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LEADERSHIP AGENDA

OPERATIONAL SCAN

DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE

Education

Judy Jeffrey, Director

Mission Statement:
Mission is to champion excellence for all Iowa students through leadership and service.

Measures:
Iowa 4th graders proficient in reading
Iowa 8th graders proficient in math
Iowa 11th graders proficient in math
High school graduation rate by all students and by race/ethnicity
I-JAG graduation rate
Awards and degrees granted by community colleges

•  Performance Plan - How we measure our progress


•  Strategic Plan - How we plan for progress


•  Performance Report - How we report our progress


• Department Home Page - Learn more about this department

NOTE: Percentages for each biennium period represent average percentages of proficient students for the two school years represented, e.g. 2001-2003 represents the average for the 2001-2002 and the 2002-2003 school years.

Why this is important:
A student designated as proficient can, at a minimum, do the following: usually understands factual information and new words in context; and usually is able to make inferences and interpret either nonliteral language or information in new contexts, they can determine a selection's main idea and analyze its style and structure.


What we're doing about this:
The Department is implementing four major projects to improve reading instruction and, therefore, reading proficiency levels for students. These initiatives are designed to help all students succeed, thereby, decreasing achievement gaps.

• Every Child Reads K-12 is a professional development strategy for large-scale, building-based structured school improvement focused on accelerating the reading achievement of students, with a special emphasis on students who are experiencing difficulty.
• Reading First is designed to accelerate the reading achievement of students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade in low performing/high poverty schools so that all students are reading at grade level by the end of third grade.
• The Teacher Development Academies are a series of professional development opportunities offered to teams from public schools featuring research based content and nationally recognized trainers. The Academies offered in the area of reading are Concept-Oriented Reading, Second Chance Reading and Question/Answer Relationship.
• Strategic Instruction Model promotes effective teaching and learning about the critical core content in schools through content Enhancement Routines and Learning Strategies Curriculum.
  

NOTE: Percentages for each biennium period represent average percentages of proficient students for the two school years represented, e.g. 2001-2003 represents the average for the 2001-2002 and the 2002-2003 school years.

Why this is important:
A student designated as proficient can, at a minimum, usually understand math concepts, solve simple and complex word problems; sometimes use estimation methods, and can usually interpret data from graphs and tables.


What we're doing about this:
The Department's professional development efforts in mathematics are organized around the Every Student Counts (ESC) and the Teacher Development Academy (TDA) -- Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). The goal of these efforts is to develop the capacity to provide quality professional development and technical assistance to schools focusing on improving achievement in mathematics for all students and, thereby, reducing achievement gaps.

NOTE: Percentages for each biennium period represent average percentages of proficient students for the two school years represented, e.g. 2001-2003 represents the average for the 2001-2002 and the 2002-2003 school years.

Why this is important:
Percentage of 11th graders who are proficient in math provides some information about whether students are ready for postsecondary work. Students designated as proficient can, at a minimum, do the following: sometimes apply math concepts and procedures, make inferences with quantitative information, and solve a variety of quantitative reasoning problems.


What we're doing about this:
At the secondary level Every Student Counts is closely aligned to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) content and process standards with a strong emphasis on Teaching for Understanding using Problem-Based Instructional Tasks and Meaningful Distributed Practice. Year one of the initiative focused on NCTM content standards Algebra and Number Sense and all five of the Process Standards. This past year the focus was on Geometry and Measurement and embedding the five Process Standards into professional development.

Math-in-CTE Professional Development is a model to integrate math into Iowa's Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at the secondary and postsecondary levels.

Why this is important:
Although the graduation rate has decreased slightly, Iowa continues to have one of the highest graduation rates in the country. The adjustment in the rate is due, in part, to enhancements in Iowa's data system. The 2008 graduating class is the first group of students to have had a statewide identification number for all four years. This has allowed Iowa school districts and the Iowa Department of Education to keep careful accounting of each ninth grader as he or she progressed through school. The system has provided advancements in determining when a student graduates, even if the student moved to a different district in the state during his or her high school career.


