Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT)
Learn about ISAT assessments from these ISBE presentations.
The IIRC presents the annual results of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) for all public schools and districts in Illinois for the years 1999-2012 in easy-to-understand graphs and tables. Students in grades 3 through 8 take the ISAT every year in March.
ISAT measures individual student achievement relative to the Illinois Learning Standards. Curriculum experts and Illinois teachers developed these standards in collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education. Results are reported by subject according to four performance levels: exceeds standards, meets standards, below standards, and academic warning.
The IIRC's bar graphs displaying school or district results on the ISAT tests are color-coded to show the proportion of students in each performance category. The results give parents, teachers, and schools one measure of student learning and school performance.
Grades and subject areas tests have varied over the years for which results are shown. The test results screens on IIRC report all prior test results for any given year regardless of subsequent changes. Actual content of the tests is described in the Assessment Frameworks available under the "What Students Should Know" tab.
In addition to reporting results for ALL students, IIRC displays the specific student subgroups by race/ethnicity (six groups), low income status, students with disabilities, and limited-English proficient. Specific demographic groups are tracked for purposes of assessing Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) of schools and districts.
In determining "Adequate Yearly Progress" of a school or school district for purposes of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, only the results of reading and mathematics tests are included in the calculation for a given school or school district. Note that graphs showing performance levels on IIRC include all students tested. Students who enrolled in the school or district after May 1 of the prior school year are not included in the calculations for Adequate Yearly Progress.