MISIC began in 1988 as a collaborative effort betwwen 15 school districts in central Iowa.  The districts came together under a grant to develop a common core curriculum that would be used as the basis for the development of a custom standardized test.  As the consortium began its work on the "core curriculum", other school districts asked to join in on the work.  Twenty-two school districts were eventually involved in the development of the criterion-referenced testing materials that are currently used by MISIC members.

 

Over the years, the consortium has begun to expand its collaborative work to include the development of other teaching and learning components. The consortium is currently working on expanding a data bank of performance assessment tools that are linked to the core curriculum.  New projects will include the development of instuctional strategies linked to the benchmarks of the core. In 2003-2004, consortium members worked for several days to develop templates and planning tools that would assist member districts in the development of the comprehensive school improvement plans.

 

In addition to teaching and learning materials, the consortium offers its member schools several different workshops on using data to create and implement changes in classroom instruction. Consortium members are involved in helping build better testing materials and instuctional practices in statewide as well as national efforts.

 

The consortium continues to grow in numbers. The current membership includes over 80 school districts in Area Education Agencies 1, 8, 267, and 11.  The consortium became a non-profit corporation on July 1, 2004.