Iowa Test of Basic Skills may be on way out

By MIKE WISER Globe Gazette Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Sunday, February 5, 2012 8:01 am | (0) Comments

DES MOINES – Thousands of Iowa students will pick up their No. 2 pencils to fill in tiny circles this month in a school-year ritual that may be as foreign to their children as desktop inkwells were to their parents.

The circles are synonymous with standardized testing and, in Iowa, that’s been synonymous with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

But last week, Department of Education Director Jason Glass told lawmakers that it was time to get rid of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in favor of the still-under-development Smarter Balanced Assessment.

It’s a move some educators say is overdue and one that Glass forecasted this summer when he got the OK from Gov. Terry Branstad and State Board of Education President Rosie Hussey of Mason City to make Iowa a governing member of the Smarter Balanced Consortium, which is expected to introduce a new national testing system by the 2014-15 academic year.

It also comes at a time when ITBS has made moves to better align its test questions to the Iowa Core and to provide students, parents and teachers more information about each individual test-taker.

But it may be too little, too late for ITBS.

“They go beyond just memorizing and regurgitating facts. Smarter Balanced assessments are computer-adaptive, so we get results much more quickly than is possible with paper and pencil, bubble-sheet tests,” Department of Education spokeswoman Staci Hupp wrote in an email.

“These new assessments can be completed faster by the student, resulting in more time for instruction. The assessments also will allow for state-to-state comparisons, which have been difficult with a patchwork of state standards and tests across the country.”

Norm and criterion

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills is a norm-referenced test. That means students are compared to other students who take the test, and results come out on a bell curve.

The Smarter Balanced Assessments are set up to be criterion-referenced tests. Those measure the students against a set of standards, and the results come out more like a yard stick.

The move toward criterion-referenced tests goes back decades but really got a boost with the federal No Child Left Behind Act and the move toward a nationwide Common Core.

As that push toward criteria testing came, ITBS has tried to adapt, said Catherine Welch, a professor at the University of Iowa who also works for Iowa Testing Programs, which is responsible for ITBS.

“We have aligned to the Iowa Core in reading, math and (English language arts),” Welch said. “There’s a one-to-one ratio, so each question is directly related to one of the standards.”

Because of this, students will get individual Iowa Core reports when their results come out.

ITBS also has expanded its college readiness report to include grade 6 through 11, and there’s new student growth information that charts a student’s progress over time and predicts where he or she should be on future tests.

Welch said she understands there is a significant push by the governor and the department of education away from the ITBS.

“I hope that the discussion will continue and we can be a part of that discussion,” she said.

Looking ahead

Sioux City Community School District Superintendent Paul Gausman said he was happy “to learn that the state was participating so vigorously” in developing the Smarter Balanced Assessment.

“It’s very important for us to have a criterion-based test,” said Gausman, who also serves as chairman of the Urban Education Network, an organization representing the 17 largest school districts in the state.

Sioux City students take the ITBS in March.

He said the ITBS is good for what it is and the testing service has been as responsive as it can be, but the test doesn’t give teachers and administrators the measures they need.

“It provides a good snapshot, but what they are trying to do with Smarter Balanced is just much more comprehensive than what they can do with ITBS,” he said.

Jane Lindaman, associate superintendent of educational services at the Waterloo School District, agreed.

“They haven’t been able to produce a criterion-referenced test,” she said of Iowa Testing Programs. “And that is very important because under No Child Left Behind, we need something that shows if our schools and our students are making adequate yearly progress against the standards.”

Waterloo students take their test in March.

Still, it’s up to the Legislature if ITBS stays or goes.

“I think we have to be careful,” said Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, a former teacher and ranking member on the House Education Committee. “We don’t know what Smarter Balanced is going to look like because no one has seen it yet.”

Jean Hessburg, spokeswoman for the Iowa State Education Association, said the union doesn’t have a position on the test.

“If Smarter Balanced turns out to be as good as it’s billed to be, it’s great,” she said. “But we don’t know what it will be.”

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From the Mason City Globe Gazette:

Steckman will seek re-election in new House 53 seat

MASON CITY — State Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, announced Thursday that she will seek re-election to the new Iowa House District 53 seat.

The seat includes all of Mason City and up and down Highway 65 to the Cerro Gordo County line.

“Over the last three years I have been privileged to listen to and serve the people of Mason City at the state Capitol,” Steckman said in a news release.

“After ending last year with $1 billion in surplus and reserves, I’m proud of the work we’ve done. However, there is more we must do to strengthen middle class families.

“If we are going to compete for good-paying jobs, Iowa must have a highly-skilled workforce, great quality of life and a world-class educational system from preschool to college,” she said.

“As newly appointed ranking member of the House Education Committee I am anxious to be an important voice for my constituents in the education reforms for next session. Those reforms will be an important step toward creating that highly-skilled workforce.”

