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(Des Moines, IA) -- The Iowa Department of Education's annual report shows a slight rise in public school enrollment. The DOE says pre-K-thru 12th grade public school enrollment for the 2021-2022 school year is 485,630, up 1,400 from the 2020-2021 year.
“This flagship report summarizes the latest data and information on PK-12 education in Iowa, which are vital for driving school improvement and preparing all students for success,” said Ann Lebo, director of the Iowa Department of Education. “Providing and interpreting data is an important step as we determine what is working well, where there is room for improvement and next steps for moving forward. Additionally, it is also important for Iowans to connect with their schools to learn more about programs and initiatives underway that are improving outcomes and helping students succeed in the classroom and beyond.”
The Condition of Education report includes the most recent data through the 2021-22 school year, unless otherwise noted. Highlights from this year’s report include:
26.8%: Minority students made up 26.8 percent of the student population in Iowa school districts, an all-time high, up from 26.1 percent the previous year.
40.7%: The percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches decreased for the second year in a row, down slightly from 41.8 percent the year before.
6.6%: The percent of students whose native language is not English (English learners), increased from 6.3 in 2020-21.
38,020: The number of full-time teachers in public schools remained steady in 2021-22, compared to 38,022 the year before. There was a 13.1 percent increase in the number of full-time public school teachers from the 2000-01 school year (33,610) to 2021-22 (38,020).
$59,492: The average regular teacher salary, up from $58,771 in 2020-21.
47.1%: The percent of students from Iowa’s class of 2022 who took higher-level mathematics, including calculus, statistics and trigonometry. This is down from 48.8 percent the year before.
111,769: Students in grades 9-12 took an all-time high number of concurrent enrollment courses during the 2021-22 school year — 111,769.
1,065: The number of students who earned the Seal of Biliteracy, which recognizes students who have attained proficiency in two or more languages, one of which is English. This is an increase of 85.2 percent from its inaugural year in 2018-19.
$11,431: The state’s average per-pupil expense in the 2020-21 school year, up from $10,794 in 2019-20.
An online companion to the Condition of Education report provides additional data.