Standardized Testing

Grace Christian  Schools administers the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) on an annual basis. The ITBS is a nationally normed test, meaning it compares your child (by means of a scientifically selected sampling procedure) with all children (in both public and private schools) in that same grade throughout the United States. Grace Christian uses Form E of the ITBS which is aligned with common core standards.

Unlike public schools who test in the Spring, we administer the ITBS in the Fall of each school year. Fall testing allows teachers the best opportunity to diagnose student’s strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles, and in turn, apply this information to adjust instructional methods and curriculum. As the educational community continues to move closer to a differentiated learning model, Fall assessment has become vitally important.

All students participate in the ITBS in second through eighth grade. Additionally, first, third, fifth, and seventh grades also take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) in order to measure reasoning and intellectual ability. CogAT scores can then be compared to achievement scores to ensure that students are performing at or above their ability level.

The test scores below are demonstrated using grade equivalents (GE). The GE is a decimal number that describes performance in terms of grade level and months. For example, if a sixth grade student obtains a GE score of 7.8 in Reading, his or her score is like the one a typical student at the end of the eighth month of the seventh grade would likely get on that same test.

Remember that scores are not only a reflection of achievement but are also a reflection of each classes ability level. Student scores consistently exceed national averages at all grade levels. Additionally our scores indicate that as student’s progress through our academic curriculum, their performance increases, such that, by a student’s eighth grade year, they are achieving at the high school level.

*The GE scale starts at 2.0