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Cobb ITBS Scores Top National Averages

Cobb County students performed well above the national average on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, according to recently released results. The ITBS is administered in September to students in grades 3, 5 and 7. Cobb third graders had an average composite score of 68th percentile, equal to or better than 68 percent of all other third grade students who participated in the ITBS nationwide. Composite scores for fifth graders ranked in the 66th percentile nationally, while seventh graders scored in the 62nd percentile.

Administration of the ITBS allows the district to compare the performance of students to that of other students across the nation who took the same test at the same time of year. This year, the ITBS is referenced to the performance of students who took the test in 2005. Previous years’ comparisons were to a reference group from 2000. Because this year’s ITBS is based on a new reference year, comparisons with scores from prior years would be invalid. ITBS results are particularly helpful in identifying reading or math skills where students may need additional instruction and by administering the test in the fall teachers then have time to work with students before spring CRCT testing begins.

Core subjects tested by the ITBS include reading, language arts, and math. In Cobb County, third graders performed best in language arts and math where they scored in the 64th percentile. Although not a part of the core total, third grade students scored in the 66th percentile in science, and in the 67th percentile in social studies. Scores in the core subject areas for Cobb fifth graders were at the 62nd percentile in Reading, the 67th percentile in Language Arts, and the 65th percentile in Math. Seventh grade students scored at the 58th percentile in Reading, the 59th percentile in Language Arts, and the 61st percentile in Math.

This year, the district moved the ITBS from eighth to seventh grade at the middle school level to increase the amount of time available to teachers to provide remediation for students before the gateway testing year in eighth grade. Now, instead of having just a few months to help students who need more instruction, schools will have about 18 months. Students at the eighth grade level must pass both Reading and Mathematics on the Criterion Reference Competency Tests (CRCT) before they can be promoted to the ninth grade. In addition, the change in testing from eighth to seventh grade reduces the amount of testing for eighth graders who already have a writing exam, the CRCT, and a technology literacy assessment. Based on these facts, a system-wide advisory committee made up of teachers, counselors, and administrators made the recommendation to change the testing grade at middle school.

“Results from the ITBS administered this year are a good indication that our instructional program is competitive on a national level,” said Superintendent Fred Sanderson. “It is encouraging that our students continue to surpass the national averages in every subject and at every grade level. This assessment provides good data for our teachers to use early in the school year that will help them to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses, and prepare students for the critical CRCT.”

The ITBS is a norm-referenced test that ranks student performance according to percentiles. For example, a student in the 75th percentile scored equal to or better than 75 percent of all students across the nation who participated in the ITBS at the same grade level. Also reported are grade equivalents, or GE scores. The numbers in the GE score that come before the decimal represent the grade level of the student’s performance, while the digits that follow the decimal represent the month within the grade. A GE score of 5.2 means the student’s performance was similar to that expected of a fifth grader taking the same test during the second month of school. Student scores are reported for the system in Table I. Individual school scores are reported in Tables IIa–IIc.

Click here to view the data tables.

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