Iowa reading and math scores down compared to last year

DES MOINES - Students fared worse on reading and math assessments this year compared to last year, according to Iowa's 2016 state report card.

The report released this month by the Iowa Department of Education showed an overall decline in scores for students in grades three through eight and high school juniors on the Iowa Assessments.

Almost all students in those grades took the tests, and the decline was 'across the board,” Iowa Department of Education spokeswoman Staci Hupp said.

'We do see a slight decline in the most recent year here, and we definitely want to see year-to-year trends going up,” Hupp said. 'So while that's not the direction we want our results to be going, we also put a one-year decline into perspective.”

On average, 23.5 percent of all students did not meet state standards in reading, while about 20.6 percent failed to meet math standards.

That's about one percent worse than last year's scores, when about 22.6 percent of students didn't meet reading standards and 19.5 percent failed to meet math standards.

In the Corridor, fewer students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District met standards than the state average on both reading and math assessments. Iowa City ranked slightly below the state average in math and slightly above the state average in reading.

Students in the College Community, Clear Creek Amana, Marion Independent, Linn-Mar, Mount Vernon and Solon districts matched or exceeded the state's average proficiency rate in both math and reading.

Hupp said Iowa's proficiency rates still are trending up over time. The state's report card in 2002 - the first mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act - reported about 25 percent of students tested were not meeting standards.

This recent decline in scores comes on the heels of new state initiatives meant to improve student performance, including a Teacher Leadership and Compensation System, revamped curriculum standards and an early literacy initiative.

Beginning in May, the literacy initiative mandates third-graders not meeting reading standards repeat the grade or enroll in summer school. This year, nearly 7,780 third-graders fell short of reading standards.

Hupp said new state initiatives need time to influence test scores.

'We have a lot of education initiatives underway to set the stage for improvements,” Hupp said. ' ... It's not uncommon to see a dip followed by a long-term rebound.”

The 2016 State Report Card could be Iowa's last as the era of No Child Left Behind expires. The Every Student Succeeds Act, signed by President Barack Obama in December 2015, allows states to develop their own systems of accountability.

Iowa is expected to have a system of its own in place by the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

'This report is a remnant of the No Child Left Behind Act,” Hupp said. ' ... With the Every Student Succeeds Act, states have more choice for setting up systems of accountability that make sense for them.”

Hupp said Iowa's plan is to be made public in January.

The assessment used in the report to evaluate students is also on its way out. Starting in the 2017-2018 school year, schools in Iowa are expected to replace the Iowa Assessments with Smarter Balanced tests.

The state expects the new, computer-adaptive tests to measure student progress more accurately.