(KIWA Staff Photo)
Statewide Iowa (RI) — The annual Kids Count report ranks Iowa 10th in the nation, down one position from last year.
The report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation looks at 16 indicators of child well-being that include economic, education, health and community factors.
Anne Discher, executive director of Common Good Iowa, says while Iowa still ranks high overall, she’s concerned some categories are trending downwards, like education, where Iowa ranked below the national average.
The report finds nearly three-fourths of Iowa eighth graders are below proficiency in math, and the same is true for fourth graders in reading, which Discher says is troubling.
However, the report found that Iowa continues to have some of the highest scores in the nation when it comes to economic well-being indicators, like children who live at the poverty level.
