Iowa student proficiency rises in English language arts

Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress results for spring show that the state has reached or surpassed pre-pandemic proficiency levels in English language arts and mathematics, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

The department released results last week from the spring 2024 assessment that determined whether students in third through 11th grade were meeting proficiency standards in the two subjects, in compliance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.

In the release on spring results, education department officials wrote that overall results showed some long-term progress for most grades, while results “do not show meaningful progress in most grade levels” for mathematics by remaining steady in comparison with previous years.

For English language arts, proficiency rates improved or remained steady in all assessed grades, with the exception of third grade, in comparison with the previous year. Proficiencies increased across five grades — fourth through eighth.

When looking at long-term results, the department found the largest increases in English language arts scores for sixth- through eightth-grade students’ proficiency in comparison with 2019 scores, rising between 8 and 9 percentage points. However, proficiency rates have decreased since 2019 for third grade students, as well as those in ninth-11th grades.

In mathematics, proficiency increased in comparison with 2019 results for grades three, five, six and eight, with the highest improvement coming for third-grade students with a 5 percentage point increase. Results for seventh and 11th grade students remained at the same rate, while students in ninth grade saw the biggest drop of 7 percent fewer students proficient in 2024 compared with 2019. Grades four and 10 saw proficiency rates drop by a percentage point over five years.

Overall, most mathematics proficiency rates show “relatively little to no growth across most grades when compared to last year,” according to the department news release, with grades only increasing or decreasing by 1 or 2 points.

The results also showed that significant proficiency gaps remain among students with disabilities and students who are English language learners in both of the assessment areas. English language learners had an average proficiency difference across all assessed grade levels of 53 percent points in English language arts and 45 percentage points math in comparison with the overall student results. Students with disabilities saw differences of 45 points in English language arts and 41 points in mathematics.

“We celebrate the successes of our learners, and we continue to work in partnership with families and educators to provide all students what they need to meet high expectations and realize their incredible potential,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow. “Informed by our student achievement data, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthening early literacy and narrowing and closing achievement gaps experienced by students with disabilities and students who are English language learners.”

During the 2024 legislative session, test results were cited as a motivation to pass the law proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds making significant changes to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies system providing support for children with special needs in Iowa schools. A report released by the Guidehouse consulting firm said the state spent more per-pupil on special education funding than the national average, but that students with disabilities performed below the national average on assessments. However, AEA supporters and education advocates argued the report cited misleading information.

In addition to efforts to change special education provisions in Iowa schools, the Iowa Department of Education said in the news release the state is working to improve proficiency rates by adopting new academic standards for both of the tested subjects, approved by the Iowa State Board of Education.

The department also provided professional learning opportunities for implementing the new standards over the summer for nearly 2,000 mathematics educators and more than 1,300 English language arts educators, according to the release.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.