The 2017 Iowa Assessments were this week, April 4-6.

Students took the reading portion Tuesday, the math test Wednesday and the science section on Thursday.

Dr. Nancy McNee is one, of the two, full time English Language Learning teachers. McNee is fluent in English and also speaks Spanish. In terms of teaching, she provides level one and level three English studies for the ELL students.

“My level three students understand a lot of English, however, my level one students are just beginning,” McNee said.

All ELL students have to take the Iowa Assessment tests in English no matter what level of English they are enrolled in. Due to their speaking abilities, most ELL students are allowed to take these tests in small groups.

“In the future, I think the Iowa Assessments should be available in both English and Spanish because Spanish speakers in Iowa are growing quickly,” McNee said.

Sometimes it’s not always fun for students to take the Iowa Assessment tests.

“I was really struck by the students positive attitude and careful thinking towards their responses during the tests,” Dr. Stacy Haynes-Moore, language arts teacher, said.

Some of the ELL students like the math section the best because there is minimal reading/translating. Hopefully within the next couple of years, all sections can accommodate for students fluent in Spanish as well as the ones fluent in English.