Missouri to Pilot a New Way to Test Students

For years, educators have raised a problem with assessments: testing students only after instruction ends, when it’s too late to help them improve. Traditionally, states have used end-of-year exams to measure student performance against academic standards, but those tests do little to inform day-to-day teaching. 

This summer, the U.S. Department of Education selected Missouri as the only state in the country to participate in the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA), a federal program that gives states the green light to rethink how they measure student learning. With this designation, Missouri will begin piloting its new Success-Ready Student Assessment (SRSA) system in the 2025–26 school year.

What is the SRSA?

Together with local educators, school leaders, and families, Missouri has developed the SRSA system to replace a single, high-stakes exam with a series of modular tests administered throughout the year in addition to a summative assessment. These shorter, through-year assessments are aligned with Missouri’s existing academic standards and designed to provide real-time feedback to teachers, students, and parents. 

These assessments are meant to enable learning, not interrupt it, with progress monitoring designed to offer timely results and actionable data that can support student growth and achievement.

In addition, the SRSA also supports emerging competency-based learning models, offering students other opportunities to show what they know and allowing teachers to tailor instruction based on student needs. 

Pilot timeline and what to expect

The SRSA system will launch as a pilot program during the 2025-2026 school year with an initial cohort of 25 school districts.* These districts volunteered to participate and are part of Missouri’s Success-Ready Student Network, a statewide collaborative focused on improving student outcomes through innovation. 

The pilot will occur in a phased rollout, starting with modular assessments in grades 3-8 for English language arts and math. Additionally, the SRSA results will be collected alongside existing state assessments to validate comparability and ensure continued federal compliance. However, the SRSA may come to replace the current assessment model over time if the program proves successful. 

Throughout 2025 and 2026, DESE will refine the new assessment model, including stakeholder engagement, pilot training, and capacity building. Per the federal requirements, the state will also submit annual updates to the U.S. Department of Education. 

What to make of the pilot

Teachers and parents have long voiced concerns about relying solely on summative assessments. At the same time, there’s an urgent need to better understand student achievement in the wake of national assessment results. 

Adoption of through-year assessments has been a growing trend nationally. At least 11 states have attempted to use them in conjunction with summative assessments, according to the Data Quality Campaign. Louisiana stands out as one example with 77% of teachers saying their new assessment program is better than the previous, summative-only version. Teachers seem to recognize how these assessments can help them prioritize growth in students during the school year. 

For Missouri, success with the SRSA system in helping educators meet the needs of their students hinges on several factors:

• Ensure that time testing does not overburden students and teachers and take away from valuable instructional time.
• Help teachers use real-time data with support and professional learning to prompt effective decision making. 

While assessments will always carry stakes under state and federal accountability systems, the hope is that these tools will better support in-year adjustments by educators.

Aligned’s take: Missouri’s SRSA system is an example of innovation we applaud in education. For too long, thinking around accountability and assessments has remained stuck in old debates. Giving teachers better insight into student progress throughout the year is a critical step forward. Alongside that, we'd encourage policymakers to applying this assessment model in earlier grades to spot and mitigate challenges early on. We’ll be watching closely and learning alongside Missouri as the pilot takes shape. 

_{* The lists below summarize the school districts participating in the pilot, with phase 1 districts starting in the 2025-26 school year; phase 2 districts planning and training for partial implementation in 2025-26, with full implementation expected in 2026-27.} 

_{Phase 1: Brentwood, Wright City R-II, Lonedell R-14, Warren County R-III, Fulton 58, Logan-Rogersville R-VIII, Grandview C-4}

_{Phase 2: Maryville R-II, Knob Noster R-VIII, Hickman Mills C-1, Nixa Public Schools, Parkway Schools, Raytown C-2, Nevada R-V, Rolla 31, Sedalia 200, Camdenton R-III, Moberly School District, North Kansas City Schools, Kansas City Public Schools, Springfield Public Schools, Raymore-Peculiar R-II, Poplar Bluff R-I, Affton 101, Jackson R-2}