BOISE— The Idaho State Board of Education today adopted the cut scores and performance level descriptors (pld) from the recently completed Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). The adoption and approval of the cut scores and pld is necessary to finish processing the test results, which in turn will be released to each of Idaho’s 115 school districts. The Board anticipates this will be done by June 20, 2007. Districts then in turn will be notified by the State Department of Education who among them has not met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), a key component of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.
"There was a delay this year in getting the cut scores and pld’s done due to the fact we have a new test vendor", said Board member Sue Thilo of Coeur d’Alene. "But it’s a good test, a test that is aligned to Idaho’s standards, something we haven’t had in the past, and that is good news for our students and teachers and taxpayers."
Idaho students finished taking the spring ISAT on or around May 18, 2007. The cut scores and pld were validated by more than 120 Idaho teachers and educators, state-wide, during the week of May 21 through May 25, 2007. Test results are the key element in determining a student’s proficiency in areas such as math, reading, science and language.
The Board also voted to authorize the University of Idaho to spend up to $848,000 of insurance settlement monies it received as the result of a fire earlier this year. In January of 2007, the women’s locker room in the University Physical Education Building and Swimming Center was damaged by fire. The University is fully insured but must meet a $2,000 deductible.
The Board also approved the annual salary/compensation for Interim Executive Director Karen McGee to be set at $108,712.80 effective May 29, 2007.
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