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…

This study examines the effectiveness of cooperative reading teaching activities and independent reading activities for English language learner (ELL) students at 4th grade level. Based on simple linear regression and correlational analyses of data collected from two large data bases, PIRLS and NAEP, the study found that cooperative reading…

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…

Science educators have suggested that, for minority and low-income students, gaps between home and school science cultures necessitate "border crossing" for successful learning in science. Our analysis used National Assessment of Educational Progress 2000 and 2005 data to assess the impact of U.S. state-level policy regarding…

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…

This paper evaluates the effect of differing amounts of schooling on outcomes of lower secondary education. Two groups of German academic track students are compared who chose English as either their first (EFFL; "n" = 2,771) or second (ESFL; "n" = 345) foreign language throughout secondary school. While EFFL students receive…

English Language Learners (ELLs) are among the fastest-growing demographic group in U.S. public schools. There are numerous recent reports documenting this phenomenon. Some reports estimate the numbers of ELLs enrolled in U.S. public schools, and other reports approximate the growth in ELL enrollment over the past five to ten years. Still, there…

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…

This report presents results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2010 civics assessment. National results for representative samples of students at grades 4, 8, and 12 are reported as average scale scores and as a percentage of students performing at or above three achievement levels: "Basic,"…

This study investigated the impact of an innovative professional development initiative on teachers' ability to use technological resources to improve English learners' academic language. The Teaching Using Technology Studio, a collaborative effort between school district and university personnel, was designed as a responsive professional…

Addressing the academic needs of a growing student population with culturally and linguistically diverse characteristics is one of the challenges facing educators. This study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to test for differences in patterns of mathematics growth (e.g., high, middle, and low performance groups) in Latino…

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…

Little research currently examines language instruction educational programs (LIEPs) in states with a more recent growth of the Latino English learner population. To meet this need, the authors examined the content each of the state LIEPs, focusing chiefly on the extent to which the types of language support, as well as the stipulations associated…

This article investigates plausible explanations for the observed heterogeneity among jurisdictions in the exclusion rates of students with disabilities and English language learners in administrations of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). It also examines the operating characteristics of a particular class of methods, called…

National Assessment of Educational Progress data were analyzed to assess differences in reading achievement for Hispanic fourth graders across states with varying policies on language acquisition, controlling for student and school characteristics. Results indicated that (a) both Hispanic English language learner (ELL) and non-ELL students in…