Purpose—Iowa has used a No Child Left Behind (NCLB) growth model since 2007. 2009 was the first time that growth data for three years have been included in making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) decisions for schools and districts. The NCLB growth model project focuses only on students who are not proficient in a previous year, and remain non-proficient in a subsequent year. They are counted as meeting growth, and thus AYP, when they make significant progress toward becoming proficient. What remains is the lingering question of “What about the students who are already proficient?” As it is important to study the academic achievement gains of non-proficient students, to make sure they are on track to becoming proficient, it is equally important to study the academic achievement gains of students who are already proficient, to make sure they are improving in their own learning. Thus, this analysis is a study of the academic achievement improvement of students throughout the proficiency spectrum.

Context: • NCLB Growth: Are non-proficient students making progress toward proficiency? • What about the students who are already proficient? Does their growth continue?

Iowa ranks 38th nationally in teacher salary compensation, the lowest quarter of all states. This study looks at what, if any, impact the Student Achievement and Teacher Quality Program has had on teacher salaries.

Can a “perfect” district be organized in Iowa when it comes to impacting student achievement? This study looks at district characteristics that are associated with success on statewide-standardized tests.

This Iowa Department of Education study show students who took at least one higher-level mathematics course or science course perform better on statewide tests than their peers who did not.