Developers Everett Franklin Lindquist, Harry Greene, Ernest Horn, Maude McBroom, and Herbert Spitzer first designed and administered the tests in 1935 as a tool for improving student instruction.
In a cooperative relationship, participating schools receive ITBS test materials, scoring and reporting services and consultation in the use of ITBS for instructional purposes, and ITP utilizes participation by schools in research and test development.
[2] Both the ITBS and Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) were revised in the 2011–2012 school year.
School districts use the standardized achievement battery to learn supplementary information useful in choosing curriculum and lesson planning.
Teachers may use ITP testing batteries to suggest areas where the skills of individual students are most and least developed.