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Research Helps Iowa Teachers
January 26, 2012
The project, Iowa Criteria for Assisting in Monitoring Progress, or ICAMP, is intended to serve as a foundation for standards-based Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) in reading for students with identified disabilities in the state.
Missall, an associate professor in School Psychology, said the project represents a shift in the way Iowa has used IEPs.
“Typically if a student has a disability and an IEP, they are written with a focus on individual progress. There will be another layer now, an additional context for monitoring whether students are making progress toward obtaining grade-level reading expectations,” Missall said.
“I hope that it provides useful information for teachers across the state for setting goals for their students—both with disabilities and for those who are struggling,” said Hosp, an associate professor in Special Education.
The project is a collaboration between the college and the Iowa Department of Education’s Bureau of Student and Family Support Services. It examines a variety of curriculum-based measures in reading and compares students’ performance on those with their Iowa Assessment Reading Score in the spring. Schools are deemed as proficient or not depending on the results of that assessment.
Since the Iowa Assessments are administered only once per year, Missall said the curriculum-based measures are “quick and easy” and can be administered more frequently to offer additional checks to be sure students are progressing toward their goals.
The Iowa Department of Education funded the approximately $190,000 project. In addition to Missall and Hosp, four doctoral students in the College of Education are also involved as research assistants.
Missall said the statewide scope of the project offers a great opportunity.
“It’s a great opportunity for communicating College of Education strengths through broad community engagement,” she said. “It’s been a really positive collaboration with the Department of Education. We’re hopeful they’ll to want to continue this partnership and seek our support to move forward some of their other agenda items that need research.”