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The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is the state assessment and accountability measure for Illinois students enrolled in a public school district. IAR assesses the Illinois Learning Standards incorporating the Common Core and will be administered in English language arts and mathematics to all students in grades 3-8.

New, Unified Performance Levels and Right-Sized Proficiency Benchmarks for IAR, ISA, and ACT

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has adopted new, research-informed, and right-sized assessment performance levels to give students, families, and educators better data on academic achievement and college readiness. Prior performance levels mislabeled many students in elementary and high school, often indicating that students were less academically successful and prepared for college than they actually were. The new, unified levels correct long-standing misalignment between Illinois’ state assessments and other real college and career readiness expectations.

UPDATE: January 2026

2026 IAR SPRING 2026 FIELD TEST PARTICIPATION

Please refer to the list of participating schools at the link below to view the school(s) and grade levels that have been selected for the 2026 administration. Students participating in the field test will take an additional section (for ELA), which will make a total of three sections. The instructions and timing for the third section will be the same as Sections 1 and 2. All sections should be administered in numerical order, except in cases of makeups for students. 
Note: There may be multiple schools with the same name, so please verify your participation using the RCDTS code.

2026 IAR Trainings and Resources

IAR trainings and resources are being updated and posted on the Pearson Training Site in preparation for the 2026 testing administration. Please be sure to check the site regularly to be aware of all the new and updated resources.

​All IAR/ISA training videos will now require you to sign in or create an account with Pearson's Learning Management System (LMS). This will allow you the opportunity to earn professional development credit as you prepare for the upcoming testing administration.​​​

Parent & Teacher Resources

Family Portal

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness Family Portal is for parents/guardians to have online access to their child’s performance on the IAR tests for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics.

Parent Portal Resources

Career and College Readiness Resources

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness for English language arts and mathematics for Grades 3-8 has been linked with the Lexile and Quantile Framework to support the development of students and determine if they are on track to graduate college and are career ready. Using the Lexile and Quantile score included on the Individual Student Report, parents and teachers can utilize the enhanced resources, tools, and capabilities through our state partnership with MetaMetrics.  
  • Lexile and Quantile Hub
    This online platform provides you with easy access to more than a dozen new and enhanced reading and mathematics tools.
  • Lexile and Quantile Growth Planner
    This planner helps parents and teachers to identify the reading and math requirements needed for a desired career for students and use them to inform goal-setting.
  • Lexile and Quantile Career Database
    This helps parents and teachers to compare and describe the reading and math requirements of career interests for students.

RESOURCES

VIDEOS

Manuals & Technology

Pearson has updated the TestNav system requirements for the 2023-2024 school year. Please review the technical bulletins and system requirement pages below to ensure your school devices are ready for the fall (if applicable) and spring administrations.

IMPORTANT:The updated TestNav app must be downloaded and installed prior to spring 2024 testing.

These test documents and materials are for the spring 2025 test administration.

IAR Key Dates
Events Date(s)
IAR Spring 2026 Testing Window - Paper Testing
 3/2/26 - 4/3/26
IAR Spring 2026 Testing Window – Online Testing​ 3/2/26 - 4/17/26
Training Administration Live 11/1/25
ELA/Math: Materials Ordering window for districts/schools (all paper tests, paper kits, paper-based test proctor scripts, additional manuals, return labels) 2/16/26 – 3/30/26
Create Proctor Groups within the Platform 2/9/26 – 4/17/26
​

Test Information & Resources

Test Guides & Manuals

Policies & Tools

TEST PREPARATION

TECHNICAL REPORTS

Test Design

English Language Arts

The ELA/L summative assessment is available in Grades 3 – 8. Students read and analyze passages from real, authentic texts – both fiction and nonfiction – as well as multimedia. Students then draw upon what they’ve learned from these passages and multimedia, using that knowledge to respond in writing. These skills are critically important for students in college and the workplace.

Mathematics

The mathematics summative assessment is available in Grades 3 – 8. Students solve multi-step math problems that require reasoning and address real-world situations. This requires students to reason mathematically, make sense of quantities and their relationships to solve real-world problems, and show their understanding. Many previous assessments focused mostly on rote procedure only.

Training Presentations & Webinars

Archived Materials

2025

2024

2023

​​2022

​​2021

​​2020

​​2019

Performance Level Descriptors

Performance Level Definitions and Guidance

Level Assessment Performance within this range
Above Proficient
 … demonstrates knowledge and application of the assessed Illinois Learning Standards that is above proficient for this subject and grade. Performance in this range is strong evidence that students are prepared for the academic demands of the next grade and are progressing toward the academic expectations of the next grade, which serve as a foundation for the pursuit of college and/or a career.
Proficient … demonstrates proficient knowledge and application of the assessed Illinois Learning Standards for this subject and grade. Performance in this range is evidence that students are prepared for the academic demands of the next grade and are progressing toward the academic expectations of the next grade, which serve as a foundation for the pursuit of college and/or a career.
Approaching Proficient … demonstrates knowledge and application of the assessed Illinois Learning Standards for this subject and grade that is approaching proficient. Performance in this range is evidence that students may need additional support (the nature and manner of which must be informed by multiple sources of information) to demonstrate success with the academic demands of the next grade, which serve as a foundation for the pursuit of college and/or a career.
Below Proficient … demonstrates knowledge and application of the assessed Illinois Learning Standards that is below proficient for this subject and grade. Performance in the Level 1 range is strong evidence that students may need additional support (the nature and manner of which must be informed by multiple sources of information) to demonstrate success with the academic demands of the next grade, which serve as a foundation for the pursuit of college and/or a career.​


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