As you may already know, every year grades 3-11 participate in what is now known as ISASP. ISASP is a test that assesses a students knowledge on subjects like reading, language, mathmatics, social studies, and science. Depending on the grade level of the student ISASP can look very different. For example, grades 3-11 are required to take mathmatics while grades 5, 8 and 10 are required to take science and mathmatics.

Here at ADM we choose to take ISASP throughout one week, starting with testing in the morning and then proceeding with a normal school day. This year we were given Monday off and ISASP began on Tuesday with reading, on Wednesday students were assessed on language and writing. On Thursday, the last day of testing,  students are assessed on mathmatics. Depending on what their grade level is, they are in they are also assessed on science the same day.

Many students, including myself, aren’t aware of the reasons why we take ISASP. In a press conference with ADM superintendent, Greg Dufoe, I prompted the question, “How do the scores from ISASP show how well the district is doing? How do ISASP correspond with the district?” to which Dufoe responded with a well versed answer.

ISASP data is used to determine how well students are learning, how well teachers are educating, and more. ISASP is one of a many other factors that determine things like class placements for students, improving the education system of the school district, and the ranking of the school. Here at ADM we use the data on a stuudent level, meaning we look for particular areas where a student might need help. More than that we use specific data to look at how well a certian grade level is doing, but by using all the data it helps to show how well the school district as a whole is doing.

In response to my question, Dufoe answered, “We use a lot of data to judge our results and ISASP test is just one of them, but it really is a big factor that we study to make sure were being effective. Now we don’t feel like the standardized test are the only thing that allows us to determine if were being effective or not, but it is one of the big rocks that we use.”

Although there are many other aspects that contribute to things like district improvements and class placements ISASP are a big one. ISASP provide a lot of data at once. Although we all dread ISASP testing week, it is a big factor for many aspects involving our school.