At an event on closing the achievement gap this week, Gov. Terry Branstad shared some of the statistics that show the extent of that challenge. He also praised the Colfax-Mingo school district for its success with early literacy. The goal, of course, is making sure every district  is positioned to identify struggling readers early and provide effective, intensive assistance – long before third grade.

Here is an excerpt of the governor’s prepared remarks:

• “Only 65 percent of Iowa’s low-income third-graders could read proficiently last school year on state tests compared to 85 percent of more affluent third-graders. Both numbers are too low.
• “By eighth-grade, results were worse: About half of low-income students could read proficiently on state tests last school year compared to about three-quarters of more affluent eighth-graders.
• “Research shows that all but 2 percent to 3 percent of young children are capable of reaching at least basic proficiency in reading.
• “Some schools excel at teaching literacy, despite poverty, so it can be done.
• “For example, look at the Colfax-Mingo school district. About half of third-graders are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
• “Yet the share of third-graders reading proficiently rose from 63 percent in 2006-07 to nearly 94 percent last year.
• “Principal Brian Summy attributed their success to good communication, intensive intervention, and making sure instruction consistently matches student achievement data. ‘The classroom had to be student driven, not teacher driven.’”

Governor Branstad  also said that the Iowa Reading Research Center will provide a universal screening assessment system to every school that chooses to use it — free of charge thanks to a $2 million appropriation from the 2012 Legislature. This is critical work that needs to be continued with a sense of urgency.

As the governor pointed out:  “Giving all children a world-class education must include assuring they master basic skills like reading, so they can learn more complex skills”

The article explores the Match Teacher Residency, which requires student teachers to practice and master a set of very specific competencies — part of a growing movement toward “practice-based” teacher education.

This growing focus on student teachers demonstrating that they really know how to teach comes as the education reform package proposed by Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds includes a pilot project for a year-long student-teaching residency instead of the typical one semester. The goal is for one of Iowa’s state universities and one private college to try this approach that has had proven success at Arizona State University.

Student teachers – and their future students – stand to benefit from a stronger clinical experience.

Read the Education Week article.

Thanks to courageous leadership on all fronts – by teachers, school board members and school administrators – and a federal grant won in partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, the two districts are on their way to transforming education in Iowa.

The centerpiece of Gov. Terry Branstad’s and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ 2013 education reform package is a teacher leadership system that is significantly modeled on the TAP system. Central Decatur and Saydel will show how it can be done.

 Read more about the votes in Central Decatur and Saydel.

One expert interviewed suggested the need for a more purposeful approach in some places, noting that friends use the term “random acts of STEM….”

Iowa’s STEM initiative is anything but random. In its first year and a half, the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council created six regional STEM hubs, each run by a hub manager and advisory board, and delivered high-quality STEM education programs to about 38,000 Iowa youngsters.

The council is working to provide more access to great STEM education in a variety of ways, as well as looking at how to tie STEM education to STEM economic development.

A generous $4.7  million appropriation from the Legislature has made this work possible.

Read the Education Week article.

Go to the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council website.

The Asia Society’s February newsletter offers a thoughtful, quick
overview on the topic and suggestions for how to develop a vision for competency–based education,
including resources to tap.

Meanwhile, Iowa’s Competency-Based Education Task Force has
been meeting to study “competency-based instruction standards, the integration
of competency-based instruction with the Iowa Core, and will develop assessment
models and professional development.” The task force recently issued a preliminary
report: http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2650&Itemid=5159

By Nov. 15, 2013, the task force is expected to submit its
plan, models, and recommendations to the governor, State Board of Education and
the Legislature.

And the Iowa House Education Committee last week passed an
amended version of the governor’s and lt. governor’s education reform bill, adding a competency-based instruction task force that would “develop a draft strategic
plan and proposed timeline for statewide implementation of competency-based
learning for consideration by the General Assembly.”

Read the Asia Society overview.

The report also recommends that teacher-preparation programs raise their entry standards: a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a minimum grade on college- or graduate-school-entry exams, such as a 24 on the ACT, according to Education Week.

The University of Iowa is moving this spring to requiring a 3.0 GPA for admission to its teacher education program.

It’s great to see a teachers’ organization leading the way on reform.

Read about AFT’s initiative.

And outstanding line-up of speakers and panelists includes Sioux City Superintendent Paul Gausman, who will give the keynote address on his community’s journey addressing this issue that affects all youngsters — those who are targeted, those who do the bullying, and all the other kids who witness it far too frequently.

See the agenda and register.

We’ll talk about how the recommendations of the Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation will shape the education package Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will present to the 2013 Legisalture. We’ll talk about other pieces of the package, too, which will focus on how to better support great  teaching in every classroom.

The schedule for our remaining five conversations with educators is below. We’ve already held meetings in Manchester and Des Moines. If you can’t attend any of the meetings, you can leave your comments on the education department homepage where the Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation report is located.

Read recommendations from the Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation.

Conversations with educators:

Sioux City:  Thursday, Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30
p.m., in the auditorium at North High School, 4200 Cheyenne Blvd., Sioux City.
Clear Lake: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., in
the E. B. Stillman Auditorium at Clear Lake Middle School, 1601 Third Ave.
North, Clear Lake.
Oskaloosa: Thursday, Nov. 29, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
in the George Dailey Community Auditorium, 1800 N. Third St., Oskaloosa.
Atlantic: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30
p.m., in the auditorium at Atlantic High School, 1201 E. 14^th St.,
Atlantic.
Bettendorf: Thursday, Dec. 6, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.,
Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, 729 21^st St., Bettendorf.

Starting Oct. 22, the Iowa Department of Education homepage carousel where the recommendations are available also will have a comment section in the same location. So if you cannot attend any of the meetings, please let us know what you think in the comment section.

Here’s the full schedule:

1)  Manchester: Monday, Oct. 22, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the auditorium at West Delaware High School, 605 New St., Manchester.

2)  Des Moines: Tuesday, Oct. 23, 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., in the auditorium at Central Campus, 1800 Grand Ave., Des Moines.

3)   Sioux City:  Thursday, Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the auditorium at North High School, 4200 Cheyenne Blvd., Sioux City.
4)  Clear Lake: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the E. B. Stillman Auditorium at Clear Lake Middle School, 1601 Third Ave. North, Clear Lake.
5)  Oskaloosa: Thursday, Nov. 29, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the George Dailey Community Auditorium, 1800 N. Third St., Oskaloosa.
6)  Atlantic: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the auditorium at Atlantic High School, 1201 E. 14^th St., Atlantic.

7)  Bettendorf: Thursday, Dec. 6, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, 729 21^st St., Bettendorf.

Iowa had the highest test scores in the country in 1992 among the 41 states studied, but now ranks in the middle of the pack, according to the report, “Achievement Growth: International and U.S. State Trends in Student Performance,” released by Harvard’s Program on Education Policy and Governance. Over that entire period, the study found, Iowa gained “less than one-quarter of a year’s worth of additional learning….”

The study is more evidence that Iowa must shake off complacency and build a consensus for how to give our students a globally-competitive education. Iowa has a strong foundation to build upon, but many other states and nations have moved faster to improve the quality of education.

The Aug. 3 Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium will examine how to better use the talents of outstanding educators to improve instructional practices and raise achievement.

This report should lend a sense of urgency to the discussion.

Read “Achievement Growth: International and U.S. State Trends in Student Performance.”

Learn more about the Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium.