KDSN RADIO News
Under new law, Iowa schools test students’ math skills three times a year
The state’s new “Math Counts Act” requires Iowa schools to start screening students’ math skills three times each year.
Schools have been testing students’ literacy skills three times a year for several years. “Just kind of piggybacking on that to really try to enhance some of the math scores in this state,” said Katie Black, the principal at North Union Elementary in Fenton.
Black’s district has used a computerized test for literacy that varies the difficulty and order of questions based on a student’s answers. It will use the same type of test for math and follow up, as the new law requires, with plans to improve the math skills of each student who lags behind their grade level.
“We’ll use that data moving forward and we will make sure that we are following what it is telling us and providing whole class instruction and also intervention for students to make sure they’re getting not only in reading, but also in math as they truck on through the school year here,” Black said.
The 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress found large reading gains among students from low income households, but Iowa 4th graders ranked 30th among the states and 8th graders ranked 23rd.
