One of Steelman's stops in her campaign RV was here in western Webster County. While she received questions on everything from ethanol to transportation, two attendees peppered the state treasurer for answers on education.

A pair of Marshfield educators served up questions about what she'd do for teachers, if elected governor. Steelman told them she'd first scrap Missouri Assessment Program tests, also known as MAP, for high school students.

"Our scores in Missouri were above the national average for math and science prior to 1993 and now they're below it. We need to find out why. Part of that is we put MAP in place after that," she said.

The state treasurer wants to replace MAP with the ACT, which many Midwest colleges use for admissions. Missouri is already in the the middle of changing the way it evaluates its high school students, turning to subject specific exams.

Marshfield Superintendent Mark Mayo is open to a swifter change but wants to be sure his teachers are prepared.

"The curriculum is geared towards the test we're offering right now, and not necessarily geared toward the ACT test. I just want to make sure we're in a position to make that transition," said Mayo.

In calling for the end of MAP tests, Steelman again sits alone among the top candidates for governor. But in her quest to win her party's nomination, it's a road she's increasingly willing to go down.

Steelman's Republican primary opponent Kenny Hulshof believes scrapping MAP altogether goes a bit too far. A representative of his campaign says Hulshof believes parents should be able to monitor the quality of education being offered at their children's schools; assessments are an important tool in accomplishing those goals.