The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) was asked to provide information on how other states are approaching the development and implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) as part of a comprehensive assessment system. Specifically, the request asked for information about KEA measures used by other states, the processes…

This manual is intended to provide Illinois school districts with guidance in developing learning assessment plans and using testing materials as part of the school improvement program mandated by the 1985 educational reform legislation for Illinois. Designed primarily to be a series of "how to" booklets, the manual is divided into six…

At the heart of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the call for all students to be "proficient" in reading and mathematics by 2014. Yet the law expects each state to define proficiency as it sees fit and design its own tests. This study investigated three research questions related to this policy: (1) How consistent are various…

This catalogue of student competencies, gleaned from 10,000 competency statements developed by secondary school districts, is designed to allow flexibility at the local level. Districts are free to adopt or modify this set of graduation competencies by following a six-step process: organize, orient a task force, identify priority competency…

Described in the final of a four-part series on a Project SCREEN, a statewide learning disability program in Illinois, are a series of resource documents produced by the project. (DB)

The battery of the Illinois Statewide High School Testing Program is designed to provide measures fundamental to testing at the junior level. Tests will yield nine scores: verbal reasoning, grammar, usage, English total, natural science, social studies, problem solving, mathematical reasoning, and mathematics total. Testing will be administered in…

The goal of this paper, and the symposium it represents, is to provide an examination of the perspectives of district personnel from four diverse states. The papers present the current status of legislated student assessment programs in California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois. Similarities and differences in implementation methodology are…

Trends in performance assessments across the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois were explored through the development, administration, and analysis of an interstate survey. These four states were selected to represent the diversity of state-mandated testing programs relative to emphasis placed on performance assessment.…

In this intervention study, training was found to increase the quality and extent of participation and accommodation documentation on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) of students with disabilities in three Illinois school districts. Correlations between what was documented on the IEP and what happened on testing day were highly variable.…

This report summarizes information about student achievement, student opportunity to learn in science and mathematics, and student variables relating to that achievement for elementary and secondary students in the state of Illinois. Five tests were used for the basis of this report: The Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress, the American…

This report summarizes the results of a study of the achievement of Illinois high school juniors in 1970 and 1981. The purposes were to provide a comparison of student performance over a period of time and to identify educational, social, and personal conditions that relate to performance on a test of Natural Science, Social Studies, English and…

Since 1983 the Migrant Education Program Evaluation (MEPE) has collected data about migrant children in summer programs throughout the state of Illinois. Testing is done during the summer months with migrant students in grades 3, 5, and 7. Preliminary screening identifies students who are limited-English speakers, and they are excluded from…

This report on student achievement in Illinois describes and synthesizes the results of six different measures of the achievement of Illinois students. The six tests are: (1) Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress, (2) Decade Study Test, (3) High School and Beyond Test, (4) Scholastic Aptitude Test, (5) American College Test, and (6) National…

For several decades, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) held the preeminent role in measuring student and school performance in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Illinois. In the context of the No Child Left Behind act and new calls for accountability, the CPS has decided to include results from the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) in…

The state of Illinois recently has required state goals for learning to be identified and assessed in the following areas of learning: language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health. The Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) is designed to assess the progress made…