Intersect Working Papers Provides Iowa-specific research on
education issues published by the Iowa Department of Education.
Gaps exist in the achievement of Iowa students. In 2010, the
percent of all students in grade four enrolled for full academic
year (FAY) scoring proficient, as measured by the Iowa Tests,
was 78.5 percent. The percent of Black (54.5 percent), Hispanic
(61.2 percent), free or reduced lunch eligible (66.6 percent),
or English Language Learner (ELL) (51.3 percent) students was
considerably less. Similarly, in eighth grade mathematics, the
percent of all students enrolled for full academic year scoring
proficient was 76.5 percent. Again, the percent of Black (45.9
percent), Hispanic (59.9 percent), free or reduced lunch
eligible (62.1 percent), or ELL (41.5) students was
significantly less. The achievement gap is defined as the
observed difference on a number of educational measures between
the performance of groups of students, especially groups
classified by race/ethnicity, ability, and so