Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA)
The Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA) is the yardstick the state uses to measure the learning of students with significant disabilities. Students with severe disabilities take the IAA if their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) indicate that participation in the state’s regular assessment (ISAT or PSAE) is not appropriate. If a student’s IEP says the student can take the regular state assessment, with or without accommodations, the students participates in ISAT or PSAE. Rather than a pencil-and-paper format, the IAA uses a portfolio of student work collected over the course of the school year.
Students in grades 3, 5, and 8 take the IAA in reading, writing, and mathematics. Students in grades
4 and 7 take the IAA in science and social science. Students in grade 11 take the IAA in all five subjects.
The IAA assessment is a portfolio of student work and other materials collected at two points in the school year. The materials can include samples of student work, photos of the student doing work in school or at home and teachers’ summaries of what students have learned. The portfolio demonstrates students’ learning in reading, writing, and mathematics at grades 3, 5, 8, and 11, and in science and social science at grades 4, 7, and 11.