Revised Testing Calendar – Religious Holidays Addressed

Potential conflicts with religious holidays addressed.
 Open Letter to Dr. Green
 Testing Dates and Religious Holidays
 2015 – 2016 Testing Calendar
 2015 – 2016 School Calendar


Stan Jester
Board Of Education
District 1

DeKalb Schools Superintendent Dr. R. Stephen Green will remove all potential conflicts with religious observances on the school testing calendar for the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) for the 2015-2016 school year.
I would like to thank the community for sharing their heartfelt thoughts and stories with the board.  We are blessed to have so many engaged families.
The revised testing calendar is as follows:

  • Sept. 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, and 21 – ITBS
  • Sept. 22, 23, 24, and 25 – ITBS make-up
  • Oct. 5, 6, and 7 – CogAT
  • Oct. 8 – CogAT make-up

“The revised school testing calendar removes all conflicts with religious holidays while ensuring timely testing for students,” said Dr. Green. “We have been responsive to concerns that have been raised and we have sought and arrived at a solution that is in the best interest of our children.”

One response to “Revised Testing Calendar – Religious Holidays Addressed

  1. Apparently DeKalb County Schools learned nothing from the appeal to change standardized testing dates because of a conflict with the Jewish holidays. In a press release/FB post they announced dates for Charter System Petition Community Engagement Sessions. The Region I meeting is scheduled at 6 PM on Wed 9/23 which is Yom Kippur!! This is the region that probably contains one of (if not the largest) population of Jewish students in the county. I would hope this was an oversight and not done to reduce feedback on their proposal.