Gov. Kim Reynolds said Iowa’s improving public school performance shows the state is well-positioned to have more control over federal education funding as she seeks approval to receive block grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
In March, she announced Iowa was the first state in the country to request federal education money in the form of block grants, instead of the current separate funding streams that support certain student groups.
“With today’s good news, we’re proving that, I think, we’re up to the task, that we are definitely on the right track, that we have put the infrastructure in place, that we really are ready and able to take that opportunity and continue strong partnerships to move this state forward,” Reynolds said Wednesday at a news conference that highlighted education gains.
Education advocacy groups have raised concerns that Iowa’s proposal would undermine programs that serve English language learners, rural students and students from low-income backgrounds.
Reynolds said her request is still pending at the U.S. Department of Education, and she does not know when federal officials will make a final decision.
More than 40% of schools move up in performance ratings
The Iowa Department of Education launched a new system for evaluating school performance last year. This year, officials said 41.9% of Iowa’s schools moved up in the ratings, while 17.7% moved down, and the rest stayed in the same category as last year.
McKenzie Snow, director of the Iowa Department of Education, said this is “remarkable progress.”
“Iowa has so much to celebrate today,” she said. “Overall school performance is improving, early literacy is improving, science proficiency is improving, attendance is improving and work-based learning is growing.”
The K-12 school performance scores focus on proficiency in English language arts, math and science, student academic growth, chronic absenteeism and attendance growth. High school ratings include graduation rates and postsecondary readiness, which includes work-based learning experiences and college credit attained by students.
The state reported nearly 56% of public schools are now in the top three of six rating categories, compared to 46% of schools last year. Most of the lowest-performing schools in the state improved with help from new school improvement teams, according to state officials.
Reynolds said this all shows “progress towards restoring educational excellence.”
“Honestly, this level of improvement is almost unheard of,” she said. “These successes say a lot about Iowa’s dedicated teachers and our school administrators, but they also say a lot about a strengthening partnership between Iowa schools and the Department of Education.”
Reynolds said fourth grade students in the 2024-25 school year increased their reading proficiency by 11 percentage points compared to their third grade scores, which she attributed to her early literacy bill that was passed last year. She said her bill on math instruction that she signed into law this year will do the same for math proficiency.
Low-performing schools get help from school improvement teams
The lowest performing 5% of Title I schools, which have higher proportions of low-income families, are improving more quickly than in the past, according to state officials. These schools are designated for three years of extra support.
The Iowa Department of Education reported 32 of the 35 schools in this category improved their performance score over the past year by an average of 5.4 percentage points. The state attributed these gains to regional school improvement teams that were established just over two years ago.
Tina Wahlert, administrator of the department’s PK-12 learning division, said she has worked in school improvement for the past 20 years.
“We would use the whole three-year cycle to try and get as far as we’ve gotten in one year this year,” she said. “So I feel like it’s way accelerated in the way that we’re able to support and move schools more urgently.”
Wahlert said schools were hesitant about the school improvement teams at first, but they have embraced the extra support and evaluation from the department.
TJ Schneckloth, superintendent of the Davenport Community School District, said at the news conference that the school improvement teams are helping to build systems of coaching and support for educators.
“If somebody walks into your area with a clipboard and does things on a checklist and then hands it to you, that’s not support, that’s accountability,” he said. “Accountability with support is when we move the needle forward, and that’s exactly what’s occurring.”
Schneckloth also said the Legislature’s efforts to lower chronic absenteeism, restrict cell phone use in schools and raise starting teacher salaries have had a positive impact on his district.
This story was corrected at 3:50 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, to accurately describe the groups of students who may be affected by the state’s block grant proposal.