Iowa Assessments Begin
Between now and April 11, DMPS students in grades 3 through 11 will be taking the Iowa Assessments (formerly known as the ITBS or ITED).
Measuring academic achievement with the Iowa Assessments provides information to help our students succeed. The Iowa Assessments make this possible by providing detailed information about achievement in content areas including reading, mathematics, and science.
The Iowa Assessments measure student growth and progress from year to year. In addition, they provide information about students’ academic performance relative to their school, the district, and the nation.
Information gained from the Iowa Assessments helps teachers identify students’ strengths and areas that may need additional emphasis. The assessment data enable sound decision-making and provide a focus for teachers to review and improve their instruction. The results of the assessment will help prepare our students for the next steps on their educational paths. And you can help prepare them for the assessment by supporting them at home in striking a healthy, effective balance between homework, extra-curricular interests and activities, nutrition and rest.
For more information about the Iowa Assessments, please visit: https://itp.education.uiowa.edu/ia/
Results will arrive in early May. Your student’s scores on the Iowa Assessments can be used to:
- understand how your student performs in key areas such as reading, writing, math, science and social studies
- help identify your student’s relative strengths and limitations in these key areas
- monitor your student’s performance over time
- compare your student’s performance to other students in the nation
- provide information about your student’s proficiency level as defined by the state of Iowa
Your student’s scores are presented in various ways including:
- National Standard Score (NSS) is a score that describes performance on an achievement continuum from Kindergarten through 12th grade. The NSS allows you to monitor your student’s growth and compare performance from year to year. The NSS is also used in Iowa to determine your student’s level of proficiency in reading, mathematics and science. An explanation of the levels of proficiency can be found here.
- National Percentile Rank (NPR) is a score that describes the relative comparison of your student’s performance to other students in the nation who are in the same grade and were tested at the same time of year. An NPR of 80 means that your student’s performance was better than 80% of the students who took the test.
After scores are made available in May, you are encouraged to discuss the results on the Iowa Assessments with your student and her/his teachers. We recommend focusing on those scores which seem most different from prior years’ scores, and the scores which seem most different when compared to classroom performance. Together, you can use this information to decide how best to continue your student’s education.
