Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve
the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
Friday, October 10, 2014
Information About & Registration For English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) Field Tests
Iowa is a member of the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21). The consortium is developing a replacement assessment for our Title I mandated English language proficiency assessment, Iowa English Language Development Assessment (IELDA). This new assessment will begin in spring 2016 with the first administration of the online K-12 summative assessment. Beginning in spring 2017 an online screening assessment for placement of students into an ESL program is due to be completed.
ELPA21 is a consortium of states committed to supporting educators, member states and the public as they adopt and implement the new English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and college- and career-ready standards. These standards have been adopted by the Iowa State Board of Education and will begin being implemented by districts during the 2015-16 school year. The consortium is developing an assessment system based on these new ELP Standards that will provide valuable information to inform instruction so that all English language learners leave high school prepared for college and career success.
There are two field tests for ELPA21. The January dates are for just testing the platform and could be done with only adults taking the role of a student in a district. It is to ensure the test platform works on the district’s system. This one is called the Platform and System Trial. The second dates, Feb. 2 to Mar. 31 are for field testing with students. To assist, Iowa has left open the testing window from Feb. 2 to Mar. 31 to accommodate districts’ schedules rather than setting required testing window dates.
The Dept. is hosting two Zoom meetings on Oct. 13 – one at 9:00 a.m. and one at 2:00 p.m. – to support anyone assisting districts in their registration and to answer any questions not answered above. They have also placed additional information on their English Language Learners webpage.
For your assistance, here are five documents from the Iowa Dept. of Education:
- A memo from David Tilly, Deputy Director of the Dept. of Education
- A Field Test Walk-Through PPT that we will use on Monday
- ELPA21 Field Test FAQs to assist you in answering questions
- A minimum technical requirements document you can share with tech support in a district
- ELPA21 First Edition Newsletter
Differentiated Math Instruction for ELLs Course to be Offered Soon
Iowa Department of Education Announces New Website Devoted to Iowa Core
Website Announcement
From Brad Buck, Director, Iowa Department of Education
I’m excited to share that IowaCore.gov is now available. This new, user-friendly website is a major step forward in supporting your hard work to implement the Iowa Core standards in schools across the state.
IowaCore.gov is for educators, parents and other stakeholders to better understand, access and deliver the Iowa Core standards. For the education community, this website is the centerpiece of what’s called the Iowa Core Resources Project. This project is about providing the concrete tools and resources that teachers need to put the Iowa Core into practice. Teachers and school administrators have been asking for this information, and we are now in a position to provide them.
The Iowa Core Resources Project was made possible with a $1 million state appropriation approved by Iowa legislators in 2013. This funding was used to develop a new Iowa Core website and to secure examples of optional instructional resources that teachers can use, if they so choose, to implement the Iowa Core in kindergarten through 12th grade. More than 8,000 resources are available at no charge in a central, searchable online location called IowaLearns.org, which is accessible through IowaCore.gov. The materials are adaptable to fit the individual needs of local classrooms.
The new Iowa Core website also provides much more information about the standards to parents and other Iowans. The Explore the Core section provides the standards in a user-friendly format that is searchable by grade level and subject. The parent guides found under the Parents & Community section provide an overview of the Iowa Core standards, examples of what students are expected to know and be able to do and activities that can be done at home to support this learning. The math and English language arts portions of the parent guides were completed in partnership with the National PTA, while the science, social studies and 21st century skills portions were developed by Iowa teachers.
Please take some time to become familiar with the website and help us tell Iowans about this great new resource that will support Iowa Core implementation. The Iowa Department of Education will continue to improve and expand the new website. You can help us by filling out a feedback form found under the "Contact Us" section of IowaCore.gov. Questions about the website project can be directed to Brad Niebling at brad.niebling@iowa.gov.
Toolkit
From Brad Buck
As described in my announcement of IowaCore.gov to the field, the resource toolkit is designed to assist school administrators and other instructional staff in discussing the new website. Because we also understand you may be fielding questions about the Iowa Core in your communities, I’m including a set of talking points that may be customized to fit your individual needs, as well as a fact sheet and FAQ that may be distributed as handouts or posted online if you see fit.
The website communications toolkit includes the following elements in a single document that you can easily forward to other stakeholders:
Access to Resources
You will be asked for a username/password to access some of the IowaLearns resources available through IowaCore.gov. The username/password combinations that are used to access AEA online resources are being used, with a slight modification.
Go to IowaCore.gov.
Click Educator Resources tab.
You’ll notice the IowaLearns section. Many of the resources are available through Guest access. Others require a username/password. Staff will use the school online database username/password used for our AEA online resources (Learn 360, EBSCO, Gale, etc.) BUT the prefix “dr” must be added to the beginning of the password (dr stands for digital resource). Ask your teacher librarian for your school’s username/password combination.
From Brad Buck, Director, Iowa Department of Education
IowaCore.gov is for educators, parents and other stakeholders to better understand, access and deliver the Iowa Core standards. For the education community, this website is the centerpiece of what’s called the Iowa Core Resources Project. This project is about providing the concrete tools and resources that teachers need to put the Iowa Core into practice. Teachers and school administrators have been asking for this information, and we are now in a position to provide them.
The Iowa Core Resources Project was made possible with a $1 million state appropriation approved by Iowa legislators in 2013. This funding was used to develop a new Iowa Core website and to secure examples of optional instructional resources that teachers can use, if they so choose, to implement the Iowa Core in kindergarten through 12th grade. More than 8,000 resources are available at no charge in a central, searchable online location called IowaLearns.org, which is accessible through IowaCore.gov. The materials are adaptable to fit the individual needs of local classrooms.
The new Iowa Core website also provides much more information about the standards to parents and other Iowans. The Explore the Core section provides the standards in a user-friendly format that is searchable by grade level and subject. The parent guides found under the Parents & Community section provide an overview of the Iowa Core standards, examples of what students are expected to know and be able to do and activities that can be done at home to support this learning. The math and English language arts portions of the parent guides were completed in partnership with the National PTA, while the science, social studies and 21st century skills portions were developed by Iowa teachers.
Please take some time to become familiar with the website and help us tell Iowans about this great new resource that will support Iowa Core implementation. The Iowa Department of Education will continue to improve and expand the new website. You can help us by filling out a feedback form found under the "Contact Us" section of IowaCore.gov. Questions about the website project can be directed to Brad Niebling at brad.niebling@iowa.gov.
Toolkit
From Brad Buck
As described in my announcement of IowaCore.gov to the field, the resource toolkit is designed to assist school administrators and other instructional staff in discussing the new website. Because we also understand you may be fielding questions about the Iowa Core in your communities, I’m including a set of talking points that may be customized to fit your individual needs, as well as a fact sheet and FAQ that may be distributed as handouts or posted online if you see fit.
The website communications toolkit includes the following elements in a single document that you can easily forward to other stakeholders:
- Website talking points
- Sample text that may be customized for use in education newsletters or on websites
- Sample letters that may be customized for use and distributed to teachers, parents/families, and school board members
- Sample tweets
Access to Resources
You will be asked for a username/password to access some of the IowaLearns resources available through IowaCore.gov. The username/password combinations that are used to access AEA online resources are being used, with a slight modification.
Go to IowaCore.gov.
Click Educator Resources tab.
You’ll notice the IowaLearns section. Many of the resources are available through Guest access. Others require a username/password. Staff will use the school online database username/password used for our AEA online resources (Learn 360, EBSCO, Gale, etc.) BUT the prefix “dr” must be added to the beginning of the password (dr stands for digital resource). Ask your teacher librarian for your school’s username/password combination.
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