Changes to the statewide assessment led the InformED Report for April 25, 2017, edCircuit’s short video news briefing for educators. Iowa lawmakers had approved a bill directing the state Department of Education to choose a new test after a federal warning about the existing one, and Nebraska was reviewing proposals from new testing contractors.
The edition also followed a Montana bill that would fund preschool for four-year-olds from lower-income families, and closed with a spotlight on Everybody Wins! Atlanta, a literacy nonprofit marking its 20th year. Together the stories traced how states decide what to measure, which children to serve first, and how communities can add reading time that schools alone cannot provide.
In this edition
- Iowa’s Senate File 240 directed the Department of Education to seek a new statewide assessment after a federal letter said the current test did not meet requirements.
- Nebraska was reviewing proposals from new testing contractors, with officials hoping for technology-assisted questions that gauge deeper learning.
- Montana’s House Bill 563 proposed about $6 million a year for preschool for four-year-olds in families below 200 percent of the poverty level.
- Spotlight: Everybody Wins! Atlanta marked its 20th anniversary with a goal of putting 20,000 books into children’s hands.
Iowa and Nebraska look for new statewide assessments
Iowa’s statewide assessment question came to a head in the spring of 2017. Federal law, now the Every Student Succeeds Act, requires states to test students in grades three through eight and once in high school with an assessment aligned to state standards. An Iowa task force had recommended the Smarter Balanced Assessment, but a 2017 federal Department of Education letter indicated that the Iowa Assessments then in use did not meet federal requirements, and continued use could have put federal education funding at risk. Lawmakers responded with Senate File 240, which directed the state Department of Education to select an assessment through a new request for proposals rather than adopt the task force’s choice.
As of the Iowa Department of Education’s legislative update of April 7, 2017, the House-amended bill required the request for proposals to be issued by July 1, 2017, with the new test to be given in the 2018-2019 school year. The assessment had to align with the Iowa Core and cover English language arts, mathematics and science, with science tested in grades 5, 8 and 10.
Nebraska was in a similar position. According to the episode, the state was reviewing proposals from new testing contractors, and officials hoped the next tests would include technology-assisted questions that gauge deeper learning, with changes possible as soon as the following year. For district leaders in both states, a change of test means new score reports, possible breaks in trend data and new demands on devices and scheduling, all of which are easier to manage when planned for before the first administration.
Montana weighs state funding for preschool
Montana Public Radio reported on March 17, 2017 that legislators would hear House Bill 563, the Montana Preschool Grant Program, sponsored by Representative Kathy Kelker of Billings. The voluntary program would give grants to school districts to serve four-year-olds from lower-income families, either directly or by working with existing programs such as Head Start. To qualify, families would need to earn below 200 percent of the poverty level, which Kelker put at about $49,000 a year for a family of four. The cost to the state general fund would be about $6 million a year.
Kelker said the program would offer instruction from a qualified teacher with an early childhood background, not day care. Governor Steve Bullock supported the effort, noting that Montana was one of six states providing no state funding for pre-kindergarten. House Education Committee Chair Seth Berglee of Joliet raised concerns about the cost and about the effect on private providers already offering preschool. The debate illustrates the choices any targeted early learning program must make: who is eligible, who delivers the service, and how a new public program fits alongside the providers already in a community.
InformED Report spotlight: Everybody Wins! Atlanta at 20
The edition’s spotlight was Everybody Wins! Atlanta, a nonprofit founded in 1997 as a local affiliate of a national children’s literacy organization. To mark its 20th anniversary, the episode reported, it set a goal of putting 20,000 books into children’s hands across the region and building programs that encourage lifelong learning.
The organization’s best-known model, described by Rough Draft Atlanta in 2010 as Power Lunch, pairs children with trained volunteer reading mentors who visit during the school lunch period once a week and read with the same child all year. Teachers select the children, often students with low reading scores or those learning English. The episode reported that 40 businesses were encouraging employees to volunteer at 10 public schools. For schools, the model shows how a modest, regular commitment from local employers can add consistent one-to-one reading time for the students who need it most.
Sources
- “Statewide Student Assessment,” Iowa Legislative Services Agency, Fiscal Services Division, July 1, 2021.
- Shan Seivert, “Legislative Update for 04/07/2017,” Iowa Department of Education, April 7, 2017.
- Cole Grant, “Montana Legislators To Weigh Bill Seeking Early Education Funding,” Montana Public Radio, March 17, 2017.
- Jenn Ballentine, “Everybody Wins promotes literacy,” Rough Draft Atlanta, February 1, 2010.
About the InformED Report
The InformED Report is edCircuit’s short news program on education. This edition first ran on April 25, 2017. In 2026, edCircuit re-presented it with a new anchor and this full written account. Both report the stories as they stood on that date and link the original reporting, so readers can see exactly where each claim came from.
Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.
Related reading
More on InformED Report
