STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS
Policy Action: Strengthen and Align Statewide Assessments
"Should fate, as determined by a student’s zip code, dictate how much algebra he or she is taught? Such a system isn’t practical: Modern American society is highly mobile. And it’s just not right—every child attending U.S. public schools should be taught to high standards, regardless of where he or she lives.”
RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Align current tests with new standards and report on individual student growth. Once a common core of standards is adopted, Illinois should align assessments to the new standards. This means reworking the ISAT in grades three through eight, emphasizing more rigorous and relevant content, as well as setting “cut scores” that are more consistent with other states and with national tests. The assessments should provide data on individual students’ growth over time—not just how well this year’s fourth-graders compare to last years’ fourth-graders. Elementary and middle school tests should align with the high school standards and tests so that scoring proficient in eighth grade means students are on track to be college and career ready in high school.
At the high school level, Illinois should continue to strengthen the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE), particularly by ensuring that it measures the skills employers and college faculty say are needed, and then by using the test results to place students out of remedial coursework as they move on to postsecondary study or technical training.
Develop end-of-course exams for core high school subjects. We also need better and more regular measures of the standards and curriculum. End-of-course exams for core subjects are more sensitive to teaching and learning than a cumulative exam given near the end of high school, and can be used in conjunction with grades and other traditional measures to help schools more accurately judge whether students have mastered core material along the way and are ready for life after high school.
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