As Iowa continues to refine its educational accountability system, it’s time to take a closer look at how Shenandoah schools are performing.
The 2025 Iowa School Performance Profiles reveal both strengths and areas for growth across the district. Each of our schools—except the high school—maintained its overall rating, as outlined in the chart below.
We are proud to celebrate the high rates of proficiency in math and reading at the high school level, which were recognized by both U.S. News & World Report and the Iowa School Performance Profiles. The graduation rate and work-based learning index are additional areas where the high school excelled. However, the overall rating was reduced to “acceptable” because we did not achieve sufficient growth in core academic areas across all student subgroups. This is an important distinction and highlights a key area where we must focus time and resources to support staff and help students improve their performance.
The elementary school continued to demonstrate growth and proficiency in reading and math, which helped them maintain their commendable rating. While the middle school’s rating remained unchanged, it showed improvement in overall performance, increasing by more than 11 points. Additionally, more middle school students demonstrated adequate growth and achieved proficiency in math.
IGNITE experienced a significant increase in student enrollment throughout the year and maintained its rating. This can be challenging because students enter at different times of the school year. The school continues to show strength in graduation rates and work-based learning opportunities.
Now that the results and data are available, the staff will need to take time to look beyond the surface and take meaningful steps to improve. Shenandoah is well-positioned to do this work, and I have complete confidence in our staff. I am looking forward to engaging in this work with them and seeing the positive outcomes for our students.