Steckman is currently serving her second term in the Iowa House, and as ranking member of the House Education Committee, will help craft education reform plans next session.

http://globegazette.com/election/state/steckman-will-seek-re-election-in-new-house-seat/article_c6d396fc-1174-11e1-b8a9-001cc4c002e0.html

“With education reform a key topic of the upcoming session, Rep. Steckman’s experience in the classroom and the Iowa House make her well prepared to help lead the House Education Committee,” said McCarthy.  “After spending 30 years in the classroom, she understands the challenges our schools and teachers face every day. I trust her to listen to parents and school leaders to ensure any reforms considered by the Legislature next year will help improve student achievement.”

“Iowa has amazing schools and teachers already, but there is more we can do to build a highly-skilled workforce,” said Steckman.  “As the Legislature considers major education reforms next session, my top priority will be ensuring every Iowa child graduates with the skills needed to land a good-paying job.”

House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy and Assistant Democratic Leaders Ako Abdul-Samad, Mary Mascher, Mark Smith, and Sharon Steckman today announced their budget team for the 2011 legislative session.  State Representative Tyler Olson of Cedar Rapids will be the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

In addition to Rep. Olson, the following members will serve as the Ranking Member of the appropriations subcommittees:

• Administration & Regulation: Rep. Mary Gaskill
• Agriculture & Natural Resources: Rep-elect Chris Hall
• Economic Development: Rep. Kirsten Running-Marquardt
• Education: Rep. Cindy Winckler
• Health & Human Services: Rep. Lisa Heddens
• Justice Systems: Rep. Todd Taylor
• Transportation, Infrastructure & Capitals: Rep. Dennis Cohoon

House Democrats are committed to strengthening our economy and helping create jobs. We will work together on the main stream, bread and butter issues that effect the every day lives of Iowans. However, if Republicans steer to more extreme policies at the expense of ordinary Iowans, we will make our voices heard.

Democrats also elected four Assistant Democratic Leaders who include: Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad of Des Moines, Rep. Mark Smith of Marshalltown, Rep. Sharon Steckman of Mason City, and Rep. Mary Mascher of Iowa City.

There are seven new House Democrats who were elected earlier this month: Chris Hall of Sioux City, John Wittneben of Estherville, Dan Kelley of Newton, Dan Muhlbauer of Crawford County, Mary Wolfe of Clinton, Ruth Ann Gaines of Des Moines, and Anesa Kajtazovic of Waterloo. House Democrats will gather again in December to plan for the 2011 legislative session.

“I came to the Capitol to work for jobs – jobs for my constituents in Mason City and for all middle class families. In Iowa who are struggling to make ends meet, to make house payments, to pay for health care and to put food on the table. These Historic Preservation Tax Credits will create jobs,” said State Representative Sharon Steckman of Mason City, who won approval of the bill in the House.

Senate File 481, which was approved on a 86-3 voted, expands the historic tax credits available from $20 million per year to $50 million. The Historic Preservation Tax Credit program has been extremely successful and there never enough tax credits for all the projects. Last year, there were only $20 million in tax credits available and that leveraged $228 million in construction projects. There was enough demand for an additional $44 million in tax credits, had they been available.

The bill also allocates the tax credits in the following:
• $5 million for projects under $500,000
• $15 million for Cultural Districts and Great Places
• $10 million for Disaster Recovery
• $10 million for projects creating over 500 jobs
• $10 million for statewide

The bill now goes to the Governor.

While involved in those activities, Sharon decided to finish the degree she had started at Kearney State College in Kearney, Neb., so she began a two-year, three-day a week commute to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. She graduated with honors and was the first in the education department at ISU to student teach in Mason City. She achieved this by working out an agreement with ISU and the University of Northern Iowa.

In 1980, Sharon began working for the Mason City Community School District, teaching second grade, fourth grade and fifth grade and working as a Title I reading specialist. While teaching for the Mason City School District, she went on to earn her master’s degree in education from Morningside College.

Sharon has always enjoyed challenges. She spent a summer in Yellowstone Park working for the park service. She also accepted a teaching assignment overseas in Portugal, working with children from 19 different countries, speaking almost as many languages. She was a RAGBRAI participant for six years. Also, for 5 ½ years, she and her husband, Alan, raised their granddaughter, Rachel Steckman.

The challenges Sharon enjoys the most are bringing people together, listening and solving problems. While living in Cedar Rapids, she was a member of the Marion Planning and Zoning Commission. While a member of the Mason City Education Association, she served as president and later served six years as chief negotiator. Since retiring from the Mason City School District, Sharon is looking forward to the challenge of representing Mason City, helping it prosper and grow, and looks forward to being a part of that process.

Sharon and Alan, her husband of 14 years, have four children: Jon, Matthew, Pete and Lisa (Aaron). They have nine grandchildren. She is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and helps with the Trinity God Squad. In her spare time, Sharon enjoys golfing, gardening, hiking and traveling.