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.

Impact of Participation in the Illinois Assessment of Readiness

UPDATE: April 25, 2024

Assessment Enrollment Verification - ACTION NEEDED BY SCHOOLS/DISTRICTS
District and school staff should compare this report with local records to verify all tested students are reported correctly prior to scores being posted. The report highlights students with multiple enrollments during the testing window. If the student is not on the report, immediately enroll the student in the Student Information System (SIS) during the testing window. To access this report, log in to SIS, choose “Reports” on the left, then “Student,” then “Assessment,” then “Assessment Enrollment Verification Report,” and finally “Details.”

The deadline for districts to add and correct school year 2023-24 SIS enrollment data is July 31, 2024.
Verify that report counts match your local assessment roster and the students who tested:
- Appear on the report (i.e., enrolled in SIS during the test window).
- Show the correct grade level at the time of testing.
- Show the appropriate Test to Be Taken. (IDEA Indicator and Alternate Assessment must be “Yes” for DLM-AA.)
- Show accurate First Year in U.S. School indicator (from the “EL Information” tab in SIS enrollment).

Update Contact Information in PearsonAccess^next

If any of your contact information has changed (principal, superintendent, school name, address, etc.), please update in PAN to ensure that your score reports are delivered correctly. Those with District Test Coordinator and School Test Coordinator access are authorized to make these updates.

Step-by-Step Instructions:Manage Contacts

IAR 2024 Key Dates

Event	Date
Enrollment Verification	Now thru 7/13/24
Preliminary Scores available in PAN	5/13/24
Electronic ISRs available in PAN	7/10/24
Final Summative Scores in SIS	Anticipated 7/22/24
Hard-Copy ISRs delivered to districts	7/24/24 - 8/9/24

What's New News and Updates

Parent & Teacher Resources

PARENT PORTAL

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness Parent Portal is now available for parents/guardians. The Parent Portal provides parents and guardians online access to their child’s performance on the IAR test for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. The IAR Parent Portal User Guide is available and has information on how to create an account, log in to the account, and add claim codes to access student score reports and videos of Individual Student Reports (ISRs). The portal will also allow parents/guardians to track their student’s scores from year to year, beginning with the spring 2021 results. The unique access code can be found on each student's ISR. View IAR Sample Parent Video.

Districts were informed via ClickDimensions about the introduction of the Parent Portal and how to inform parents of this new feature.

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 2024 test administration.

IAR Key Dates

Pearson Assessments has been awarded the contract to administer the IAR. The test administration platform and test delivery platform will be the same as it has been in the past. There will be no additional changes to accommodations for students taking the assessments. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact our Assessment Department at assessment@isbe.net.

Events	Date(s)
IAR spring 2024 Testing Window	CLOSED
Deadline to return paper-based testing scorable and nonscorable materials to Pearson (Picked up by vendor one week after testing. *Failure to submit by the deadline could result in student tests not being scored.)	*4/12/24
Deadline to return computer-based testing nonscorable materials to Pearson (Math Human Reader scripts picked up by vendor one week after testing.)	4/26/24
Enrollment verification	Now
OnDemand Reports available in PAN (Preliminary scores)	5/13/24
Electronic Individual Student Reports (ISRs) available in PAN	7/10/24
Reports available in PearsonAccess^next: District Summary of Schools Report School Student Roster Performance Level Summary Reports	7/10/24
Final summative scores in SIS	Anticipated 7/22/24
Hard-copy ISRs delivered to districts	7/24/24 - 8/9/24
Reports available in PearsonAccess^next: Content Standards Roster and Data File Evidence Statement Analysis and Data File	8/1/24

Test Information & Resources

Test Guides & Manuals

Policies & Tools

Test Preparation

Pearson Resource Page for IAR Administration
Practice Tests
Released Items
Illinois Student Readiness Tool
The Student Readiness Tool engages students in learning how to navigate TestNav tools, item types, and features that will appear on their assessments.

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.

IAR Test Blueprints - ELA
(Blueprints include both Literary Analysis & Narrative Writing Task Forms)
IAR Test Writing Rubric - ELA
IAR ELA Evidence Statements
Evidence Tables and Evidence Statements describe the knowledge and skills that an assessment items or task elicits from students. These are aligned directly to the Common Core State Standards.
Performance Level Descriptors - ELA
Performance-level descriptors describe what a typical student at each level should be able to demonstrate based on his/her command of grade-level standards.
- ELA - Grades 3 - 5 PLD's
- ELA - Grades 6 - 8 PLD's
Literacy Task Models

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.

IAR Test Blueprints – Mathematics
IAR Test Structure - Mathematics
IAR Math Evidence Statements
Evidence Statement Tables and Evidence Statements describe the knowledge and skills that an assessment item or a task elicits from students. These are aligned directly to the Common Core State Standards.
Performance Level Descriptors - Mathematics
Performance-level descriptors describe what a typical student at each level should be able to demonstrate based on his/her command of grade-level standards.

IAR Performance Levels

Results on assessments are reported for ELA and Mathematics according to five performance levels that delineate the knowledge, skills and practices students are able to demonstrate:

Level 1: Did not yet meet expectations
Level 2: Partially met expectations
Level 3: Approached expectations
Level 4: Met expectations
Level 5: Exceeded expectations

IAR Performance Level Cut Scores

Training Presentations & Webinars

2024 IAR Training Webinar Recordings and Presentations
- Test Administrator Webinar Training (Users with 0-2 Years Experience)
  This training will be geared toward new users and will provide detailed step-by-step test administration information for district/school test coordinators.
- Test Administrator Webinar Training (Users with 2+ Years Experience)
  This training will be geared toward experienced district/school test coordinators and will provide an overview of "What’s New for Spring 2024" information.
  - Test Administrator Webinar Training 2+ Years - Presentation
- Technology Coordinator Training
  This training will provide updates on technology activities and supported devices for the 2024 spring administration.
  - Technology Coordinator Training Presentation
Unpacking IAR Results to Inform Instructional Practices - A Hands-On Workshop

The Assessment Department, along with Pearson and EdCount, recently presented an opportunity to delve into the purpose and intended applications of the IAR. This professional learning PowerPoint is tailored to support district and school teams as they unpack their ELA/L and mathematics IAR results to inform current instructional practices, inform effective instructional activities, and offer insights into the resources available to help support interpretation. This PowerPoint will take your team step by step through the unpacking of data and help schools focus on areas of strengths and areas of need in ELA and Math standards.

Illinois Training Management System
The Illinois Training Management System (TMS) contains interactive trainings that include Test Coordinator trainings, Test Administration trainings, Technology Readiness trainings and Reports trainings. Log in required.
Assessment Update Presentation & Webinars
ISBE’s Assessment Department provides the most recent updates in Illinois assessments. The webinar also serves as an open forum for questions and concerns about testing. The webinar is suggested for test coordinators, administrators, and technology staff.
Materials Management Training Video
Pearson Training Modules
Illinois Assessment Update Webinar Archive