Iowa's test score drop has officials asking 'Why?'

For the first time in recent years, Iowa's reading and math scores have dropped on statewide tests — leaving public education officials wondering why.

Across the state, the percentage of Iowa fourth-graders on grade level in reading fell from 75.7 percent during the 2014-15 school year to 74.8 percent last spring.

In math, fourth-grade proficiency likewise fell from 80.3 percent in 2014-15 to 79 percent this past school year.

"Anytime we see a dip in performance, it's absolutely an area of concern," said Jay Pennington, the Iowa Department of Education's bureau chief of information and analysis services.

Pennington cautioned that the tests are only one measure of success, and that Iowa had seen small but steady increases in previous years.

“We want to look at this in conjunction with longer trends," he said.

Across districts, the test results were more mixed.

For example, Des Moines Public Schools saw its third-grade reading scores rise from 60.3 percent proficient in 2014-15 to 61.6 percent proficient last spring. Third-grade math scores were virtually unchanged — 66.9 percent proficient in 2014-15 and 66.8 percent last year.

Davenport Public Schools saw its third-grade reading scores drop from 63.4 percent proficiency in 2014-15 to 60.7 percent proficiency last spring. West Des Moines, conversely, saw its third-grade reading proficiency rise slightly from 78.4 percent in 2014-15 to 79 percent last spring.

Until last spring, student results on the Iowa Assessments have increased every year since the accountability exams were rolled out in 2011-12. The first year of the exams, just 73.5 percent of Iowa fourth-graders were on grade level in reading, the lowest on record.

Why the drop?

It's unclear why Iowa students saw nearly across-the-board drops last year, education officials said.

The lower results occurred in multiple grades, among students of different heritages and backgrounds, and among special-education students and those learning English.

One explanation could be that teachers are focusing more on teaching the Iowa Core curriculum. The Iowa Core expresses statewide academic standards describing what students should know in math, science, English language arts and social studies.

But state leaders have said that the Iowa Assessments tests are not aligned with those standards, meaning they don't reflect the state's new learning expectations in reading and math.

“Our shift in the classroom has been from timed tests to really teaching for understanding,” said Tammy Wawro, president of Iowa’s teachers union.

The state is expected to move to Smarter Balanced exams, which are aligned with the Iowa Core, in the spring of 2018.

"I’m anxious for a test that’s really going to help us know what our kids know," Wawro said. "This test does not tell us that."

'Yes, I'm concerned'

The test declines were prevalent among some of Iowa's most disadvantaged students.

Fourth-grade reading results among black students, including both African immigrants and African-American students, fell from 49.8 percent proficiency to 49.0 percent.

In comparison, proficiency among Iowa's white students also fell from 80.5 percent to 79.7 percent.

"Yes, I'm concerned," said Wayne Ford, a civil rights activist and founder of the nonprofit Urban Dreams. "I worry about my sisters and brothers who are not graduating from high school or going to college."

He warned that today's education outcomes will affect tomorrow's economic prospects.

"We've all got to work together," the former legislator said of improving academic results among diverse students.

The 2015-16 test results did show reading gains among Hispanic students, the only student subgroup that showed improvement on fourth-grade tests. They rose from 56.2 percent to 56.5 percent of students on grade level.

School accountability changing

The test results, which were released Wednesday with little fanfare and no media briefing, previously had accompanied the No Child Left Behind State Report Card.

Staci Hupp, the department's spokeswoman, said officials previously had focused on Adequate Yearly Progress results, listing schools or districts that were being held accountable for not meeting federal benchmarks.

The federal No Child Left Behind act required that 100 percent of students perform at grade level in math and reading, which few actually achieved. Last school year, 81 percent of Iowa's 1,336 schools fell short.

The state decide to "freeze" those school designations, meaning no new schools are being added, although schools with improvement plans are expected to continue.

Instead, Iowa leaders are focusing on efforts to draft a new plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces No Child Left Behind.

Iowa education leaders are drafting a new plan for holding schools accountable, as well as providing struggling schools support to meet the new law. A draft could be done as early as January, and a final plan submitted as early as March, Hupp said.

See the results

Search an online database of test results here.