Students from the Pleasant Valley School District are getting ready to take the updated Iowa assessments in two weeks.
Despite tradition, the Iowa assessments will not be taking place during the fall season this year, but instead the spring season. This change was only one of the few adjustments made to the test; they have also changed the format and layout.
This new format comes with the district’s newfound decision to take the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) instead of the previously administered Iowa Test of Basic Skill (ITBS).
The changing of the tests was the result of a study conducted by the Iowa Testing Programs Center at the University of Iowa.
The development process of the ISASP test included much research; in total, 40 Iowa educators worked together in order to create these tests along with Humans Resources Research Organization which helped to conduct this study. The officials of the ISASP confirmed the goal of the study. “The goal of this study was to confirm that the assessment appropriately assesses the breadth and depth of the Iowa Core,” they said.
The administration of the Pleasant Valley School District believe the new assessments are better in certain areas. “The new assessments are aligned with the Iowa Core standards and will measure both student proficiency and growth in the areas of Math, Reading, Writing, and Science,” they said.
The Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress assessments will be taking place during the week of Mar. 18 within the PVCSD. However, the students will not all be taking the tests at the same time.
Students at the PVHS will be taking the assessments on Mar. 20 and 21. The time period of the tests will be from 8:10 to 10:25. However, only the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be taking the assessments. The seniors will not have to arrive until 10:25 and attend school till 4:00 with everyone else due to set schedule.
Students at the elementary schools and junior high will be taking the tests throughout the week of Mar. 18. Only the grades of three to eight will be taking the assessments, which will be online.
The option of taking these assessments online are only available to those who attend the elementary schools and middle school. The students at the high school level will be taking the paper and pencil version of the tests. However, in 2019-2020, grades 3-11 will be taking the exams online.
