As a part of the Archdiocese of Denver, Blessed Sacrament Catholic School students take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills every spring. Below you will find more information regarding this method of standardized testing.
What type of test is the ITBS?
The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) is a nationally standardized, norm-referenced test (NRT).
What does “nationally standardized” mean?
A nationally standardized test is a test that is administered in the same way across a specified reference population (e.g. age groups, grade groups, etc.) Therefore, the score interpretations are based on a comparison of the test-taker’s performance to the performance of other students in the nation.
What is a “norm-referenced test (NRT)”?
An NRT compares students abilities to each other rather than to a criteria. Thus the ITBS allows educators to get a look at the performance of their students in relation to the rest of the nation. An NRT is designed to highlight achievement differences between and among students.
What does the ITBS measure?
The ITBS measures the skills and achievements of students from 1st grade through grade eight and provides an in-depth measure of important educational objectives. It also yields reliable and comprehensive information about the development of students’ skills and their ability to think critically. It measures students against their peers.
How valid and reliable is the ITBS?
The ITBS was developed at the University of Iowa in 1935 and has been consistently developed and reevaluated through nationwide use over more than 70 years.
How does the ITBS compare with the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP)?
ITBS and CSAP are different kinds of tests which are difficult to compare side-by-side. They do both measure student achievement, and student achievement results in the two tests can be evaluated. An example of such comparison is as follows: 92% of 3rd graders in the Archdiocese of Denver score Average or Above Average on the ITBS Math test; 46% of 3rd graders in Denver Public Schools score Proficient or Advanced on the CSAP Math test.
CSAP tests students in Reading, Language Arts, and Math skills. ITBS tests on these three fundamentals plus Social Studies, Science, and Sources of Information. A nationally standardized test uses nationally-recognized standards to draft the test questions. Nationally standardized tests have an additional advantage over state-based tests in that they allow the testing group to compare itself to the nation in terms of academic achievement.
What types of results does the ITBS give on the student report?
The ITBS produces developmental standard scores, percentile ranks, and grade level equivalencies.
