Iowa College and Career Readiness Indicators Literature Review

Under ESSA, all states are required to develop “not less than one indicator of school quality or student success…[that allows] for meaningful differentiation in school performance…is valid, reliable, comparable, and state-wide…and may include measures of ‘postsecondary readiness,’” among other factors. Iowa’s Definition of College and Career Readiness was adopted after several periods of consultation and revision, taking into account not only these statutory criteria but also the increasingly complex and holistic needs of Iowa’s students in a rapidly changing workforce. Iowa stakeholders have determined they will use a postsecondary readiness index for this additional indicator.

This brief presents a review of research and current state practices as they relate to measures that Iowa might consider for its federal accountability indicator of school quality or student success—specifically, for inclusion within a composite index of postsecondary readiness.