Annual Progress Report

• Information on how students in the district and in each school perform on the state assessment, the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) for grades 4 and 8 and the ITED (Iowa Test of Educational Development) for grade 11 in Iowa.
  
  
• Student performance in terms of three levels: basic, proficient, and advanced.
  
  
• Achievement data disaggregated, or broken out, by student subgroups according to race, ethnicity, gender, English language proficiency, migrant status, disability status, and low-income status.
  
  
• Identification of schools within the district that have been identified as a school in need of assistance.

• No Child Left Behind – A Parent’s Guide, United States Department of Education, 2003
  
  
• No Child Left Behind, Iowa Department of Education
   

Parents/Families should ask their school...

If the annual progress report (APR) is not in a language understandable to you, ask the principal to explain/or have explained the report to you in your first language.


If the report indicates that your school has been identified as a school in need of assistance (SINA), ask the principal to explain what steps the building is taking to improve and what options you have for your child.


If the report indicates that your school has been identified as a school in need of assistance (SINA), ask your child’s teacher what is being done to improve your child’s learning opportunities in the identified area, reading or math.


If your student attends a Title I school, ask the principal about the qualifications of the teacher of your student.

 Teachers/Caregivers should ask...

• Do I read the annual progress report each year? Am I comfortable in explaining its contents to others, including parents?
  
  

• If our school has been named as a school in need of assistance (SINA), am I able to identify for others what steps our building is taking to improve and what options our parents have for their child?
  
  

• If our school has been named as a school in need of assistance (SINA), am I able to share with the parents of my students what is being done to improve the students’ learning opportunities in the identified area, reading or math?
  
  

• Am I a “highly qualified teacher,” by Iowa standards? If not, what steps am I taking to be sure that I become “highly qualified”?

Administrators should ask...

• Do I read the annual progress report each year? Am I comfortable in explaining its contents to others, including staff members and parents? In the languages of the home?
  
  

• If our school has been named as a school in need of assistance (SINA), am I able to identify for others what steps our building is taking to improve and what options our parents have for their child?
  
  

• If our school has been named as a school in need of assistance (SINA), am I able to share with the parents and community what is being done to improve the students’ learning opportunities in the identified area, reading or math. In the languages of the home?
  
  

• Do I know which teachers in my building are “highly qualified,” by Iowa standards? Am I able to relate the appropriate information to parents regarding their students’ teacher(s)? In the languages of the home?
  
  

• Do I have access to individuals who are able to translate in the home languages in both written and oral forms the information my district and building shares with the parents and community?

Parents/Families should...

• Read your district’s APR – annual progress report. You can find the report at your school if you don’t receive one in the mail or via the local newspaper. In many districts, you can also access the annual progress report on the web page of the school district. Many libraries have computers where you can access the internet.
  
  
• Share the report with others in your district or school. It is important that all parents are aware of their children’s learning.
  
  
• Read the newspaper or watch TV to learn about key issues in your school district. Contact your principal if you have questions or concerns about what you hear in the news.
  
  
• You can compare your district’s or school’s annual progress by accessing the state’s School Profileson the internet. This site charts data for each district and school as they engage in school improvement activities. It also allows you to compare your school with other schools in your district or across the state.
  
  
• You can learn about the qualifications of your child’s teacher by contacting the superintendent’s or human resources office.
  
  
• Remember: The most important issue at your school is how well your students are learning. Learning about that progress in your district’s annual progress report can help you know that.  

Teachers/Caregivers should...

• Read your district’s APR (annual progress report). You can find the report at your school. In many districts, you can also access the annual progress report on the web page of the school district.
  
  
• Discuss the report with others in your district or school. It is important that all staff members are aware of the contents of the APR.
  
  
• Contact your principal if you have questions or concerns about the information shared in the APR (annual progress report).
  
  
• You can compare your district’s or school’s annual progress by accessing the state’s School Profileson the internet. This site charts data for each district and school as they engage in school improvement activities. It also allows you to compare your school with other schools in your district or across the state.
  
  
• Be sure you are “highly qualified” or are in the process of becoming “highly qualified” if you are not.
  
  
• Remember: The most important issue at your school is how well your students are learning. Learning about that progress in your district’s annual progress report can help you know that.

Administrators should...

• Read your district’s APR (annual progress report). You can find the report in your district. In many districts, you can also access the annual progress report on the web page of the school district.
  
  
• Make sure all your staff members and parents have copies of the APR (annual progress report). Be sure to share the report in the first language of the parents, if possible. If an APR in their home language is not available, be sure to provide access to interpreters who can explain it to them.
  
  
• Facilitate discussions in your building and with your parents and community regarding the information in the annual progress report.
  
  
• Contact your superintendent if you have questions or concerns about the information shared in the APR (annual progress report).
  
  
• Compare your district’s or school’s annual progress by accessing the state’s School Profileson the internet. This site charts data for each district and school as they engage in school improvement activities. It also allows you to compare your school with other schools in your district or across the state. ""Be sure to notify the parents of your students their “right to know” about the qualifications of their students’ teachers.
  
  
• If your building has been identified as a school in need of assistance (SINA), be sure to notify the parents of the identification as well as the options parents have and the plan for improvement.
  
  
• If your building has been identified as a school in need of assistance (SINA), contact your AEA and request assistance from the Iowa Support Team for Schools in Need of Assistance (see the list to the right).
  
  
• Remember: The most important issue at your school is how well your students are learning. Learning about that progress in your district’s annual progress report can help you know that and explain it to others.