DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s lowest-performing schools must do more than show improvement to get off a list of targeted schools under a plan approved by the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos informed Iowa Wednesday that its school accountability plan was accepted after revisions made by the Iowa Department of Education.

The plan replaces Iowa’s old system that required 100 percent student proficiency. Iowa now seeks to have 80 percent of high schoolers proficient in reading and 84 percent in math.

Iowa wanted to allow schools in the bottom 5 percent of proficiency that show consistent improvement to stop being subjected to special policies intended to improve performance. Federal officials said those schools must no longer be in the bottom 5 percent to remove the designation.