Across the nation, states are dropping out of the Common Core testing. Most have decided that the tests are too long, too expensive, and provide no more information than the tests they had before.
But Iowa, among the high-scoring states in the nation, has decided to adopt the Smarter Balanced Assessment at the same time that others are backing out. The new tests will begin in the 2016-17 year.
The irony is that Iowa has long been one of the nation’s high-performing states even though it had no state standards or assessments.
But the state board of education has decided to follow everyone else, even as others are dropping out.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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Notice that the Iowa State Board of Education decided that it had the authority to impose the Smarter Balanced tests through an administrative rule only *after* it failed to persuade the legislature to adopt the tests. In fact, there’s a strong argument that the Board exceeded its authority by doing so.
You can read more about the Iowa-specific background on this issue here. Although I am a member of the school board in the Iowa City Community School District, I am speaking only for myself here and not for that board. That said, our board was the only organization in Iowa to speak out against the adoption of SBAC. You can read the board’s statement here.
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The governor of Iowa appoints the 10 person board of education for the state.
And here’s a paragraph from his Education Blueprint
“Develop new formative and summative assessments aligned with the Common
Core Standards for grades three through eight. These assessments will be computer
adaptive to reduce testing time, provide instant results, and will be available for
both classroom and end-of-year purposes. Iowa is part of the Smarter Balanced
Assessment Consortium, which is working to design such assessments by 2014.”
There is a lot of language in this blueprint that sounds good, but there is also a fear factor tossed in.
“Make no mistake: The international competition Iowa’s children will face is merciless
and unrelenting – it does not care whether or not we get our house of education in
order. But a visit to one of the many Iowa towns with a crumbling building that once
was a bustling factory provides all the evidence we need that our world has changed.
The reality we must face is that many low-skill jobs have left this state, and the nation,
and they are never coming back.”
Click to access Education%20Blueprint.pdf
Now, what kind of jobs are going to be threatened by international competition in Iowa?
“The largest manufacturing industry in Iowa is the food processing industry. Meatpacking plants producing canned hams and breakfast sausages are important. Other plants produce corn oil, cornstarch, corn sugar, and glucose.”
Top five industries in Iowa:
1. Agriculture and Food Prosecution.
Iowa is tops in the country in producing pork, soybeans, corn and eggs, according to the Iowa Area Development Group (IADG). Iowa farmers also are leaders in the turkey and dairy industries as well as the bio-based products sector. In all, the state is responsible for more than seven percent of America’s food supply.
2. Renewable Energy
Iowa is the national leader i renewable energy, particularly ethanol production …
3. advanced manufacturing
The state’s number one industry generates $25 billion a year, IADG said. It also produces jobs for Iowans across the state; more than 210,000 residents work for close to 4,000 manufacturing companies in such manufacturing industries as machinery, fabricated metals and food manufacturing.
4. Services
33% of the jobs that includes working in the wholesale and retail trade, insurance and healthcare.
5. Information and Communications Technology
The tech industry comprises 8.8 percent ($10.6 billion) of Iowa’s GDP and has created jobs for more than 76,000 Iowa residents.
Iowa also has one of America’s lowest unemployment rates at 4.5%
Does Iowa look like it is threatened by the PISA ranking of other countries, because there is no other way to measure countries but that PISA ranking? The PISA is what the Corporate public school reform demolition derby has used from day one to destroy America’s community based, non-profit, transparent, democratic public schools, and the Corporate Charter schools—as an opaque, autocratic for profit education industry—in more than twenty years has not delivered on its bloviated false promises.
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Newest ed reform governor announces public school agenda in Kentucky, no mention of existing public schools:
“In his first post-election comments on education, Gov.-elect Matt Bevin said that Kentucky needs “competition” for its state tax dollars, and he wants to start with public charter schools to replace historically low-performing traditional public schools.
Bevin, speaking on the Mandy Connell talk show on WHAS Radio in Louisville last night, reaffirmed the support he voiced during his gubernatorial campaign for charter schools as a means of strengthening the state’s public education system.”
I think it’s great they’re running on a 100% replace public schools platform now, though.
Much more honest than claiming they are interested in “improving” public schools.
http://www.kyforward.com/bevin-says-he-will-champion-school-choice-wants-better-prepared-graduates-calls-kea-too-powerful/
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The SBINO test, smarter balanced in name only.
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OMG … stupid move.
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I hope all the voting parents of school age children in this pivotal state get to experience the SBAC assessments right before Election 2016.
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LeftCoastTeacher – our governor is not up for re-election anyway so it won’t matter. I doubt he will run again due to his age and health. He is the longest serving governor in the nation. Nothing parents say here matters to the governor or to the state board. They do whatever they want. It will take an army of parents and teachers to reverse this. And yes, parents will need to experience SBAC in order to wake up.
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