Iowa Admin. Code r. 281-62.1 - Assessment of reading proficiency

All school districts shall assess reading proficiency of all students pursuant to this rule.

(1) Assessment at beginning of school year. A school district will assess all students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three at the beginning of each school year for the students' level of reading or reading readiness.

(2) Subsequent assessments throughout school year. A school district will provide to all students additional, brief assessments of reading achievement in a manner specified by the department, using assessments that meet the standards described in subrule 62.1(5).

(3) Progress-monitoring instruments. For students identified as being persistently at risk in reading, as well as students who are becoming persistently at risk in reading, a school district will monitor the students' progress in reading with instruments that meet the standards in subrule 62.1(5), in at least a frequency specified by the department.

(4) Statewide or locally determined assessments. Assessments may be locally determined or statewide, including an annual standard-based assessment, provided that all assessments for purposes of implementing this chapter meet the standards described in subrule 62.1(5).

(5) Standards for approval for assessments. Any assessment of reading or reading readiness under this rule and used to implement this chapter is to meet the following minimum standards before use by a school district:

a. Standards for all assessments. Any assessment used under this chapter, including instruments described in paragraphs 62.1(5)"b" and "c," is to meet department-adopted minimum standards for reliability and validity, at the appropriate grade level and for the skills assessed. In addition, all assessments are to have information available concerning administration time per student, access to student data after completion, and amount of teacher training required.

b. Standards for universal-screening instruments. Any assessment used for universal-screening purposes under this chapter is to meet department-adopted minimum standards for the following statistical measures: area under the curve and specificity/sensitivity.

c. Standards for progress-monitoring instruments. Any assessment used for progress-monitoring purposes under this chapter is to meet department-adopted standards for number of forms of demonstrated equivalence and for reliability of slope.

d. Department publication of approved assessments. The department will annually publish or update a list of assessments approved pursuant to this subrule. Approved assessments will have a demonstrated ability to predict future reading performance.

(6) Basic levels of reading proficiency on approved assessments. The department will determine benchmarks for basic levels of reading proficiency to be used with approved assessments based on the ability to predict meaningful future outcomes of a student's reading performance that is sufficient to master appropriate grade four reading skills prior to the student's promotion to grade four.

(7) Assessment measures. Assessments administered to implement this chapter, when taken as a whole, are to measure phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

(8) Noncompliant assessments. Assessments that do not meet the provisions of this rule may not be used by any school district to implement this chapter.

Notes

Iowa Admin. Code r. 281-62.1

ARC 1331C, IAB 2/19/2014, effective 3/26/2014 Adopted by IAB April 17, 2024/Volume XLVI, Number 21, effective 5/22/2024