The report shows that the majority of Iowa public school students in grades 3-8 and 11 met the state's annual objectives. In addition, 92.5 percent of Iowa's public school districts and 75 percent of Iowa schools were not identified as needing assistance for the 2009-2010 academic year.
The report card has some new information based on federal reporting requirements. For the first time, the State Report Card for No Child Left Behind reflects changes in how race and ethnicity are reported as mandated by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The USDE's mandate is aligned with requirements for all federal agencies and with the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 collection. The change will help Iowa schools better serve and support their students. More information on race/ethnicity reporting changes is available here.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 requires each state to provide an annual report card to inform stakeholders and the public about the progress of students and schools on indicators of student achievement and other information that relates to student success. The State Report Card for No Child Left Behind provides state-level data to serve as a comparison for schools and districts as they consider and implement improvement efforts to increase the success for all Iowa students.