Iowans now have access to district-level performance ratings through a new addition to the Iowa School Performance Profiles, providing critical, transparent information on how Iowa's public school districts are serving students. The new district-level ratings show more than 58% of Iowa’s 325 public school districts and four public charter schools during the 2024-25 school year performed in the top three of six rating categories, with over 88% rating acceptable or higher.
The Iowa School Performance Profiles is an online tool showing how public schools and districts performed on required measures. Developed to meet both federal and state requirements for publishing online school report cards, the Iowa School Performance Profiles now includes both district- and school-level scores and performance ratings for all public districts and schools as well as by student groups across a set of accountability measures. The online resource also shows public schools that have been identified for additional support and improvement based on their performance and additional data required by law but not counted toward accountability scores.
This is the first year of district-level designations and ratings, which were calculated based on Iowa’s updated unified accountability system approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2024. The accountability system uses a clear, streamlined set of core indicators to provide an overall score and performance rating for all public districts and schools. Rating categories include exceptional (highest performing), high performing, commendable, acceptable, needs improvement and priority (lowest performing). The same methodology and cut scores were used for determining both school and district ratings.
Indicators focus on proficiency in English language arts, mathematics and science, student academic growth, chronic absenteeism and attendance growth among all K-12 schools. Districts with high schools include two additional measures—graduation rates and a postsecondary readiness indicator measuring work-based learning experiences and college credit attained by students.
The new district-level results also show achievement gaps experienced by student groups, including students who are English learners, students with disabilities, students from low-income backgrounds and student groups by race or ethnicity. A total of 125 public school districts and public charter schools, representing about a third of all public school districts, had a student group that experienced significant achievement gaps, which dropped their overall district rating by one category. All but one of the 125 districts that dropped a rating category did so based on the achievement gaps experienced by students with disabilities. Five districts dropped a rating category based on achievement gaps experienced by English learners, and 10 districts dropped based on achievement gaps between all students and those of a particular racial or ethnic group. No district dropped based on significant achievement gaps experienced by students from low-income backgrounds—an important celebration for the state of Iowa.
The new district-level ratings represent the next step in Iowa’s unified accountability and school improvement system, providing important data to support districts with their improvement planning, identifying supports to address high-need areas and improving student outcomes for all student groups going forward. The inclusion of district-level ratings also aligns Iowa with national best practices in public transparency, accountability and support structures across federal laws.
The Department has launched two new grant opportunities to further support district-wide improvement initiatives. Districts with an overall priority rating are eligible to apply for the District-Level Evidenced-Based Professional Development Grant focused on building system-level capacity for implementing evidence-based instruction. A second opportunity, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - Differentiated Accountability (IDEA-DA) Continuous Improvement Grant, is available to districts with priority or needs improvement ratings and that also have level 2 or level 3 IDEA-DA designations. IDEA-DA’s tiered levels represent the intensity of resources needed for special education program improvement to meet the needs of students with disabilities, with level 3 being the highest level of intensity.
The Iowa School Performance Profiles, launched in 2018 to meet the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act law, meets state and federal requirements to publish report cards reflecting the performance of all public schools. Additional data not included in the performance ratings are available under the Additional Metrics drop-down on the website. This includes measures such as educator effectiveness, postsecondary enrollment, staff retention and per pupil expenditures.