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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:
The percentage of 4th graders who are proficient in reading indicates whether instructional programs are working. 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:
The percentage of 8th graders who are proficient in math indicates whether instructional programs are working. 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 work in mathematics is organized around the Every Student Counts initiative. The goal of the initiative is to provide professional development and technical assistance to schools focusing on improved student achievement in mathematics. It is aimed at helping all students succeed, thereby reducing achievement gaps. Specific activities include the Middle School Project, the AEA/DE Mathematics Capacity Building Team, and the Teacher Development Academy.

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.

Why this is important:
A report issued in 2002 by the U.S. Census Bureau illustrates the economic value of an education. Adults ages 25-64 earned an average of $34,700 per year. Average earnings ranged from $18,900 for high school dropouts to $25,900 for high school graduates, $45,400 for college graduates, and $99,300 for workers with professional degrees. In information released by the Iowa Department of Workforce Development for 2002, the average hourly wage in Iowa for a person with less than a high school diploma was $9.81; with a high school diploma the rate was $13.66; postsecondary degree -- $16.30; and baccalaureate or graduate degree -- $25.97.


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 (I-JAG) is a school-to-work/life transition and dropout prevention program for youth facing multiple barriers to high school graduation, continued education and employment. Performance data indicates that this 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 2005-2006 include:

• As of one year following graduation, 91% of the Class of 2005 seniors were employed, enrolled in postsecondary education, had entered the military or some combination thereof on a full-time basis.
• 42% of the Class of 2006 seniors enrolled in postsecondary education following graduation. Approximately 57% of these graduates are first generation postsecondary attendees and 23% are first generation high school graduates.
• Community Service is part of the I-JAG curriculum. All students participate in a minimum of four hours each year; most students average 10 hours per year. During '05-'06, I-JAG students across Iowa contributed more than 4,000 hours in community service. If paid minimum wage, this contribution represents a monetary value of more than $20,000 invested in Iowa communities.
• I-JAG consistently exceeds the national standards for the above performance areas. Iowa is among the top three states for average wage, at-job placement and enrollment in postsecondary education. Program performance standards are monitored by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University and JAG program.
  

Why this is important:
An increasing number of jobs in today's workforce require postsecondary training. In addition, studies of wages earned by educational attainment indicate that there is economic value to an education. In information released by the Iowa Department of Workforce Development for 2002, the average hourly wage in Iowa for a person with less than a high school diploma was $9.81, with a high school diploma the rate was $13.66; postsecondary degree - $16.30; and baccalaureate or graduate degree - $25.97.


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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