Friday, January 15, 2016

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 gaps in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success 

Save the Date: Our Kids Summer Institute, June 16-17

Save the date for the annual Our Kids Summer Institute on June 16-17. This institute provides participants with the opportunity to network with other educational professionals and to discover new strategies for working with English Language Learners throughout Iowa.

Remember that districts writing Corrective Action Plans are required to send a team, so early registration is recommended. Registration for this outstanding professional development opportunity will be capped at 400. Keep watching for more information!

Smarter Balanced Assessments Implementation Put On Hold

In an email to superintendents this week, Ryan Wise, Director of the Iowa Department of Education, said that the administrative rules proposed by the State Board of Education (IAC 281.12) to implement the Smarter Balanced Assessments beginning in 2017 were put on hold this past Friday, when the proposed rules came up for a second review before the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee. These reviews are a required part of administrative rules adoption.

After raising questions about the State Board’s legal authority to adopt a state accountability assessment, the committee voted unanimously in favor of a session delay on the proposed rules. A session delay means that the effective date of the rules implementing the Smarter Balanced Assessments will be delayed until the end of the 2016 legislative session, unless legislators take action on assessment during the session.

Wise noted that putting in place a state assessment that accurately measures how students are progressing toward state standards is a critical part of the work to prepare Iowa students for success in college and in the workforce. And according to Iowa Code, a new assessment must be in place in schools by the 2016-17 school year.

Clarification Provided for ELPA21 Operations and Administration

There have been a number of general questions related to the first operational administration of ELPA21 (the new Annual English Language Proficiency Assessment). 

Please review the DE memo, the ELPA21 Testing Administration and directions to Create Account on DE Portal that help answer these questions and to fully engage in the required webinar trainings in preparation for practice testing and live administration.

All general information related to ELPA21 can be accessed on the public side of the Portal. There are several items that are locked due to security and only users with A&A Accounts will be able to access those items when they become available on Jan. 19.

For more information, contact Jobi Lawrence, Ed.D., Title III Director, Iowa Department of Education at (515) 281-3805 or Colleen Anderson, Assessment Consultant, Iowa Department of Education at (515) 281-3249.