Iowa Tests Begin

Students attending Lakeview Junior High School and Prarieview School will begin the annual administration of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills this week. Elizabeth Ide students will begin their testing in a few weeks due to a publishers delay in providing the required testing materials for grades K-2. This testing is an important part of our student assessment plan. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) is one of the oldest group administered achievement tests in use in America today. This test has been used successfully for over 80 years after being developed by the University of Iowa in the 1920s. The ITBS is a norm referenced test which means that it compares individual student performance to peers. In the case of the ITBS, it is designed to measure student knowledge and achievement in the basic content areas. We use this test to assess students in the areas of reading, language arts, mathematics and science. This allows us to compare the achievement of District 66 students to those of peers and thus provide us with a global picture of how our students compare to a larger national group by showing the relative location of a student's achievement when compared to the larger norm group. This allows us to judge the general effectiveness of our curriculum. The other advantage of this instrument is that it can be used to track individual student growth over time. ITBS data is also used as a component for class placement decisions.

During the month of March students in grades 3-8 will take part in the annual ISAT tests that serve a different function. The ISAT test is a criterion referenced test which measures a student's performance based on a pre-determined level of acceptable performance. The ISAT is a measure of how students have mastered the curriculum as described by the Illinois Learning Standards at a level that increases each year. This test is used by the federal government to assess whether or not students and school have made adequate yearly progress (AYP) as required by the No Child Left Behind Act. Our schools and students have done an excellent job of meeting AYP over the past several years. We have concerns about the ability of all children to master standards at the required 2014 standard of 100%. Nevertheless, the ISAT allows us to identify students that do not meet standards and plan remediation programs for them to improve their academic performance. While it is laudatory to strive to insure that all children will learn, it is naive to expect that all students regardless of disabilities and ability will master all standards at the 100% level.