At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the English Placement Test (EPT) is the institutional placement test that is used to place students into appropriate English as a second language (ESL) writing and/or pronunciation service courses. The EPT is used to assess the English ability of newly admitted international undergraduate…

In the fall of 2014, students took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) to help determine their level of readiness for college. The PSAT/NMSQT 2014 State Summary Reports summarize the characteristics, scores and educational plans of the Class of 2016 and Class of 2017.

In the fall of 2014, students took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) to help determine their level of readiness for college. The PSAT/NMSQT 2014 State Summary Reports summarize the characteristics, scores and educational plans of the Class of 2016 and Class of 2017.

For several decades, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) held the preeminent role in measuring student and school performance in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Illinois. In the context of the No Child Left Behind act and new calls for accountability, the CPS has decided to include results from the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) in…

The history and development of city-wide testing programs in Chicago since 1936 are reviewed and placed in context with the impact on testing of Sputnik and the passage of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. Current testing problems include the time lag between events and curricular changes and new test construction, the time lag between…

Barbara Jordan served as the hearing officer for three-day adversary evaluation hearings about the pros and cons of minimum competency testing (MCT). This report is the complete transcript of the second day of proceedings. The pro team, lead by James Popham, began by presenting representatives of four states (Florida, California, Texas, and…

What the Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) test actually tests and the consequences of these tests for funding decisions were studied with a random sample of 100 school districts in the Cook County suburbs of Chicago. Eighth-grade IGAP scores for reading were obtained from the state report card, a document prepared by each school district…

A survey of school districts across the state of Illinois in 1999 focused on three dimensions of local assessment practices: (1) why districts give tests; (2) the tests they give; and (3) what they do with test results. Telephone interviews were conducted with district assessment coordinators or superintendents from 75 school districts, including…

This manual is intended to provide Illinois school districts with guidance in developing learning assessment plans and using testing materials as part of the school improvement program mandated by the 1985 educational reform legislation for Illinois. Designed primarily to be a series of "how to" booklets, the manual is divided into six…

Education is experiencing a case of misplaced accountability, where an exclusive reliance on high stakes tests overlooks the more subtle judgments of teachers and professional educators and, because of its simplicity, passes as democratic. This article investigates the theoretical underpinnings of current accountability initiatives and draws upon…

Since 1983 the Migrant Education Program Evaluation (MEPE) has collected data about migrant children in summer programs throughout the state of Illinois. Testing is done during the summer months with migrant students in grades 3, 5, and 7. Preliminary screening identifies students who are limited-English speakers, and they are excluded from…

In fall 1983, a survey was conducted to determine the extent of basic skills assessment of incoming students conducted in Illinois public community colleges. Questionnaires were sent to 50 community colleges, requesting information on the skills assessed, the time of assessment, and the instruments used. Study findings, based on responses from 44…

This report on student achievement in Illinois describes and synthesizes the results of six different measures of the achievement of Illinois students. The six tests are: (1) Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress, (2) Decade Study Test, (3) High School and Beyond Test, (4) Scholastic Aptitude Test, (5) American College Test, and (6) National…

The 1993 Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) Reading Tests measured reading comprehension using both narrative and expository reading passages. Noticeable differences in mean scaled scores occurred depending on whether the 1993 results were equated back to the 1992 narrative test or the 1993 expository test (Hsu and Ackerman, 1994). In an…

The state of Illinois recently has required state goals for learning to be identified and assessed in the following areas of learning: language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health. The Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) is designed to assess the progress made…