The Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) are new assessments developed by Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa for the state of Iowa. The assessments are aligned with the Iowa Core standards and provide a clear and accurate assessment of student learning outcomes. Student growth, proficiency and readiness indicators will be reported.
The new assessments will be administered between March and May in any given school year and will be available in online and paper formats. The ISASP will require students in grades 3 to 11 to complete assessments in reading, language, writing and mathematics. It will also require students in grades 5, 8 and 10 to complete a science assessment.
ISASP will be delivered and supported by Iowa-based Pearson, ensuring local support in the implementation process and rapid-response to questions. State appropriations will help defray the cost of the ISASP to Iowa public schools.
Specific information regarding the ISASP assessment, news, updates, training resources, manuals and FAQs, can be found on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress Portal
Assessment Quick Links
Test Administrator Manual – This manual provides instructions necessary for the computer-based and paper-based administration of the ISASP, as well as tasks for the Test Administrator to follow before, during, and after test administration. The manual also contains the protocols that Test Administrators and Proctors must follow related to test security and test administration. (ISASP Publication)
Accessibility and Accommodations Manual – This manual provides general guidelines for how to select, administer, and evaluate the use of accessibility supports and accommodations for instructions and assessment for all students. (ISASP Publication)
Practice Tests – The primary of the practice tests is to provide an opportunity for the student to navigate in the test delivery environment, practice solving items online and become familiar with using the available online tools. A secondary purpose is to provide an assessment item model that is aligned with a standard or set of standards (including level of rigor) that teachers can use as a guide as classroom assessment items and activities are developed.
ISASP Test Blueprints – Documents reflect a summary of the Iowa Core content standards included for each of the ISASP assessments by grade.
Iowa Accessibility Manual for State Assessments – This manual establishes more specific guidelines for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accessibility supports for instruction and assessment of all students, including: students with disabilities, English Learners (ELs), ELs with disabilities and students without an identified disability or EL status. This manual is intended for general education, English as a second language (EL)/bilingual, and special education teachers, school administrators, test administrators, school coordinators, and related services personnel to use in administering accessibility supports for those students who need them. The manual is also intended for assessment staff and administrators serving all students who currently have the potential to benefit from these accessibility supports on their paths to college and career readiness. (Iowa DOE Publication)
State of Iowa Test Security Manual – This manual was developed to assist districts, schools, and AEAs plan for and maintain the security of both online and paper-based testing to ensure the integrity, validity, and confidentiality of item types, prompts, and student information; maintain our investment; and adhere to Iowa’s Code of Ethics. This manual should serve as guidance to help districts create sound test security policies and practices. They should, at a minimum, apply to all state-required assessments, including ISASP, ELPA21, DLM, GOLD, NAEP, ELAA, and all district designated Early Literacy Assessments (e.g., FAST). (Iowa DOE Publication)
Data Analysis Quick Links
ISASP Spring 2022 State Level Results – This document provides a listing of statewide proficiency rates across each of the grades and content areas and includes a comparison to 2021.
ISASP Student Data File – Analysis Template 2022 – This multi-tab google sheet template has been developed to help districts to quickly and efficiently summarize the contents of the ISASP District Student Data File that can be obtained from a district’s Pearson Account. Summary data includes: Domain, DOK and writing performance as compared to state, achievement level changes from 2021 and overall proficiency data across each of the assessed grades.
ISASP Performance Level Descriptors – The Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) outline a range of skills a Proficient or Advanced student could demonstrate. The descriptors are representative of Proficient and Advanced skills at a given grade but are not meant as an exhaustive list of all possible content that could be assessed on the ISASP. Descriptors in the Advanced category include skills a student could demonstrate that go beyond the scope of Proficiency. The categories are cumulative in that an Advanced student should consistently demonstrate the skills within the Proficient category as well as one or more of the skills within the Advanced category. The PLDs help to convey meaning of the ISASP results and should be used as content area and domain performance are analyzed.
ISASP 2022 State Level Results Domain Performance – This document provides a listing of the state domain performance across high, middle and low performance categories and grade level.
ISASP Percentile Ranks 2022 – This document provides conversion tables for educators to find the percentile rank associated with Scale Scores on the ISASP assessments. The conversion tables are organized by grade, and each grade-level table includes columns containing the Iowa Percentile Rank (IPR) of each ISASP Scale Score. The Scale Score to Percentile Rank conversions were obtained directly from the statewide distributions of ISASP Scale Scores in the Spring 2021 administration of the ISASP.
2023 test year resources will be added when they become available.