Laboratory Schools of the University of Iowa

Laboratory Schools of the University of Iowa, elementary and secondary schools founded in Iowa City in 1916 to experiment with curriculum development and to serve as model schools for Iowa. Over the next several decades the schools exercised national and international influence through their pioneer studies in educational testing. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development, originating in the laboratory schools and adapted by the American College Testing Program, were widely applied to test skill and achievement levels of elementary and secondary school students. Language teaching on the elementary level was also explored by the laboratory elementary school, and many textbooks developed at the schools were widely adopted. Cutbacks in state funding led to the closing of the laboratory schools in 1972.