Student Assessment
Student progress is monitored
regularly with respect to course content standards and school wide learning results. Teaching staff evaluate student
academic performance using teacher made assessments and curriculum driven evaluations. Teachers are trained and
encouraged to use multiple measures of assessments recognizing that all students learn differently. Student feedback
is regarded as key in monitoring student progress over time. St. Peter Lutheran School utilizes the Iowa Test of
Basic Skills (ITBS) assessment tool which is a nationally standardized testing product. This assessment is given
annually with the results available by the end of the school year.
Some parents ask why our school uses this achievement test over others, such as the California Achievement
Tests (CAT) or the Stanford Achievement Tests (SAT)?
The Iowa Tests advantages lie in the fact that, 1.) The ITBS can be administered across wider
groups of children than the SAT, 2.) There are additional unnecessary restrictions placed on users of the SAT that do not
apply to our school, and 3.) The ITBS evaluates higher order thinking skills while the CAT tests rely more heavily on rote
memory.
For more information regarding this assessment tool, visit http://www.education.uiowa.edu/itp/itbs/