Despite being under full Republican control for the last six years, Iowa has a lot of work to do when it comes to education and, more importantly, empowering parents in education. The Center for Education Reform’s Parent Power! Index shows Iowa ranks 39th with an overall score of just 61.8 percent when it comes to the Parent Power Index.
Things are improving, according to the organization, but slowly.
“Kernels of power for parents in the land where the corn grows tall are increasing, with modest improvements in tax credits and the weakest of charter school laws,” the website states. “At least the state remains strong on digital and personalized learning, and encourages districts to foster an aura of innovation.”
Iowa receives just 55 percent for charter schools, ranking 46th with an ‘F’ grade. It notes a “modest change” in the law created more opportunities for charter schools in Iowa, but the lack of funding along with some other details doesn’t alter the “sad score” of ‘F.’
Iowa gets a score of 65 percent and a ‘D’ when it comes to choice programs, such as scholarships, vouchers, tax credits, etc. This ranks Iowa 24th.
Teacher quality in Iowa is last. The state scores 63 percent and earns a ‘D’ grade. Iowa does not have requirements for teacher content knowledge or performance metrics in evaluations.
Here is the top 10:
Florida (94%)
Arizona (93%)
Indiana (87%)
Ohio (80%)
Wisconsin (78%)
West Virginia (77%)
Minnesota (77%)
District of Columbia (76%)
Colorado (76%)
Utah (75%)
For comparison’s sake, here are some states that rank better than Iowa:
23. Michigan (70%)
27. Delaware (66%)
28. Massachusetts (65%)
29. Illinois (65%)
30. New York (64%)
31. Vermont (64%)
32. Rhode Island (64%)
33. Maine (64%)
34. Maryland (63%)
36. Hawaii (63%)
37. California (62%)
38. Oregon (62%)
