We had 3 juniors at the alternative high school take the Iowa Assessments, is this considered to be an alternate assessment?
No, the Iowa Alternate Assessment provides a mechanism for students, including those with the most significant cognitive disabilities, to be assessed on the same content standards as all students. The Iowa Alternate Assessments tests grade level concepts that align with district standards but are reduced in complexity. For example, the fifth graders are being tested about the solar system, a student taking an alternate assessment may be asked to label or identify sun, earth and moon when presented with a model of the solar system while his classmates have to identify all the planets and list characteristics of each one.