Our DD9 took the ITBS a month ago, and the test states "Form Level E-13. It's the Complete Battery (math, science, social studies, reading). What grade level is this test?
Thanks!!!

Looks like seventh grade - is that plausible?

From the info at the following link it is grade 7 as ElizabethN said. The E denotes it is aligned with common core standards from what I read.

http://www.riversidepublishing.com/products/ia/pdf/Iowa_Scope_Sequence.pdf

Congratulations greenlotus. I have followed your recent posts. All the more impressive. No wonder the school is finally sitting up and taking notice. I am very pleased and relieved for you. I know it has been a stressful time!

Not familiar with this test. Is it similar to WJ-III in scope?

It is grade 7, though the level of the test does not determine what norms are used in scoring. That is specified by the person filling out the student's information on the answer sheet--frequently the student him/herself. There is a space where the student's grade level is to be bubbled in and that is what is used in scoring the test.

So is it like WJ III?

No. It is a group-administered, multiple-choice test, unlike the WJ, which is individually-administered by a trained examiner, with multiple open-response formats.

Sorry to hijack, but this helps me understand something that happened a while ago - my DS7 said that he had to fill out an answer sheet kind of paper that asked him to rate how good his abilities were in math, LA etc. after he finished an out of level achievement test. I always wondered why, and this makes sense.

So the school psychologist did agree that she gave the ITBS level 13 (we were originally told DD would get the 6th grade test). The grade of the student taking the test would have a bearing on the NPR he/she received. Our DD is in 4th grade, and the sheet states this. How does a 4th grader get scored on this vs. a 7th grader taking the test?

Very helpful. DD9 did not do as well on the WJ as her WISC score indicated that she should (this is what the tester stated). So DD had the opportunity on the ITBS to find the correct answer and circle it vs. the WJ where she would have had to just pull the info from memory - is this correct? I am trying to figure out why the 2 tests would have such different results. I also need to know what the ITBS scores mean in our situation because they will be used to determine if DD can grade skip.

It will be scored against 4th grade norms. Meaning she is being compared to other 4th graders rather than 7th graders. A standard score is calculated and then that standard score is what is used to determine the percentile rank as compared to whatever grade level is specified.

I gave my son the 7th grade ITBS (though not form E) when he was in 4th grade. He also got 99s down the line when scored against 4th graders. I also had score sheets done scoring him against 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. Here are the total scores for each subtest (form E has different subtest names, but this will give you an idea of how the percentiles fall as you go up the grade levels):

Subtest name: 4th/5th/6th/7th (PR)

Reading total: 99/97/90/79
Language total: 99/99/99/95
Math total: 99/99/97/89
Core total: 99/99/98/91
Social studies: 99/99/94/86
Science: 99/96/88/81
Sources of information: 99/99/93/84
Composite: 99/99/97/89

I'm pretty sure that the test can be rescored against 6th grade norms if that's what they're wanting to see.

We were told that DD9 needed to get 75% or above on at least 2 sections to even be considered for a grade skip. She was supposed to be given the 6th grade test. The school psych. just emailed to say they gave her the 7th grade version because all kids in this county get a 1 year above level test. What makes no sense (to me anyway) is to compare her to other 9 year olds (and the psych. said the comparison is to usually same age kids, not grade) when she already tests 99% against that age. I just fired off another email to the school psych. to see just exactly what age DD was normed against (if I am using the correct terminology).

Here is a link to some information on ITBS scoring: http://www.riversidepublishing.com/scoring/iowa/interpretation.html

Here is what it says about the comparison group:

"Most of the scores on ITBS and ITED score reports are based on norm-referencing, i.e., comparing with a norm group. In the case of percentile ranks, stanines, and normal curve equivalents, the comparison is with a single group of students in a certain grade who tested at a certain time of year."

So what the psych said about comparison to age group vs grade level is completely wrong. I'm guessing that the psych is trying to conform to the guidelines in the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual but is bungling it.

aeh, sorry I did not state my question clearly. Was wondering if the tests are overlapping in mandate. Since they are both knowledge tests (as opposed to IQ). Would most schools use them interchangeably for evaluation?

Thanks.

Got it.

No. They should not be used interchangeably. The floor and ceiling are much narrower on the ITBS than on individually-administered achievement tests like the WJ, WIAT, or KTEA, and do not adapt well to the level of the student. Also, since they do not involve direct, face-to-face interaction with an examiner, the ITBS are much more subject to attentional and engagement effects. Individual NRTs allow for querying, multiple breaks, probing/testing of limits, etc., which ITBS, CAT, SAT10, etc. do not.

New question - I received another email from the school psych. She completely ignored my request for the information about what age DD's scores were compared to. She just stated that the process is set up so that DD will be successful in her new class if she is grade skipped.

What info, as a parent, can I get my hands on regarding this test? All I have received is a faxed copy of the "Profile Narrative".

The profile narrative should say which norms were used, as indicated by the student's grade level.

These are samples of the three possible individual reports:

http://itp.education.uiowa.edu/ia/documents/IA_Interpreting_Reports.pdf

There is quite a bit of info at UIowa's ITBS website, some of it specific to the state of Iowa:

http://itp.education.uiowa.edu/ia/

Here's a link with tables that show standard scores and percentiles for each grade level. You may be able to get a general idea of the percentile rank of your daughter's standard scores at various grade levels.

https://itp.education.uiowa.edu/ia/SSGradeLevelTestLevel.aspx