Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of monthly columns from Nodaway Valley and CAM shared superintendent Dr. Pam Stangeland. They will appear regularly, usually on the last Wednesday of each month.
I’d be lying if I said I sleep well. As an educational leader, I’m acutely aware that the state of our schools as a nation, state and district are under perpetual evaluation, scrutiny and criticism from everyone who has ever walked into a public school building and plenty who never have.
Entering my position as the superintendent of Nodaway Valley and CAM school districts, I’ve met with state and district leaders, business leaders, community members, families and students. Underlying most of these conversations is the nagging question of “How are we doing?” Everyone wants to know that our schools and students are safe, that teachers want to be here, we’re financially stable and children are learning at high levels.
But simultaneously, we question the validity of the answers or even what metrics we should use to gauge our relative successes or failures. We’re not alone.
Using standardized testing as a measurement, Iowa students have ranked in the middle of the 50 states (12th - 30th) in average scale scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress which comprises the Nation’s Report Card. A WalletHub study was released last week that ranked Iowa 23rd in the nation when considering student performance, funding, safety, and instructor efficacy. U.S. News & World Report last listed Iowa 20th in education, and our Iowa students ranked 12th highest in 2025 SAT scores.
Further complicating these mixed measures, as a nation, we have lost confidence in the institutions we used to consider our north stars. In the latest Gallup Poll, only 29% of people reported “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in public education. Inversely, that means that 71% of Americans have “some”, “very little” or no confidence. What was once in the top tier of institutions of high confidence and respect has fallen to the middle and lower third in some categories.
However, those of us in the trenches see things much differently. Education today might best be summarized by Dickens: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” With legislative, political, financial, cultural, and pedagogical changes, education is indeed changing. Although this gives me and others multiple reasons for insomnia, it also creates immense opportunities. I’ll explore many of these opportunities here each month as they impact our students at Nodaway Valley and CAM.
How are we doing? It’s complicated. But there are profound impacts occurring in our two districts as a whole and at the individual teacher/student level. I can’t wait to show you.