Thurs., Fri., and Sat., April 10, 11, 12; 10:00-12:30
ITED, Grades 9-12
Fri. and Sat. April 11, 12; 1:00-3:30
Iowa Test of Basic Skills Grades 3-8
$80.00 per student
The ITBS measure skills in the following areas:
Vocabulary
At Levels 5 and 6, the Vocabulary test measures listening vocabulary. The Vocabulary test at Levels 7 and 8 measures reading vocabulary.
Word Analysis
The questions on the Word Analysis test assess how well students can recognize letters and letter-sound relationships.
Reading Comprehension
The Reading test presents students with a variety of tasks, which progressively require more independence in reading as the test level increases. The tasks in Levels 6-8 include using print, context, and picture cues to identify unfamiliar words; completing sentences that tell about a picture by choosing a word for filling in a blank; and answering multiple-choice questions after reading a brief story.
Listening
In the Listening test, short oral scenarios are presented, and students respond to one or more multiple-choice questions about what they heard.
Language
The Language tests of Levels 5 and 6 measure students' abilities to understand linguistic relationships -- how language is used to express ideas. For Levels 7 and 8, a major portion of the test deals with skills in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, as well as usage and expression in writing.
Mathematics
The Mathematics test at Levels 5 and 6 consists of questions measuring beginning math concepts, problem solving, and math operations. Areas covered include numeration, number systems, geometry, measurement, and the use of addition and subtraction in word problems. In the Levels 7 and 8 batteries, there are separate tests for Math Concepts, Math Problem Solving, and Math Computation. The Math Concepts test deals with numeration and number systems, whole numbers, geometry, measurement, fractions, currency, and number sentences. The Math Problem Solving test has two parts. In the first, students solve brief word problems; in the second part, they interpret information presented in graphs and tables. The Math Computation test presents addition and subtraction problems.
Social Studies
Only the Levels 7 and 8 batteries contain a Social Studies test. The questions on this test measure objectives of the social studies curriculum that are not measured elsewhere in the ITBS tests. The content of the questions is taken from the areas of geography, history, government, economics, sociology, and the other social sciences.
Science
Like the Social Studies test, the Science test is included in only the Levels 7 and 8 batteries, and its content focuses on aspects of the science curriculum that are not measured on other tests in the battery. The knowledge and skills measured on the Science test come from the areas of life science, earth and space sciences, and physical sciences. Considerable emphasis is also given to the nature of science -- the methods and process skills used in science.
Sources of Information
Only the Levels 7 and 8 batteries contain a Sources of Information test. The questions are read aloud by the test administrator, and students choose answers from among words or short phrases that they read themselves. The main skills measured are alphabetizing, using a picture dictionary, using a table of contents, and using maps to determine location, direction, and distance.
To print a copy of the registration form, click here. The form is a PDF file. If you do not have the latest version of Adobe Reader, you may download a free copy here.
Iowa Test of Educational Development, Grades 9-12
$80.00 per student
The ITED measures skills in the following areas:
Vocabulary
This is a test of general vocabulary development. The words tested represent a cross section of vocabulary encountered in general communication: reading, writing, and listening. Technical words and specialized vocabulary have not been included.
Spelling
Each of the three levels of the ITED Spelling Test -- Level 15, 16, and 17/18 -- is a 10-minute, 30-question test. Each question presents four words, one of which may be misspelled, and a fifth option, No mistakes, allowing students to indicate that they believe all four words are spelled correctly.
Mathematics: Concepts and Problem Solving
The primary intent of this test is to measure the students' ability to solve quantitative problems. The questions in this test present practical problems that require basic arithmetic and measurement, estimation, data interpretation, and logical thinking. The problems are based on realistic situations. A few questions test more abstract concepts such as precision of measurement, probability, and exponents.
Computation
The computation test includes not only questions that measure the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers, fractions, and percents, but also questions that measure the ability to manipulate variables and to evaluate expressions with exponents or with square roots.
Analysis of Social Studies Materials
This test provides evidence of the student's ability to analyze and evaluate various kinds of social studies information. The test passages and questions use materials from a variety of content areas: history, political science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography, and economics.
Analysis of Science Materials
This test provides information about students' abilities to interpret and evaluate information in the sciences, to recognize basic principles of scientific inquiry and measurement, and to analyze experimental procedures. The questions relate to physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, health and medicine, and astronomy.
Sources of Information
This test evaluates the student's ability to use important sources of information. The skills a student needs in order to find and use data efficiently are: familiarity with the resources of a well-equipped media center, knowledge of supplemental sources of information, including private and public agencies; and skill in selecting appropriate sources for specific information.
If you would like to read more detailed information about both the ITBS and the ITED, visit the website of the College of Education at the University of Iowa. You may do so by clicking here.
Optional Tests
The Cognative Abilities Test (CogAt), Grades 3-12
$80.00 per student
The CogAt measures students abilities in problem solving and reasoning in the areas of verbal, quantitative, and spatial symbols. It is, essentially, an intelligence test. It is fully co-normed with the ITBS or ITED.
Reading Comprehension
This test provides information about the kinds of comprehension skills students are expected to continue to develop as they proceed through high school -- skills they will use in reading texts across the curriculum, in engaging with literature, in reading and thinking about magazine and newspaper articles in and outside of school, and in extracting and evaluating ideas from a variety of sources in research projects and extracurricular reading.
Language: Revising Written Materials
This test provides information about the student's skills in recognizing correct and effective use of standard American English in writing. In the context of a variety of written materials, the test asks students to make revision choices concerning focus, organization, diction and clarity, sentence structure, usage, mechanics, and spelling.
ITBS Levels 9-14 are for Grades 3-8.
The Interest Explorer Career Guidance Survey (IE), Grades 9-12
$60.00 per student
The Interest Explorer is a tool to help high school students with their career decisions. Students develop an awareness of how their interests relate to future education and career fields.
The descriptions above were excerpted and adapted from the website
