Marshalltown updates Bobcat Ready goals after state changes reduce work-based learning counts

Marshalltown — Marshalltown Community School District staff on Monday reviewed Bobcat Ready results for the Class of 2025 and described curriculum, reporting and staffing changes they say contributed to a drop in students meeting the district’s college-and-career readiness designation.

School leaders told the Board of Education that 33.33% of 2025 seniors earned the Bobcat Ready designation; 35.92% were classified as college ready and 69.25% as career ready. Staff emphasized that a change in the state’s definition of what qualifies as “work‑based learning” reduced the number of students who could be counted in the career‑readiness metric.

Why it matters: Bobcat Ready is a locally adopted set of academic and career indicators that the district reports on the state report card and uses to signal postsecondary preparedness. Board members and staff said the designation is used for student recognition and may be expanded for…