Many of you received this information last week, but I wanted to share it with those of you who might not have gotten it. Looking forward to great things for the 2018-2019 school year!
Dear Colleagues,
In the spring of 2019, a newly designed statewide assessment of student progress will be used in the state of Iowa. Through House File 2235, the Legislature determined that the new state assessment developed by Iowa Testing Programs (ITP) at the University of Iowa will be administered during the 2018-19 school year. The Iowa Department of Education and ITP are
committed to ensuring good communications to the field and will
coordinate on important issues such as professional development and
federal peer review.
A few key items of note:
Testing window:
Per the statute, all districts will be testing during the last quarter
of the year. To accommodate district calendars, the testing window for
2018-19 will be open from March 1 to May 30.
Professional learning:
Starting in the late fall, professional learning will be delivered in
multiple formats, including in-person seminars offered around the state
as well as online. Topics will include test format and content,
administration and accessibility.
Technology readiness:
Because we expect the majority of school districts will administer the
online version of new assessments in 2018-19, a technology readiness
plan and district certification process is being developed. The
certification process will begin in November to check bandwidth, network
connectivity, device compatibility, and load capacity.
Cost: Legislators
appropriated $2.7 million on behalf of public school districts to help
offset the delivery costs associated with the new statewide
assessment. More specific information concerning the costs to districts
will be available in August.
We encourage you to send any questions you have to assessments@iowa.gov so that we can begin a Frequently Asked Questions page to be published on the new website.
More information will follow this summer. Thank you in advance for your support of our statewide assessment efforts.
Sincerely,
Ryan Wise, Ed.L.D. Stephen B. Dunbar, Ph.D.
Director, Iowa Department of Education Director, Iowa Testing Programs