ISBE Student Assessment Science Overview
2007 ISAT and PSAE
ISAT Science
The 2007 Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) at grades
4 and 7 will take place from March 12-23, 2007. It will contain
80 multiple-choice science items given in two 45 minute sessions.
Session One of the Science ISAT at grades 4 and 7 will have 40
science items and Session Two will have 40 science items with 45
minutes to complete each session. Students are allowed up to an
extra 10 minutes, beyond the 45 minutes, if they are actively engaged
in testing.
Thirty norm-referenced items from the SAT 10 and 50 Illinois-developed
criterion-referenced items comprise the science portion of ISAT.
All 80 items follow the SAT 10 style and all items have color.
The test items in the 2007 ISAT are aligned to the Illinois Assessment
Framework (IAF) which can be found at www.isbe.net/assessment.
The IAF in Science defines the content that will be assessed
on ISAT and PSAE. There are also sample items available at www.isbe.net/assessment/htmls/sample_books.htm as well as a power point presentation being used during the fall
of 2006 which can be found at www.isbe.net/assessment/science.htm.
Harcourt Assessment, Inc. is the contractor responsible for developing
the ISATs. Harcourt works with Illinois item writers and ISBE to
develop the test items. Starting this year, Pearson Educational
Measurement (PEM) will be responsible for printing, distributing
and retrieving test booklets, scoring, and providing reports for
all districts.
Scores will be returned to districts on-line by June 1, 2007.
Reporting categories for the 2007 ISAT in science will be determined
using the following Standard groupings: 11A and 11B, 12A and
12B, 12C and 12D, 12E and 12F, 13A and 13B.
An item analysis will
be sent to the schools identifying all of the assessment objectives
that were assessed and the percentages
of students at each grade who correctly answered those objectives.
Science is not used for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for school
accountability. Only reading and math are used for AYP in schools.
NCLB states that science must be assessed in all states by 2008
at three levels: elementary, middle and high school. Illinois already
had a science assessment in place at grades 4, 7 and 11, thus meeting
the federal requirements. Science will only be included in AYP
calculations if the U.S. Dept. of Education changes the law.
PSAE Science
The 2007 Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) will be
given from April 25-26, 2007 to all high school juniors. The make-up
session will be held on May 9-10, 2007. Day 1 of the PSAE is the
ACT Science Assessment which is comprised of 40 multiple-choice
items. Day 2 of the PSAE involves the IL-Developed Science with
the ACT WorkKeys Reading for Information and Mathematics. More
information can be found at www.isbe.net/assessment/psae.htm.
The IL-Developed Science portion of the PSAE takes place on April
26, 2007. Students will have 40 minutes to answer 45 multiple-choice
items.
Like the ISAT, test items that appear on the PSAE are aligned
to the Illinois Assessment Framework (IAF). Unlike the ISAT, students
do not have up to an additional 10 minutes if they are actively
engaged in testing.
All science Standards except 11A appear on the IL-developed portion
of the PSAE. The ACT Assessment in science (Day 1 of the PSAE)
includes many items that require students to use science inquiry
(11A) skills and strategies. Sample items for 2006-2007 Preparing
for the ACT can be found at http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/index.html.
Harcourt Assessment, Inc. worked with Illinois item writers to
develop the Day 2 science portion of the 2007 PSAE. In future years,
ACT will assume the role of test development for the Day 2 science.
Questions concerning the science portion of the ISAT or the science
portion of the PSAE should be directed to Pam Stanko at the Illinois
State Board of Education, 217/782-4823 or email at pstanko@isbe.net.
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