Iowa plan sets higher growth rate, lower goals for minority students

Iowa's minority and low-income students will have different — sometimes lower — goals than their white, affluent peers under a new school accountability plan developed by the Iowa Department of Education.

That is drawing attention to the sticky crossroads of educational aspirations and the reality of helping students who are sometimes three to four grade levels below their peers.

Iowa submitted its Every Student Succeeds Act plan for federal approval Monday. It will replace the state's school accountability plan that was developed under the No Child Left Behind law.

Iowa's ESSA plan:Five takeaways for replacing No Child Left Behind

The new plan outlines achievement goals that grow grade-level math and reading by 1 percentage point a year for low-income and minority students, a faster rate than the half percentage point for the students overall.

Those higher growth targets are an effort to decease the state's proficiency gap and gradually bringing low-income and minority students up to the same level as their peers. 

But while growth targets are higher, overall achievement goals are lower for minority students than for their white peers.

For example, by 2021 the goal for third-graders reading at grade-level is 54 percent for black students, 65.9 percent for Hispanic students, 80.6 percent for Asian students and 83.1 percent for white students.

The Iowa Department of Education set those goals based on "what we thought were reasonable-but-still-high targets," said Amy Williamson, the department's bureau chief for school improvement.

"It was walking the line between what we think is possible in terms of improvement and what is the right thing for our kids," she said.

The state's ESSA goals vary greatly from those required under No Child Left Behind, which was widely criticized for expecting 100 percent of students to be on grade level in math and reading by 2014.

NCLB proficiency rates were never achieved, in Iowa or other states, marking a shift in how educational leaders think about school policy and student achievement. 

"Writing it down on a piece of paper doesn't make it happen," Williamson said. 

Yet some question Iowa's new expectations and if they set a high-enough bar.

"I'm certain we can make greater gains than that over time," said Randy Peters, professor of education leadership at Drake University, citing efforts that range from discipline reform to school funding.

Iowa's ESSA plan leverages school programs developed over the last few years, such as paying for teacher coaches and a state focus on K-3 reading success. 

Those efforts are “going to pay dividends over time,” said Roark Horn, executive director of School Administrators of Iowa. "I believe it’s a shift that will serve our students well.”

The plan also establishes additional supports and resources for the lowest performing schools. Struggling schools will develop improvement plans using state or district oversight.

"We did not intend for ESSA to create a power-grab opportunity for the state," Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise said Monday. "We wanted to create an opportunity to set a vision and allow local schools to execute on that vision."

State Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines, acknowledged the state's work in addressing the achievement gap — by some measures it's wider in Iowa than other states — but said more must be done to "catch up" minority students. 

"By the time they're graduating high school, there's a big gap," said Gaines, who is black. Like other advocates, she renewed her call for full-day, state-funded preschool. 

"If we can work with early childhood to make sure that the kids are starting out more equally ... it would eliminate the achievement gap faster," Gaines said. 

Tammy Wawro, president of the Iowa State Education Association, echoed the call for expanding preschool, which the state currently offers families on a part-time, voluntary basis.

But she also pointed to disparities that exist in what Iowa schools offer. For example, students do not have the same access to school nurses, counselors or college-prep courses, she said. 

“I think opportunities matter in our schools,” Wawro said. “It matters what ZIP code you live in our state.”

To receive feedback while developing the accountability plan, the Iowa Department of Education held 18 public forums in 2016 and 2017, three online surveys and eight focus groups. A statewide advisory group also contributed.

"We believe we did a very comprehensive approach to ensuring Iowans' voices were heard in the planning process," Wise said.