn\u2019t include this disclaimer, nor does it set a deadline for implementation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Pollitt couldn\u2019t give a legal opinion on whether the legislation was a mandate, but he envisions some leniency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf the governor didn\u2019t provide the funds, then my expectation would be that they don\u2019t have to do it until the funds become available,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Pollitt intends to continue advocating for the reporting of grade-level equivalence if the state is unable to enact it this year, acknowledging the state is in a \u201ctough spot\u201d financially.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI think that\u2019s something for us to look at in the future, if we ever can do that,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause I just want to have conversations that are meaningful and can be understood by everybody.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>    <\/strong><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\">Accountability<\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/p>\n<p><span>Pollitt is not alone in a pursuit of transparency and accountability for public schools. Kehoe, in his State of the State speech, unveiled his plan to give parents a clearer picture of school performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.mo.gov\/library\/reference\/orders\/2026\/eo1\" target=\"_blank\"><span>executive order<\/span><\/a><span> released last month, he is pushing for the State Board of Education to grade public schools on an A-F scale \u201cgrounded primarily in academic performance and growth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>State Rep. Kemp Strickler, a Democrat from Lee\u2019s Summit, pointed to the executive order during budget discussions. He was \u201csurprised to see (grade-level equivalency) zeroed out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWould this be helpful for ranking schools from \u2018A\u2019 to \u2018F\u2019?\u201d he asked.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Kruse said grade-level \u201cseems like it would be an important component\u201d to implementing Kehoe\u2019s vision for an A-F grade scale for schools.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2025\/09\/18\/public-education-leaders-guide-task-force-studying-missouri-school-funding\/090925_kehoeeslinger1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-27162\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-27162 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/090925_kehoeeslinger1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1536\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe walks into a meeting of the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force alongside Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger Sept. 9, 2025. Kehoe created the task force in an executive order last year (Annelise Hanshaw\/Missouri Independent).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span>The governor\u2019s proposal, though, emphasizes proficiency with a call to create a \u201cgrowth to proficiency\u201d metric to track \u201cwhether a student is on a trajectory to reach grade-level proficiency within three years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When asked whether he intends to track grade-level performance or proficiency, Kehoe\u2019s office said in a statement that both are \u201cimportant measures to track student achievement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe governor is prioritizing transparency through calling for a growth to proficiency,\u201d Picard wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a House Education Committee hearing of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2026\/01\/28\/bill-creating-a-f-ratings-for-missouri-schools-set-for-edits-as-lawmakers-debate-path-forward\/\"><span>bill largely mirroring Kehoe\u2019s proposal<\/span><\/a><span>, educators warned that the proposal would largely benefit school districts in wealthier areas and lack key context that helps parents assess whether a school would be a good fit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/instatrac-production.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/GovWatch\/text\/pdfs\/26\/fiscal-note\/6102-h.01-i.-o-r-g-hb2710.pdf?c=12403\" target=\"_blank\"><span>state\u2019s fiscal analysis<\/span><\/a><span> of the bill estimates that creating the A-F scoring system would cost around $2.3 million. Kehoe wouldn\u2019t say if he is willing to spend over $2 million on his idea.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe governor is willing to work with the associated agencies to identify an appropriate level of funding for these measures,\u201d Picard wrote. \u201cWhile remaining mindful of the current budget constraints and maintaining fiscal responsibility.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Missouri Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger kicks of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education&#8217;s budget presentation to the House Budget Committee Feb. 3, 2026. The committee spent two days listening to the department&#8217;s budget request (Annelise Hanshaw\/Missouri Independent). A law passed last year to add a measure for grade-level equivalency as part of Missouri\u2019s standardized&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Missouri Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger kicks of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education&#8217;s budget presentation to the House Budget Committee Feb. 3, 2026. The committee spent two days listening to the department&#8217;s budget request (Annelise Hanshaw\/Missouri Independent). A law passed last year to add a measure for grade-level equivalency as part of Missouri\u2019s standardized...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-09T11:55:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T11:55:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/\"},\"wordCount\":1198,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/\",\"name\":\"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests - WestplexNews.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T11:55:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":614},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":242,\"caption\":\"WestplexNews.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\",\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brad Hildebrand\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/Westplexnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests - WestplexNews.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests - WestplexNews.com","og_description":"Missouri Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger kicks of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education&#8217;s budget presentation to the House Budget Committee Feb. 3, 2026. The committee spent two days listening to the department&#8217;s budget request (Annelise Hanshaw\/Missouri Independent). A law passed last year to add a measure for grade-level equivalency as part of Missouri\u2019s standardized...","og_url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/","og_site_name":"WestplexNews.com","article_published_time":"2026-02-09T11:55:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Brad Hildebrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Hildebrand","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Hildebrand","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0"},"headline":"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests","datePublished":"2026-02-09T11:55:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/"},"wordCount":1198,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/","name":"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests - WestplexNews.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-09T11:55:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/020326_Eslinger1-1024x614-jsadGY.jpg","width":1024,"height":614},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/missouri-budget-cuts-threaten-plan-to-show-grade-level-performance-on-state-tests\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Missouri budget cuts threaten plan to show grade-level performance on state tests"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","name":"WestplexNews.com","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization","name":"WestplexNews.com","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","width":690,"height":242,"caption":"WestplexNews.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0","name":"Brad Hildebrand","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brad Hildebrand"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/Westplexnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}