St. Louis’ NAACP has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education over what it calls educational failures.
The organization found Black students in the city are on average more than four grade levels behind the national average in reading, based on Stanford University data focusing on test scores from 2022, the most recent year of data available.
The organization filed the complaint against the 34 school districts in both St. Louis city and county highlights a literary crisis.
Adolphus Pruitt, the president of the St. Louis NAACP branch, said at an Aug. 20 press conference that the St. Louis region is in a literacy crisis and that the chapter was sounding the alarm over what it calls “systemic educational inequities.”
“From our analysis, all the districts including charter schools have issues as it relates to reading,” said Pruitt. “We cannot let these kids fail. We hope from there that between the U.S. Department of Education, the NAACP, and those individual school districts, we can have some serious conversations about them setting some goals.”
St Louis Public School students have a reading proficiency score of 19% compared to a 45% statewide average, according to the National Center for Education Statistics annual report card.
According to the NCES, only three in 10 Missouri students demonstrate reading proficiency at a fourth-grade level. Only one in 10 African American students reach the reading proficiency level.
In St. Louis Public Schools — one of the districts included in the complaint — 14% of Black third graders scored as proficient in reading on standardized tests, versus 61% of their White classmates.
The NAACP statement said, “The data underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions in the region’s schools. The districts are facing one of the steepest post-pandemic climbs, with significant learning losses that require immediate and sustained attention.”
The NAACP warns that these educational gaps could have severe consequences for St. Louis students, diminishing their competitiveness in college admissions and job opportunities. The organization is calling for increased funding, innovative teaching methods, and stronger community engagement to address these setbacks.
In addition to the 34 districts, the complaint names the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Pruitt said state education officials have to be kept accountable along with schools for low reading scores.
“They’re the ones who make sure that the districts are performing,” he said. “It’s like an employee is doing something that they’re not supposed to be doing, and you got a supervisor that’s managing him — well, you have to look at the management.”
“Addressing these challenges will require a comprehensive approach, potentially involving increased funding, innovative teaching strategies, enhanced support services, and community engagement to improve educational outcomes for the region’s students,,” Pruitt said.
Earlier this year, the organization launched a campaign called Right to Read that focuses on improving reading scores for Black students in city and county schools. The NAACP complaint was based on an analysis commissioned by the Right to Read Coalition, a network of organizations working to improve literacy in the region.
Pruitt said federal officials will assess the complaint, and if it’s within the office’s jurisdiction, will launch an investigation to determine whether the argument is valid.
