The Iowa Department of Education has released the latest results of the Iowa School Report Card, a web-based school ratings system.
Based on each school’s performance over a two-year period, the report card assigns one of six ratings: Exceptional, High-Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improvement, and Priority.
Locally, some buildings received high marks, including the following in the “High-Performing” category: Jefferson Intermediate in Pella and Pleasantville Elementary, which places them in the top 9% of schools in the state.
All other schools in Pella received a Commendable score, which is roughly among the top 25%, for the exception of Lincoln Elementary, which could not be rated based on not having all available categories for the criteria. All buildings in Knoxville earned an “acceptable” score, except for West Elementary, which could not be scored as well.
In the area, Lynnville-Sully Middle School and High School each reached an “Exceptional” score, the highest possible in the Iowa School Report Card program.
Melcher-Dallas Middle School was rated a priority school, which means it ranks among the bottom five percent of schools in the state.
The Iowa School Report Card, which was launched in 2015 as part of a state legislative requirement, rates public schools on some measures of achievement. They include student proficiency rates in math and reading, student academic growth, narrowing achievement gaps among students, college and career readiness, student attendance, graduation rates, and staff retention.