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In compliance with federal testing requirements, Illinois will administer a science assessment to students enrolled in a public school district in grades 5 & 8. The assessment will be administered in an online format and is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards for Science incorporating the Next Generation Science Standards(NGSS), which were adopted in 2014.

This Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) page will be updated as information becomes available. Students who participate in the DLM alternate assessment will be assessed in science in grades 5 & 8 by the DLM-AA. Students taking the DLM-AA will not take the ISA exam. The ISA is not an alternate assessment.

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.

​ISA Testing Information

2025-26 ISA Testing Window

  • March 2 - April 30, 2026
ISA Practice Tests are availible on the QuISBE practice exam platform.
To gain access to QuISBE, please fill out the QuISBE Participation SY2025-26 form.
Pearson will provide further access instructions after the participation form is submitted.
(Note: QuISBE is not the testing platform for the summative ISA exam)
QuISBE is a practice test platform for the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA). QuISBE provides 5th and 8th grade students with the opportunity to interact with science content similar to the ISA prior to the spring summative assessment. ISA practice tests will be accessible in QuISBE from September 22 through the end of the school year. These practice tests can be completed in a single class period or over several days and include both machine-scored and hand-scored items. Student machine-scores will be available in QuISBE once all items are completed. Teachers will use a rubric to hand-score any constructed response items. Students may take each practice test multiple times during the school year to monitor their progress. 

*Google is discontinuing support for native, legacy Chrome Apps. In response to this change, TestNav will retire the legacy TestNav Chrome App.

Pearson has updated the TestNav system requirements for the 2025-2026 school year. Please review the technical bulletins and system requirement pages below to ensure your school devices are ready for the spring administration.

Schools will be required to use the new TestNav Web App for ChromeOS. The old TestNav app must be uninstalled and then the new app needs to be installed prior to Spring 2026 testing.

Students will no longer take a separate Illinois Science Assessment in Grade 11.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will adopt the ACT to serve as the federally-required science accountability assessment for Grade 11, effective with the 2024-25 school year, thereby reducing overall testing time. The state administration of the ACT will include English, mathematics, reading, science, and writing.

ISBE has also developed an FAQ about the state’s transition to the ACT to help answer questions you may be receiving from parents and families. We encourage you to share the FAQ​ with your school communities.

ISBE will follow up with a more technical FAQ to answer additional questions from administrators once we have executed the contract with ACT and have final information to share.

ISA Test Administration and Data

ISA test management resources & data can be found on the new Illinois Administrative Platform powered by ADAM.

Resources and Documents

Resources

Documents

News and Updates

Assessment Technology Requirements

Presentations & Webinars

Illinois Science Assessment Results

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

No data due to ​test cancellation.

2019

2018

2017

2016

  • 2016 State, District & School Performance ResultsExcel Document
  • 2016 State, District & School Mean Scale ScoresExcel Document
  • 2016 State, District & School Participation RatesExcel Document
    • The 2016 assessment window opened on May 1, 2016, giving some districts limited time to administer the assessment before the conclusion of the school year. In addition, schools that utilized devices running Apple iOS operating systems experienced significant technology issues that required converting to a paper administration. In some places, paper materials did not arrive in time for students to take the assessment before the school year ended. Low participation rates in some schools and districts should not be interpreted as a lack of effort or diligence on their part in light of the obstacles some faced.​​​​​​

QuISBE Practice Test Platform
The QuISBE Practice Test Platform is Now Open

To gain access to QuISBE, please fill out the QuISBE Participation SY2025-26 form​.  
Pearson will provide further access instructions after the participation form is submitted.
(Note: QuISBE is not the testing platform for the summative ISA exam)
QuISBE is a practice test platform for the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA). QuISBE provides 5th and 8th grade students with the opportunity to interact with science content similar to the ISA prior to the spring summative assessment. ISA practice tests will be accessible in QuISBE from September 22 through the end of the school year. These practice tests can be completed in a single class period or over several days and include both machine-scored and hand-scored items. Student machine-scores will be available in QuISBE once all items are completed. Teachers will use a rubric to hand-score any constructed response items. Students may take each practice test multiple times during the school year to monitor their progress. 

* * * This page has been archived. The content on this page may no longer be in effect. * * *

Contact Information