Historically speaking, Algebra 1 has been reserved for ninth or tenth grade, and research indicates the majority of students ...

But students who had most of the math knowledge from previous grades, including the predecessor skills, did the best. They had a 58% success rate on new Algebra 1 content.

There's some good news in math, mostly bad news in reading and lots of questions about why students are still struggling.

New tests show Iowa's 4th, 8th graders scored at or above average in reading and math assessments compared to the rest of the country in 2024.