Administrators, parents react to education report

CEDAR RAPIDS - Iowa's schools need to set higher standards - both for staff and students - or risk falling farther behind other states.

That was one conclusion from a new Iowa Department of Education study that called for a “major remodeling” of public education in the state. The report, entitled “Rising to Greatness” was intended to give policymakers, educators, parents and others talking points to discuss how to improve Iowa's current education system.  The report comes just days before Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is set to open the Iowa Education Summit in Des Moines on July 25

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and 26

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“There are many good schools across the state. But given the global nature of the economy, we need them to be great,” said Jason Glass, director of the Iowa Department of Education.

The report singled out both math and reading as areas that show erosion over the last 20 years. For instance, the report notes in 1992 the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) showed Iowa 4

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graders as ranking first in the nation in reading skills. By 2009, the report says 4

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graders in the state had dropped to about 14

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place.

Likewise, from 1992 to 2009, Iowa's 8

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grade NAEP mathematics scores fell from the top in the nation to average.

Both parents and administrators in Cedar Rapids reacted to some of the report's conclusions. One parent, waiting for her kids at the year-round Taylor Elementary School, didn't buy the idea things are slipping that badly.

Lorie Coon said, “I don't buy it for a minute. I have three kids here (Taylor) and they get a really good education with the teachers and staffing here.”

And Cedar Rapids District Superintendent Dave Benson also pointed out that in other test scores Cedar Rapids students are still top performers.

“In Cedar Rapids, we still score a year ahead of national peers (on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills). We have very solid ACT scores. Our exit exam scores are significantly ahead of the national average,” Benson said.

Another portion of the new state report also concluded that Iowa hasn't gone backwards as much as other states have forged ahead in education by devoting more time, effort and money to improvements.

Jennifer Hamilton, a Taylor parent waiting for her student, said she had some examples of that in her own experience. She attended school in Cedar Rapids but moved away at age 20 before returning three years ago. She had some experiences with schools in Raleigh, North Carolina and concluded, “The students there (North Carolina) are much further ahead. All of the schools are year round - from elementary to high school. I think students there just have more of a focus on education.”

More reaction to the conclusions also came from the Urban Education Network that represents larger school districts in Iowa. A release pointed out the Iowa Education Summit is not expected to address the significant changes in the state's student population in recent years and what that might mean for education.  For example, the number of minority students in Iowa has more than doubled in the past 15 years. The number of English as a second language students has more than quadrupled in 20 years.

“Our public schools are doing more than at any point in history and our students are accomplishing more than ever before. And so rhetoric that suggests education is somehow broken and needs to be fixed contributes nothing to how we continue to improve and transform our schools," said Paul Gausman, Superintendent of the Sioux City Community School District.