Education
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MEASURE:
Percentage of children, ages
three and four, who have participated
in a preschool program that is
NAEYC accredited and/or meets
Head Start program performance
standards, or meets a comparable
set of standards, or participating
in preschool and childcare programs
that are implementing Iowa QPPS.
Data Source: Departments of Education
and Human Services
NAEYC = National Association for the Education
of Young Children.
QPPS = Quality Preschool Program Standards
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Why
this is important:
Research has established a clear and compelling connection between the quality
of children's early learning experiences and later success in school and in life.
By achieving NAEYC accreditation, meeting Head Start Program Performance Standards
or consistently implementing the QPPS standards and criteria, programs are providing
quality early learning experiences that promote positive outcomes for children
and reduce the achievement gap when they enter kindergarten. Providing children
with access to high quality preschools is Iowa's best and most cost-effective
long-term investment in reducing future costs for academic remediation, in building
a quality workforce, and in supporting the quality of family life that Iowa values.
What we're doing about this:
The Governor, Department of Education (DE),
and the State Board of Education have established
early childhood as one of Iowa's education
priorities. They are committed to providing
quality early learning services and programs
to children, birth to five years of age, and
their families. The DE is providing statewide
training in order to support preschool and
child care programs to implement the Iowa Quality
Preschool Program Standards (QPPS).
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MEASURE:
Percentage of children entering
kindergarten who are performing
at or above proficiency with
preliteracy skills as measured
by DIBELS.
Data Source: Department of Education, BEDS
DIBELS: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy SKills
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Why
this is important:
Understanding beginning sounds and being able
to name letters are crucial skills for learning
to read. The percent of students entering Kindergarten
in Iowa who are proficient in these preliteracy
skills is decreasing, indicating a strong need
for more quality preschools.
What we're doing about this:
The Iowa Department of Education supports
initiatives that specifically target quality
preschool programming and literacy development
for young children. Examples include Shared
Visions and Head Start preschool programs,
the AEA Early Childhood Network, the Iowa
quality Preschool Program Standards (QPPS)
and the Iowa Early Learning Standards. The
Department also collaborates with Iowa Public
Television's Ready to Learn service that
provides training and related educational
materials to families and early care providers
to help improve early learning experiences
for children.
In addition, the 2006 General Assembly appropriated an additional
$15 million to the Empowerment Board for
early childhood education. Of that amount
approximately $5 million will go for parent
education, $3.6 million for increasing access
to preschool, $5.4 million for improving
quality, and $1 million for business partnership.
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MEASURE:
Percentage of fourth graders
performing at or above the proficient
level on the ITBS reading comprehension
test.
Data Source: Department of Education
ITBS = Iowa Tests of Basic Skills
Updated 8/29/06
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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.
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MEASURE:
Percent of American College Testing
(ACT) participants taking
core high school program.
Data Source: Department of Education
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Why
this is important:
American College Testing (ACT) designed the ACT Assessments to measure high school
students general education development and ability to succeed at the college
level. The ACT scores range from a low of 1 to a high of 36. ACT defines "core"
as high school programs consisting of 4 years of English, and 3 or more years
of mathematics, natural science and social studies. The average ACT composite
score for test takers in Iowa who have completed the core courses in high school
is 22.9. By comparison, the Iowa "less than core" test takers have
an average composite score of 20.2. This indicates that students taking the core
program
in high school are more likely to be successful in college.
What we're doing about this:
The Department of Education is involved in a multitude of activities designed
to increase rigor and relevance in the high school curriculum. High school review
visits, community conversations, High School Summits, a Comprehensive School
Reform grant program, the Iowa Professional Development Model, Improving
Rigor
and Relevance in the High School Curriculum, Iowa Learning Online, and Iowa
AP
Online Academy are just a few of the initiatives (for
more information see http://www.state.ia.us/educate/ecese/hsbf/doc/activities_support_hs_initiatives_051107.htm.)
In addition, the 2006 General Assembly passed legislation requiring
school districts to set graduation requirements
at a minimum of 4 credits for English/language
arts, and 3 credits each for mathematics,
science and social studies. The Department
and State Board of
Education developed and adopted a Model Core
Curriculum that
goes beyond looking at the number of courses
that students take, and
identifies the essential content and skills
for a world-class core curriculum. http://www.state.is.us/educate/ecese/hsmcc/doc/06_MCC_final-report.pdf
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MEASURE:
Percent of Iowa public high school
graduates/seniors pursuing or
intending to pursue postsecondary education/training.
Data Source: Department of Education
Updated 11/21/06
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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:
The Department has initiated extensive high school reform efforts designed to
make education at the high school level more rigorous and relevant and to better
prepare students to be successful at the post secondary level. In addition, programs
such as dual enrollment, and post-secondary enrollment options allow students
to earn college credit while still in high school. In other examples, Project
Lead the Way establishes strong partnerships among the public schools, higher
education institutions and the private sector to increase the quantity and quality
of engineers and create a seamless transition through the education system. High
schools, community colleges, four-year institutions, and business and industry
are also involved in biological sciences and biotech regional meetings to align
the curriculum through the various sectors of the education system to develop
the skills needed in the workplace.
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