Iowa Board of Education endorses new state test proposal

The Iowa Board of Education on Wednesday endorsed a state task force's recommendation of a new state test for Iowa students.

A state assessment task force last year recommended that the state adopt the Smarter Balanced test, rather than the Iowa Assessment, as the standardized test taken by Iowa students.

Board of Education members endorsed that recommendation Wednesday in a unanimous vote, according to a release from the Iowa Department of Education.

Legislators, who created the assessment task force in 2013, now must decide whether to adopt its recommendation.

Supporters have said the Smarter Balanced test would more closely align with the Iowa Core academic standards, partly because the computer-based test can adapt to students as they answer each question.

But school districts have raised concerns about the time and computer equipment required to give the test, with some saying they don't have enough computers. The Smarter Balanced test also would cost the state more than the current state test, the Iowa Testing Programs' Iowa Assessments.

Students in grades 3-8 and 11 currently take the Iowa Assessments in math and reading.