CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Education released Performance Profiles for Iowa’s schools from the 2023-2024 academic year.
Typically the performance report scores consider how many students are considered proficient in math and English Language Arts (ELA) or literacy as well as graduation rates.
But the report has started measuring proficiency of science, along with the level of growth in all three subjects.
Levels of student chronic absenteeism are also being used to help calculate a school’s overall score.
The report has a grading system that determines how much improvement is needed for the schools. The lowest level of performance is the priority ranking.
The number of priority schools has more than quadrupled from last year‘s report to this year’s. Last academic year, 186 Iowa schools were ranked as priority. The year before that had 45 schools ranked as priority.
The Cedar Rapids Community School District was below the state average in multiple categories.
In the Cedar Rapids Community School District:
- Almost 36% of students were chronically absent
- About 59% of students were proficient in math
- About 63% were proficient in literacy
Five CRCSD elementary schools were determined to be at the priority level, the lowest level of performance. These are Cedar River Academy at Taylor, Cleveland Elementary School, Harrison Elementary School. Johnson STEAM Academy School, and Kenwood Leadership Academy School.
One of the Cedar Rapids school district’s chief of schools says it’s working to improve performances by focusing on lowering absences. She said most schools are already improving compared to last year.
“Our average daily attendance in the majority of our schools looks better this year than it has in past years. So parents understand the importance and they’re working with the school to ensure that’s happening,” Linda Reysack said.
The district is also making changes to its curriculum to help improve those scores.
“We’ve talked all year long about barriers down and achievement up. We know that has to be true for all of our students,” Reysack said.
Cedar Rapids’ elementary schools implemented a new literacy curriculum last year. The curriculum provides a broader range of topics for students to read about, mixing in stories that are based on science or social studies topics instead of just fictional stories. This appeals to more students’ interests allowing them to read at higher levels.
This has appeared to increase performance. Most of the Cedar Rapids Elementary Schools are above the state average of literacy growth.
Cedar Rapids Community School District is also implementing new curriculums at the high school level.
The district started a new math curriculum this academic year. It requires high school students to take algebra their freshman year at the latest, instead of taking a general math class in 9th grade and algebra in 10th grade. That puts students on a path to finish high school with Algebra II instead of Geometry.
The district also said it will start a new science curriculum next year. Freshmen will take biology instead of the less rigorous Earth Science. This means those students will end their science studies with a physics course instead of ending with chemistry.
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