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Illinois State Assessments

The IIRC website presents test results for all public schools and districts in Illinois for the years 1999-2003 in easy-to-understand graphs and tables. IIRC will be adding results of the 2004 school tests as these become available.

NOTE: In July 2004, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to eliminate state testing in writing and social sciences on the ISAT and PSAE starting in Spring 2005. When more information becomes available on these changes, IIRC will update the descriptions of the tests.

The Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT):
Measures performance of students in reading, writing, mathematics in grades 3, 5, and 8; and science and social science in grades 4 and 7.

The Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE):
Measures the performance of grade 11 students in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social science.

The Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE):
Measures the progress of students with limited English proficiency in attaining English-language reading and writing skills.

The Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA):
For students with Individualized Education Programs for whom all other state assessments are inappropriate, even with accommodations, because of their disabilities.

The Illinois Grade 2 Assessment of Reading and Mathematics:
(ONLY for Title-I funded schools serving grade 2 as their highest grade.)

Illinois students also take part in other assessments to measure the state's progress against national and international standards.

UPCOMING CHANGES

In 2003 the state of Illinois established a new state assessment system for Illinois schools in order to conform to the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.While the changes will enhance state assessments in a number of ways, the most significant change concerns testing of reading and mathematics. Beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, reading and mathematics will be tested annually in grades 3 through 8. This will expand the current system, which tests reading and mathematics only in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 and will allow educators to assess the progress of students on an annual basis.There is also more emphasis on the testing of writing. Actual content of the new tests is described in the Assessment Frameworks available in the IIRC’s “What Students Should Know.”

For more information on the Illinois assessments and downloadable guides, see ISBE’s Student Assessment Division Home Page.