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.
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.
2024 ISA Score Data & Individual Student Reports (ISRs) are scheduled to post and begn mailing to districts and schools in September 2024. You can access the 2022 & 2023 comparable school level student data and reports in IWAS. District level reports are posted under the Illinois Science Assessment Results tab below.
