The authors illustrate models and procedures that can be applied to calculate overall composite scores in order to identify an indicator of English language proficiency, based on composite scores for English learners with 504 or individualized education plans who are missing one or more domain scores on the Assessing Comprehension and…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has ushered in an era of renewed focus on English Learners (ELs) in states' accountability systems. The new law not only emphasizes the academic achievement and growth of ELs alongside their peers, but it also demands that states prioritize English language acquisition and proficiency for ELs. Under the No…

Graduation from high school is an important achievement for students, and one that has implications for their future educational opportunities and earnings. For the last two decades, graduation rates have also been among the metrics used to evaluate school effectiveness under federal law, with the aim of ensuring that all students receive a…

The 2021 edition of the Annual Condition of Education Report (COE) marks the 32nd edition of the report. For over 30 years, the Department has published the COE in order to provide education stakeholders critical data about the status of Iowa's education system. The 2021 COE covers a wide variety of content including information about Iowa's…

For over 30 years, the Department has published the Annual Condition of Education (COE) report in order to provide education stakeholders quality information about the status of Iowa's education system. The 2020 COE covers a wide variety of content from information about Iowa's students, schools, educators, administrators, performance and school…

Data and information are critical tools of school improvement. They are the foundation for making informed education decisions for our schools, districts and the state. The 2019 edition of the Annual Condition of Education Report (COE) marks the 30th edition of the Iowa Department of Education report. Much has changed in the past 30 years since…

The school-aged population in the United States is becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse, while achievement gaps across content areas persist. At the same time, more rigorous academic demands are being placed on all students, including English language learners (ELLs). Teachers of ELLs face the double challenge of promoting English…

Data and information are important components of school improvement. They show how schools are changing and how students are progressing. Providing and interpreting data is one of the critical functions of the Iowa Department of Education. The annual Condition of Education report provides valuable data about students, educators and school…

Intermediary organizations increasingly provide support for schools serving marginalized students. Some attribute this trend to growing ideological support for market-based strategies to further the public good. This article investigates one intermediary that marketed equity-oriented instructional goals for schools serving high numbers of students…

This 27th edition of the "Annual Condition of Education Report" includes a rich set of information to evaluate the current status of the education system in Iowa. Data in the report provide important information about Iowa's students, teachers and schools from multiple perspectives. It includes information such as demographic…

One of the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act is that states show adequate yearly progress in their English language learners' (ELLs) acquisition of English language proficiency. States are required to assess ELLs' English language proficiency annually in four language domains (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) to measure their…

The 2015 edition of the "Annual Condition of Education Report" includes a rich set of information about the status of Iowa's K-12 education system. The report provides valuable feedback about Iowa's students, educators and school districts across a number of statewide measures. They include changes in student populations and…

Although schools and districts are increasingly required to provide various supports and instructional programs for English Language Learners (ELLs), standardized measures of these students' academic achievement continue to be low. This article summarizes key findings of two major reviews of the research on educating ELLs that were completed in…

This article discusses the decisions that school leaders must make to reclassify students as fluent and proficient in English and the implications that reclassification decisions could have for the future achievement of those students. The study examined the achievement gap between English learners and the overall student population and the…

In its recent 68-page report, "Succeeding With English Language Learners-Lessons From the Great City Schools," the Council of Great City Schools discusses findings from a study designed to identify district-level policies and strategies associated with improvements in English Language Learner (ELL) student achievement. This "Informed Educator"…