A longtime component of everybody’s schooling in Iowa changed last year. They’re no longer the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills or the Iowa Tests of Educational Development. They are now the “Iowa Assessments.” The change happened last school year, and the old scores won’t be comparable, according to the Waterloo school district.
The kids here and across the country will still be taking the “Iowa tests,” but they won’t be taking “Basic Skills.” Since the ITBS name was in use since 1935, I suspect many teachers and parents will have trouble letting go of that. (Plus, “Basic Skills” is easier for elementary students to grasp than “Assessments”.) The name had historical weight, but I guess the restructured program needed a new designation.