For the sixth consecutive year, total enrollment has increased in Iowa’s public schools, following a 17-year decline, according to the recently released Annual Condition of Education Report by the Iowa Department of Education. There were 485,147 students enrolled during the 2016-17 school year, up from 483,451 the year before. The number of minority students in Iowa’s public schools reached an all-time high of 113,076, representing 23.5 percent of the student body. 

Contrary to this trend, enrollment in nonpublic schools declined slightly in 2016-17 to 32,744 students, and is projected to drop by more than 650 students in the next four years. 

The number of full-time teachers in Iowa public schools increased to 36,279 in the 2016-17 school year, up from 35,883 in the previous school year. The average regular teacher salary increased 2.3 percent to $55,703 during the past school year, which is 22nd-highest in national rankings. 

Across all grades assessed (fourth, eighth and 11th) in both reading and math, biennium proficiency rates are down slightly from the prior biennium period. The percentage of students taking higher-level math and chemistry courses both increased for the class of 2017, but there was a slight decrease in the percentage taking physics. 

The class of 2017 had a slight decrease in its composite ACT score — 21.9 — compared with the class of 2016’s composite score of 22.1. 

For those of you who want to dive into specific districts’ numbers, check out a new online interactive version of the report the department introduced this year. It’s available at http://reports.educateiowa.gov/COE/.