When I began teaching I was really interested in the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. It's a test that's better than most out there measuring student growth. In fact, it returns what is called a 'grade equivalent' for each student in subject areas. In the beginning of the year I tried to use the ITBS approach myself, but the idea, while still good, just isn't very feasible.

But, I recently got back results from an Iowa test that my kids took in November and was somewhat pleased with the results:

I compared the grade levels of my students who took the test in April and in November. While there is little or no growth in some students, some of them are growing a lot. Some of the slow growth in some can be attributed to a bad testing day, but a few of these students I can honestly say that they haven't progressed because they haven't done anything. But, on the whole, I'm making average progress in reading, great progress in language, and above average progress in math. It's a breath of fresh air, especially after all the bad things I had to deal with last semester.