ITEDs vs. The Iowa Assessment

The state and federal governments have a newfound urge to make high schoolers take more tests. Well, in reality we are taking no more tests than we used to. This school year (2011-2012), The Cedar Rapids Community School District has switched the standardized test they are administering. In the past, high schoolers were required to take the Iowa Test of Educational Development, and it had been this way ever since I have lived here (17 years). Recently the CRCSD has decided to replace the ITEDs with a new standardized test, The Iowa Assessment. Apparently it is not a test just for Iowa, it would be called the "Illinois Assessment" if you were taking the test in Illinois, or the "California Assessment" if you were taking it in California. It is a nationwide test that is said to offer a better understanding of where student are at, and an overall better rating system.


Having taken both of these standardized tests before, I can accurately assess the two tests. In my opinion, overall, The Iowa Assessment is much easier than the ITEDs. The ITEDs were more obscure and didn't really test us over things that we have learned. This was especially true about the science portion of the ITEDs. All it would have us do is look and analyze graphs and experiments. This was partially true with the Iowa Assessment, there were some things that were pointless and we shouldn't have been tested over. Who gives a rip if I can read the graph? THAT ISN'T SCIENCE. They should change the name of the test to "Analyzing Science" because that would be a much more accurate title.


Other than this gripe about science, I thought the Iowa Assessment was much easier than the ITEDs were. Also there is a lot more subject matter appearing on this test that we have actually learned about in class, as opposed to basic algebra I learned in 7th grade.


Overall, I like the Iowa Assessment much more than the ITEDs.

Word Count: 334