Illinois Science Assessment
Since the 2001 passage of NCLB, all states have been required to administer a statewide assessment in both math and English language arts to every child annually in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, as well as a science assessment once per grade span (elementary, middle, and high school). Illinois will comply with these requirements by administering a science assessment to students enrolled in a public school district in grades 5, 8, and once at the high school level. The assessment will be administered in an online format and is said to be aligned with the Illinois Learning Standards for Science incorporating the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which were adopted in 2014.
The Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) testing window will be from March 1, 2024 – April 19, 2024. This year the Illinois Science Assessment will be administered at grades 5, 8, & 11.
*All students who are in grade 11 at the time of testing must participate in the ISA. This includes students who participated in any ISA administration of course-based biology previously because this year’s exam will cover Life, Physical, & Earth Space science topics. There will be no course assignment requirement for the grade 11 exam. All students enrolled in grade 11 will be required to take the exam.
Grade 11 students for whom DLM-AA is the more appropriate assessment will continue to participate in the grade 11 DLM-AA science assessment instead of the grade 11 ISA.
Each grade level (5, 8, 11) has three test sections.
Timing
Testing within a section must be completed in one day, even for students testing with accommodations.
The estimated student time on task per section is 45-60 minutes
Test sessions are capped at two hours.
The estimated administration time before each section is 10-15 minutes.
Details about Test Sessions
96 total test items (combination of dichotomous and extended response items)
All three sessions may be given in one day.
Test administration must be scheduled for a combination of consecutive school days.
Test sessions must be continuous once started, but an individual student taking the exam does not have to test on consecutive days or take test sessions in consecutive order.