The University of Iowa’s College of Education provides schools throughout the state with an opportunity to gauge the effectiveness of their teaching through the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). According to the institution’s website, this assessment is provided to students in kindergarten through the eighth grade.
Irving Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa is one institution that has taken steps to improve the quality of its academic programs, and, as a result, its students’ progress, the Waterloo Daily Courier reported.
Changes at Irving began with the new school year on August 8, according to the news source. Now, students have the option of entering their classrooms at 8:15 a.m., which is 35 minutes before the official start of the school day. For teachers, having pupils in their seats early provides a chance to go over objectives and goals. This early classroom time also offers students a chance to complete homework assignments that may have been neglected the night before.
"It’s just an extra layer of support," Frederick Zimmerman, a fifth-grade teacher at Irving, told the news source. "Give me a month. You’ll see the progress."
Zimmerman added that the early classroom time helps ensure that students are engaged when the day officially begins.
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