IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The testing world is changing, says Janet Godwin, a chief operating officer at the Iowa City-based ACT.
“Admissions testing is changing. Our educational ecosystem is changing, and we need to adapt and change with it,” Godwin told the Press-Citizen. “And ideally, we’ll be driving some of that change, instead of reacting to it.”
Between her professional job and her elected position on the Iowa City school board, Godwin is poised to do just that in 2020.
ACT is rolling out changes to its national college admissions test. Starting in September, ACT will begin offering online testing in addition to paper exams and allow students to retake individual test sections, rather than the entire exam.
ACT officials say the changes will make the exam more accessible to students who cannot afford the time or expense of retaking the ACT to score better.
Godwin says the changes are historic, though still in line with the founding premise behind ACT.
“I like to think our company’s success was partially built upon the innovation around the optical mark reader,” Godwin said, referring the technology that first allowed ACT to quickly grade Scantron tests en masse and without human interpretation. “Now I like to think we are moving into the next round of some kind of technology innovation that’s going to take our methodologies to the next level. People have been doing computer delivery in testing for a good 30 years, but not at the kind of scale we are talking about.”
The changes mark a logistical feat for ACT, but Godwin says it’s well worth the adjustment. Online testing, she says will allow ACT to collect more data points on test-takers.
“Students are going to see the tip of the iceberg, and everything under the water line is changing too,” Godwin said. “It is completely revamping our work here.”
Some universities have stopped requiring applicants to submit ACT scores. Students and advocates sued the University of California system this December, demanding that campuses remove ACT and SAT requirements from the admissions processes. The group argues the standardized tests are inherently biased against lower-income students.
“We’re watching closely what the U.C. system in California is doing,” Godwin said. “But we feel strongly and our research is strong in this area, that a strong objective standardized measure is a very important component of an admissions process. Grades alone are not an apple-to-apple comparison.”
In the last few years, ACT has made moves to expand, acquiring various educational technology companies and seeking ways that ACT’s assessment capabilities can be used in classrooms to aid learning.
Godwin says this focus will remain through 2020.
“If you just start in high school, it’s way too late,” Godwin said. “That’s really, really driving us to want to get into earlier grades.”
As president of the school board, Godwin and colleagues are determining who will replace Superintendent Steve Murley, who announced he will leave the school district at the end of his contract in 2021.
The school board hopes to have his replacement lined up in 2020.
Ahead of the new hire, the school board officials say they want to develop a clear vision statement for the district, to dictate the type of superintendent they want and the goals they expect the administrator to achieve.
“The vision and mission statement that the school board has now - no one even knows who developed them, they are that old,” Godwin said. “So it was time for us to do a reboot there.”
The process will unfold over the course of several months. The board will take community input and discuss the vision for the board among themselves, but Godwin is entering these discussions with her own priorities.
“I have some ideas, of course,” Godwin. “I would love for this to be one of the most innovative districts in the county and have it be not just shiny object innovation, but innovation that brings about real educational outcomes.”
Godwin has a kind of running list of what she, personally, wants in a superintendent: A proven history improving the achievement gap, hiring and retaining teachers of color, seeking out community partnerships and adopting proven, innovative ideas around education.
“I want a superintendent who has demonstrated positive gains,” Godwin said.
The next year will test the school board’s ability to find such an administrator. Godwin - who herself chose to spend her professional career in Iowa City, analyzing educational issues - is optimistic about the search.
“If I were a superintendent, this would be the dream job,” Godwin said. “Don’t you think?”
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