Iowans have come to trust and depend on the independent assessment of Iowa STEM each year by the inter-university consortium of Iowa State University’s Research Institute for Studies in Education, University of Iowa’s Iowa Testing Program, and the lead organization, University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Social and Behavioral Research.
Between the three state university evaluation centers, each takes on one portion of the three-part assessment that captures the STEM Council priorities of raising interest, awareness and achievement in STEM. The first task—the teacher/leader survey—focuses on how an educator implemented their STEM Scale-Up Program award in a classroom or informal setting, increasing the awareness and interest of STEM. The other two tasks focus on students, using Iowa Testing Assessment scores in mathematics and science to gauge achievement and a student questionnaire to measure for increased interest in STEM education or careers.
Iowa STEM Evaluation Reports are available by contacting Kari Britain at kari.britain@iowa.gov or 515-335-1531.