Des Moines Register (Des Moines, IA)
July 21, 2011
Headline: New education report highlights weaknesses in Iowa schools

By Sheena Dooley

Iowa schools need to set high standards for learners and staff classrooms with effective teachers that can turn students into innovators in order to regain its top standing in education, according to a new report released today by the Iowa Department of Education.

The state has slid from its No. 1 position in education as other states and countries have embraced reform efforts. Without significant improvements, Iowa will struggle to attract new businesses because it will lack the skilled workers to fill jobs, according to the report.

State officials released the report, "Rising to Greatness: An imperative for improving Iowa's schools," before next week's education summit on how to build world-class schools.

Specifically, the report says:

o Fourth grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress have declined and eighth grade math scores have flat lined since 1992 when the state's scores were the highest in the nation. In 2009, 13 states posted significantly higher scores than Iowa on the test in fourth grade reading, while 15 states outperformed it eighth grade math, according to the report.

o Iowa enrolls the fourth lowest number of students in the nation in Algebra I or other higher level math courses, which equips them with the foundation for higher math requirements in high school and college. Only 29 percent of Iowa eighth-graders who took NAEP in 2009 were enrolled in high level math classes. More than half of students in Colorado, Massachusetts, Utah, Maryland and California took the courses, the report said.

o The state the largest achievement gap in the nation on NAEP between students with disabilities and their peers. The gap in fourth grade reading and eighth grade math was 57 percent and 58 percent, respectively, according to the report.

o Schools are teaching an increasingly diverse student population that is at greater risk for failure. The number of low-income, African American, Hispanic and English-language learners has increased in recent years. Unlike other states, Iowa has failed to make progress in closing the achievement gap between those students and their peers, the report says.

o Iowa's relatively affluent, white fourth-grade students score below the national average and their peers other states on NAEP.

"It's not so much that the quality of Iowa's schools is declining," Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass said in a release. "The issue is that Iowa's results have stagnated, while other states and countries have done the work to make dramatic improvements to their systems which are paying off. If you aren't getting better, you are getting worse."