(The following article is based upon
press release information from the Iowa Department of Education)
The Iowa Department of Education
recently released the Iowa School Report Card, a new web-based system to
evaluate and rate each public school based on performance on a required set of
measures, such as student attendance and graduation rates.
The system meets a legislative
requirement and aligns with Department efforts to provide Iowans easier access
to meaningful education statistics, to hold schools accountable for student
progress, and to support local efforts to improve schools.
“The Iowa School Report Card makes
it easier for Iowans to find and understand important information about how
their schools are doing,” said Ryan Wise, director of the Iowa Department of
Education. “While this tool doesn’t tell the whole story about our schools, it
is a valuable source of information that Iowans can use to celebrate successes
and to ask questions about how to improve and support their local schools.”
The Iowa School Report Card, which
is available at www.educateiowa.gov/schoolreportcard, assigns schools one of six ratings: Exceptional,
High-Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improvement, and Priority.
Schools are grouped by comparable grade configurations (elementary, middle and
high schools).
The ratings are based on each
school’s performance over a two-year span on the following educational
measures:
·
Proficiency: The percentage of students scoring proficient or
better on state reading and mathematics assessments.
·
College and Career-Ready
Growth: The percentage of students who
are making the year-to-year growth necessary to be ready for college and career
training by the end of high school.
·
Annual Expected Growth: The percentage of students making a year of academic
growth in a year’s time on state reading and mathematics assessments.
·
Closing Achievement Gap: A measure that reflects a statewide goal of narrowing
the gap in achievement for students with disabilities, students who are
eligible for free and reduced-price meals, and English Language Learners.
·
College and Career Readiness: The percentage of students who score at or above a
level of performance on reading and mathematics assessments that predicts a
higher probability of postsecondary success. (Middle/high schools only.)
·
Graduation Rate: The percentage of ninth-grade students who finished
high school within five years. (High schools only.)
·
Attendance: The average daily attendance of students, which is the
total number of days students were enrolled and present divided by the total
number of possible attendance days.
·
Staff Retention: The percentage of teachers, school administrators and
other licensed staff members who remained employed in a school over consecutive
school years.
Iowa School Report Card scores and
ratings are based on data reported by school districts for the 2013-14 and
2014-15 school years. The scores and ratings, which will be updated annually,
apply only to public schools – districts do not receive ratings. No
consequences or rewards are tied to the school ratings.
The Iowa School Report Card delivers
on a component of the comprehensive education reform legislation adopted by
Iowa lawmakers in 2013. The legislation, House File 215, directed the
Department to develop a process to evaluate the performance of each school on
certain measures and to “arrive at an overall school performance grade and
report card” that is posted to the Department’s website. In its development
phase, the Iowa School Report Card was known as the “Attendance Center
Rankings” system.
Wise said the Iowa School Report
Card also fits with the new Every Student Succeeds Act – the successor to No
Child Left Behind – which restores the balance between the role of states and
the federal government in education accountability.
“We provide data in the spirit of
accountability and transparency, as well as in support of efforts to improve
schools and to prepare students for success,” Wise said. “Data and information
are critical partners in those efforts. At the same time, each school has an
individual story that cannot be told through numbers and ratings. I encourage
Iowans to connect with their community schools to get the full story.”
