EU Elementary places top 1.1% of schools in Iowa

AFTON - After receiving the school’s results from the Iowa State Performance Profile, East Union Elementary announced their school placed 14th out of 1,279 elementary schools in Iowa.

Elementary Principal Joan Gordon announced the placement during the district’s regular board meeting on Monday, confirming, for the 2023-24 school year, East Union was in the top 1.1% of schools.

Superintendent Tim Kuehl said these results were worth celebrating. “We’re proud of the results,” he said. “They represent the work that our staff and students put in to ensure learning.”

The Iowa State Performance Profile measures standardized test scores from the student body as well as factors like chronic absenteeism and year-to-year growth to create a data-driven profile of schools. For 2024, East Union Elementary was rated “exceptional,” applied to the top 1.25% of schools in Iowa. Only 16 schools were given the score.

Historically, EU Elementary places between “commendable” and “high performing,” with the past scores since 2018 having a range between 56.44 and 62.78 out of 100 possible points. Reasons for fluctuation can vary, from a changing class size to broader events like the COVID-19 pandemic which cancelled participation in the 2020 profile.

“The results may fluctuate to some extent based on the learning needs of the group of students we have,” said Kuehl. “That’s a challenge with having smaller groups of students in the data set, stability is more challenging to maintain.”

While the scoring system changed in 2024, rating schools out of 700 points, the new score, 551.25 would have measured to about 78.75 points in the old system, still showing a dramatic increase.

Gordon described the score as “unprecedented” for the school. She gave credit to all staff, not just teachers, as being a part of building the elementary into success. With a large portion of staff returning to East Union to teach after their own graduation, Gordon says this allows for teachers to build connections and relationships with the community.

“We’re all under one roof,” she said. “It’s just an incredible progression of people who care about students, not just about students but they care about each other.”

With a full staff during teacher shortages around Iowa, Gordon said she’s grateful to have a “selfless” staff and quality teachers, giving specific praise to the school’s veteran teachers.

In terms of recreating the score, Gordon said, while the score wasn’t an anomaly, it’ll be difficult to find the same success from class to class.

“It’s going to be very hard to hit this level again,” she said. “We want to maintain humility, but we can’t say we’ve not done well because we have, over time.”

An increased focus on the upper elementary levels on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programs have helped East Union build closer connections to the material. East Union’s use of a STEM BEST grant has paved the way for strong attention to the subjects, something Gordon celebrates frequently in her reports to the board.

Kuehl said the profile, while exciting for the school, isn’t the only way the district measures academic success. “We do keep in mind that these are a snapshot during about a week in the spring,” he said. “We use multiple data points throughout the year to guide our instruction and ensure student learning growth.”

Gordon shared a similar view. “We acknowledge that it is just one test,” she said. “One day. But it does give you a snapshot. It’s not an accident.”

The profile also only measures third, fourth and fifth grade students, with different subjects depending on the grade. Only fifth graders take science, where a notable proficiency was noted in the profile (89.47% of students were proficient, compared to the state average of 61.55%). Gordon credits teachers in earlier grades in the elementary for building a strong foundation in students.

While it’s difficult to pin down a school’s worth to a single score, Gordon said this is one of the few ways elementary schools can celebrate their own success.

“This is what we have,” she said. “We’ve always done well, but to do this well is an incredible feeling, both professionally and personally.”