(Des Moines) Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said substantial data showing K-12 schools could safely bring students back to the classroom.
The Governor pointed toward a recent study from the NWEA showed test scores for students in grades 3rd-8th were five- to-ten percentage points lower than one year ago, and Math scores dropped.
Reynolds says as we learn more about the virus and how it’s impacting schools and how it’s not, we need to think of ways to get students back in the classroom.
Currently, 90-percent of Iowa School Districts are providing at least 50-percent of instruction in-person. Some schools have returned early from their waiver requests or openly determined they were no longer needed.
Ann Lebo Director of the Iowa Department of Public Education, says data from 125 schools indicates roughly three percent of the students tested positive for the virus from the start of the school year to November 30, and 20-percent of their students have been quarantined. Currently, 1.2-percent of their students have tested positive, and 2.6 -percent are quarantined.
Lebo says in-person learning provides easier access to essential services and offers the greatest advantages for most students.
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