What we're doing about this:
All efforts designed to increase student achievement contribute to the goal of increasing the graduation rate. In addition, the Department, in cooperation with the AEAs, has undertaken several efforts to support schools in reducing achievement gaps.

• The Strategic Instruction Model addresses many of the needs of diverse learners and specifically targets upper elementary through high school students who are struggling with learning.
• Instructional Decision Making supports the use of data for instructional decisions about groups of students and individual students. IDM provides schools with a process for early intervention of learning problems.
• Teacher Development Academies, specifically Second Chance Reading is designed to accelerate the achievement of students with significant delays in reading development at the middle and high school levels. Concept Oriented Reading Instruction is designed to provide a more engaging instructional approach to reading using content areas.
• "Our Kids" Project has multiple components that are intended to improve the achievement of English language learners.
• Learning Supports focuses on developing community and school structures to address the many barriers that impact student learning.
• The Divisions on the Status of African-Americans and the Latino Affairs.
  

Why this is important:
Iowa Jobs for America's Graduates (iJAG) is one of the most cost-effective dropout prevention and school-to-career solutions in Iowa. iJag's mission is to assist students who exhibit multiple barriers to success, in graduating from high school and/or successfully transitioning from high school to continued education and careers. By unlocking student potential, iJAG envisions leading every iJAG student to graduation, post-secondary education, a successful career, and life-long learning. Performance data indicates that this program model has been effective at reducing dropout rates, improving attendance, increasing student GPA, improving graduation rates, and successfully transitioning students into continued education and employment.


What we're doing about this:
Positive outcomes for 2006-2007 include:

• As of one year following graduation, 85% of the iJAG Class of 2008 seniors were employed, enrolled in postsecondary education, had entered the military or some combination thereof on a full-time basis.
• Service Learning is part of the iJAG curriculum. All students are required to provide four hours of community service each year; however most students average 10 or more hours annually. During 2008-2009, iJAG students across Iowa contributed more than 9,000 hours in community service. If paid minimum wage, this contribution represents a monetary value of more than $60,000 invested in communities across Iowa.
• The ultimate objective of an iJAG program is to provide participants with classroom and work-based learning experiences that result in a quality job leading to a career after graduation or completion of a GED. The primary process objectives differ depending on the program type. iJAG has four types of program applications
  1. High School Model: The primary objective is to keep participants in high school through graduation and improve the rate of success in achieving education and career goals. This model is currently offered for 11th - 12th graders at 18 high schools, and for 9th - 10th graders at three high schools.
  2. iJAG/GEAR UP Middle School Model: The primary objective is to significantly increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. This model is currently offered at four middle schools (Marshalltown, Sioux City, Council Bluffs, and Davenport).
  3. Out of School Model: The primary objective is attainment of graduation requirement or GED and the attainment of occupational related skills. This model is currently being offered at Metro High School in Cedar Rapids.
  4. Early College Success Model: The primary objective is completion of a degree-seeking program at the community college level. This model is currently being offered at the Urban Campus of the Des Moines Community College.
     

Why this is important:
An increasing number of jobs in today's workforce require some postsecondary education. In addition, studies of wages by educational attainment indicate that there is economic value to an education. In addition, studies of wages by educational attainment indicate that there is economic value to an education. Data reported by the Iowa Department of Workforce Development illustrate the economic value of an education. The latest figures on mean wages in Iowa (2007 (Iowa Wage Survey) show that workers with less than a high school degree earn an average of $10.;34 per hour. Those with a high school degree earn on average $14.36. The average hourly wage for a worker with some postsecondary training is $20.21, for a person with a bachelor's degree is $26.63, and for a master's degree or above -- $34.47.


What we're doing about this:
There are a variety of credit student awards granted by Iowa Community Colleges. Degrees offered include Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in General Studies, Associate in Applied Arts, Associate in Applied Science, Diplomas and Certificates. In order to help students persist to the completion of a degree or award, community colleges are developing learning communities to support students and increase academic success. They provide remedial programs for students who are struggling, and provide professional development and mini grants to increase enrollment, retention and completion for minorities and for women in non-traditional programs.

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