State to review St. Louis district's accreditation

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The state has agreed to consider whether St. Louis Public Schools should remain unaccredited.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said late Friday that it has received a request for an accreditation review from the special board appointed to run the district. The state's Board of Education will consider the request at its October meeting.

The state's Annual Performance Reports show the district is improving.

The St. Louis district went from meeting three of 14 performance standards in 2009 to seven this year. Additionally, one of the performance standards was tied to test scores. That puts the district in a provisionally accredited performance range.

But Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro initially said she wanted to see another year of data before considering an accreditation upgrade.