Tutoring in Iowa
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Iowa, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Students in Iowa take the same state test every spring from third grade through eleventh. It is the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, or ISASP, and it covers reading and math in each of those nine years, with no gap in ninth grade. Science is added in grades 5, 8 and 11. State law puts the test in the last quarter of the school year. For 2026-27 the window runs from March 8 to May 7, and each school picks its days inside it. Iowa has no course-based exams, and the ACT and SAT are not part of the state's required testing, so a junior who wants a college admission score arranges that separately.
What Iowa tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | Not tested |
| Math | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | ISASP | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | ISASP Science | Not tested | Not tested | ISASP Science | Not tested | Not tested | ISASP Science | Not tested |
- ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 11
- ISASP Science: science, grades 5, 8 and 11
- Main testing window
- early March to early May
- Standards
- Iowa Academic Standards
Starting with the 2026-27 school year, Iowa high school students must pass a civics test to graduate. Passing means answering at least 60 percent of the questions correctly, and a student can retake it as many times as needed.
Is there a graduation test in Iowa?
No ISASP score is needed for a diploma, though starting in 2026-27 students must pass a civics test with at least 60 percent correct.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for ISASP. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.