Each year, all Illinois public schools are required to administer state assessments like the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) to its students.   Although the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has asked the United States Department of Education to waive this requirement due to the impact of COVID-19, a waiver has not yet been offered. As such, ISBE has instructed school districts to begin preparing to administer the IAR to its students in grades 3 - 8 and the ISA to students in grades 5 and 8.  ISBE has also indicated that ALL students will be asked to complete the IAR and ISA in person at their school. At present, District 15 has set its testing window to start on April 12 and continue through May 15.  Will will continue to monitor ISBE’s progress with seeking this waiver and will provide you with any updates.

In compliance with federal testing requirements, Illinois will administer a science assessment to students enrolled in a public school district in Grades 5, 8, and once at the high school level. The high school assessment utilizes a course-based model with content aligned to Biology I. The assessment will be administered in an online format and is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards for Science incorporating the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which were adopted in 2014.

Additional Resources for Parents:

• Frequently-Asked Questions (Updated 1/2/2018)
• Fact Sheet: Illinois Learning Standards in Science (2/16)
• Similarities Between 1997 ILS and 2014 ILS (NGSS) (2/16)
• Differences Between 1997 ILS and 2014 ILS (NGSS) (6/16)
• ISA Accessibility Features (2/16)
• Illinois Learning Standards for Science incorporating the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
• How to Read the NGSS
• Framework for K-12 Science Education

Targeted Grade levels: 5th and 8th Grades.

Test window: Standardized testing schedule