1 Achievement, Standards, and Assessment in Iowa and in Iowa Districts

2 Presenter – Dr. Tony VanderZyl, Assessment Consultant Iowa School Boards Foundation (ISBF)

3 Did you know that: Students in Iowa are not achieving as well as they should/could % of Iowa students are not meeting the relatively low standard of proficiency on the Iowa Tests. Scores on the Iowa Tests have remained relatively flat for two decades. Only about one-third of Iowa students are proficient on the national assessment.

4 Did you know that: While Iowa’s scores on the national assessment (NAEP) have remained relatively flat over the 15 years of testing, Iowa’s rank among the states has dropped from the top five to the middle. Iowa’s state standards and assessment are rated among the lowest of the states. The Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) is among the most rigorous and comprehensive state standards.

5 Education Week – Quality Counts Ed Week’s Quality Counts 2011 is the 15 th annual study of states’ education quality: Iowa ranks 33 rd in K-12 achievement, based on performance, improvement trends, and achievement gaps. Iowa ranks 45 th in standards, assessments, and accountability policy.

6 Did you know that: Only about one-third of Iowa districts currently have local standards that are rigorous and comprehensive. Most Iowa districts do not have a comprehensive assessment plan. It will take significant leadership and effort for Iowa districts to implement the ICC with fidelity.

7 Iowa Students’ Achievement?

8 Iowa Student Proficiency

9 PISA Mathematics Literacy 15 Year Olds, 2009 (US is tied for 25 th out of 34) Korea, Republic of 546Austria 496 Finland 541Poland 495 Switzerland 534Sweden 494 Japan 529 Czech Republic 493 Canada 527 United Kingdom 492 Netherlands 526Hungary 490 New Zealand 519Luxembourg 489 Belgium 515Ireland 487 Australia 514Portugal 487 Germany 513 United States 487 Estonia 512Italy 483 Iceland 507Spain 483 Denmark 503Greece 466 Slovenia 501Israel 447 Norway 498Turkey 445 France 497Chile 421 Slovak Republic 497Mexico 419

10 Iowa Testing Trends

11 Iowa 4th Grade ITBS Reading % of Students Proficient Data adjusted from 1992 norms to 2000 norms 2000 Norms

12 Iowa 8th Grade ITBS Math % of Students Proficient 2000 NormsData adjusted from 1992 norms to 2000 norms

13 NAEP TRENDS

14 Iowa 4th Grade NAEP Reading * Note: Intervals between testing years are not equal

15 Iowa’s Rank among the States 4th Grade NAEP Reading

16 Iowa 4th Grade NAEP Math * Note: Intervals between testing years are not equal

17 Iowa’s Rank among the States 4th Grade NAEP Math

18 Iowa 8th Grade NAEP Reading * Note: Iowa did not have adequate data prior to 2003

19 Iowa’s Rank among the States 8th Grade NAEP Reading

20 Iowa 8th Grade NAEP Math * Note: Intervals between testing years are not equal

21 Iowa’s Rank among the States 8th Grade NAEP Math

22 ISBF Research on State Standards, Assessments and the Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC)

23 Standards in Iowa (Past, present, and future) Legislated rigorous local standards “Iowa Standards” adopted (2007) The Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) Essential Concepts and Skills must be learned by all students ( ) “Common Core” national standards

24 The ISBF Study of Local Standards 1.Many districts had trouble finding their standards. 2.Many district standards were missing significant content. 3.There was wide variation in the rigor of district standards.

25 Education Week’s “Quality Counts” Ratings of Education Policy in the States 1.Iowa ranks 45 th in standards, assessment, and accountability policy. 2.Key deficiencies noted are the lack of grade and course-specific standards and the lack of rigorous assessment items.

26 The ISBF Study of State Standards 1.There is considerable variability in the quality of state standards, assessment, and accountability. 2.Iowa’s state standards and assessment are less rigorous than most states. 3.There is a significant relationship between states’ standards, assessment, and accountability and student achievement gains and gap closure on NAEP.

27 The ISBF Study of the ICC 1.We focused on the rigor and comprehensiveness of the ICC. 2.Rigor requires a mix of levels of cognitive demand (Bloom’s Taxonomy, rev. 2001). 3.Comprehensiveness requires strands specified in national standards/reports. 4.Structured review process.

28 Findings on the ICC In general, the ICC is significantly more rigorous and comprehensive than the Iowa Standards. ICC is roughly as rigorous as the state standards of the states we identified as strong in improving achievement and closing gaps. No major areas of content are missing from the ICC.

29 Relationship between Ed Week’s QC Ratings and NAEP Gains The scattergram on the following slide shows Ed Week’s QC ratings and NAEP gain for each of the fifty states There is a significant positive relationship (r = 0.51) between higher QC ratings and greater NAEP gains On average, each 1 point gain in QC rating is associated with 2 points in NAEP score gain

30 Relationship between QC Ratings and NAEP Score Gains (4th & 8th Reading & Math Ave., All 50 States)

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33 Dr. Tony VanderZyl, ISBF Assessment Consultant Dr. Tony VanderZyl, ISBF Assessment Consultant

34 Achievement, standards, and assessment in Iowa and in Iowa districts