SB 277 - Academic performance standards shall not be construed to replace existing standards for mastery of basic knowledge, and such standards shall establish basic mastery levels prerequisite to mastery of higher skills. The act provides that choice of curriculum, teaching method and educational philosophy shall remain a local decision. Development of state performance standards and assessments shall not require or encourage elimination of programs for gifted students.

The act removes the existing prohibition on using the Missouri Mastery and Achievement Test as part of any new statewide academic assessment system and the prohibition on allowing tracking of academic performance between schools. The state assessment system shall be objective and verifiable, shall not use group grading, shall be organized by subject matter and grade level and shall measure memorization, grammar and spelling skills.

The act provides that location shall not be a criterion for determining which schools are "academically deficient". The act provides that the assessment system may not be used to determine a school is academically deficient until the school is informed, prior to the assessment, that it will be used for that purpose and that the assessment can not be applied to a school until it is applied to all schools.

The act eliminates the authority for the State Board of Education to order recall elections for school board members of districts in which a school or schools have been designated as "academically deficient".

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