2008 Woodie Awards
School District switches test-tracking program
Carla Keppler - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 12/11/07 Section: Metro
- Page 1 of 1
The scores of two standardized tests in the Iowa City School District this year failed to meet proficiency requirements under the category of reading comprehension.
City High Principal Mark Hanson said that no single reason for the decline in test scores exists, but the School District did receive a crop of new students from outside areas, possibly bringing scores down.
Deb Wretman, the principal of Southeast Junior High, agreed, saying that though the increase of the student population in the Iowa City schools is one of many factors that contribute to the drop in test scores, it's the most prevalent.
School District spokeswoman Pam Ehly said the results are misleading and that Iowa City schools saw an increase in test scores, not a decline. She said the state heightened standards from 70 percent to 76 percent since last year. The area school district landed at the 75.6 percentile this year, and "didn't make the cut" as far as state proficiency standards go.
This academic year, Iowa will use a new program to track individual student test scores in hopes of holding schools more accountable.
Ehly said that she supports the Expanded Growth Model pilot program, a standard that measures individual academic growth over time rather than grade-level growth over time, because of its improved method of judging schools. She feels the current method of comparing scores based solely on grade level is ineffective.
The new program allows educators to look at the same group of children over time.
"It's what several states wanted to do, and it's a more effective way of tracking growth," said Elaine Watkins-Miller, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Education.
Iowa, along with eight other states, has the growth model in place to track students.
Though it is impossible to determine the effect of this program at this point, because not all test scores are in, Ehly said it's important to constantly evaluate school systems.
"Using test data is objective, and I believe schools have to be accountable to their public," she said. "It's logical to compare children with themselves over time to see if they're getting better."
Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that she is opening the progress-tracking plan to all eligible states.
The plan aims to allow states a more effective method of measuring yearly progress in learners and to continue to expand the flexibility available to states under No Child Left Behind, she said.
"We think [the program] will have a fairly positive impact," Watkins-Miller said. "It sends a positive message to teachers who are doing good work and the messages that we want all students to move forward."
E-mail DI reporter Carla Keppler at:
carla-keppler@uiowa.edu
City High Principal Mark Hanson said that no single reason for the decline in test scores exists, but the School District did receive a crop of new students from outside areas, possibly bringing scores down.
Deb Wretman, the principal of Southeast Junior High, agreed, saying that though the increase of the student population in the Iowa City schools is one of many factors that contribute to the drop in test scores, it's the most prevalent.
School District spokeswoman Pam Ehly said the results are misleading and that Iowa City schools saw an increase in test scores, not a decline. She said the state heightened standards from 70 percent to 76 percent since last year. The area school district landed at the 75.6 percentile this year, and "didn't make the cut" as far as state proficiency standards go.
This academic year, Iowa will use a new program to track individual student test scores in hopes of holding schools more accountable.
Ehly said that she supports the Expanded Growth Model pilot program, a standard that measures individual academic growth over time rather than grade-level growth over time, because of its improved method of judging schools. She feels the current method of comparing scores based solely on grade level is ineffective.
The new program allows educators to look at the same group of children over time.
"It's what several states wanted to do, and it's a more effective way of tracking growth," said Elaine Watkins-Miller, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Education.
Iowa, along with eight other states, has the growth model in place to track students.
Though it is impossible to determine the effect of this program at this point, because not all test scores are in, Ehly said it's important to constantly evaluate school systems.
"Using test data is objective, and I believe schools have to be accountable to their public," she said. "It's logical to compare children with themselves over time to see if they're getting better."
Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that she is opening the progress-tracking plan to all eligible states.
The plan aims to allow states a more effective method of measuring yearly progress in learners and to continue to expand the flexibility available to states under No Child Left Behind, she said.
"We think [the program] will have a fairly positive impact," Watkins-Miller said. "It sends a positive message to teachers who are doing good work and the messages that we want all students to move forward."
E-mail DI reporter Carla Keppler at:
carla-keppler@uiowa.edu
Be the first to comment on this story