Assessment Information

Assessment Information

 

Purposes of Assessment

In District 75, the Comprehensive Assessment Plan reflects an ongoing process of gathering data on what students know and are able to do. Assessments provide information for:

●     Determination of growth and mastery
●     Instructional needs
●     Program effectiveness
●     Resource and professional development needs
●     Targets for areas of improvement

Types of Assessments

District 75 uses two types of assessments. Summative assessments tell us how much students have learned at a particular point in time. Formative assessments answer the question, “How should instruction be designed and adjusted based on the concepts students have mastered?”  Below is a list of our summative assessments:

Beginning with the Spring 2025 administration, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) adopted new assessment performance levels for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness and the Illinois Science Assessment. 

Resources from ISBE:


Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR)

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is the state assessment and accountability measure for Illinois students enrolled in a public school district. IAR assesses all students in grades 3-8 on the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics.The IAR is administered in the spring of each school year.

ISBE Illinois Science Assessment (ISA)

In compliance with federal testing requirements, Illinois administers a science assessment to students enrolled in grades 5 and 8. The assessment is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards for Science incorporating the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The ISA is administered in the spring of each school year.

Star Assessments - Renaissance Learning

Renaissance Star Assessments are a suite of computer-adaptive tests in English and Spanish used to measure student progress in early literacy (K-1st), reading (2nd-8th), and math for grades K-8th grade. Test questions are tailored to individual responses and based on answers to previous questions. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will adjust to give the student slightly easier questions. These assessments are used to measure growth relative to national and local grade-level peers. Star Early Literacy/Star Alfabetización temprana is given in K-1st grade to  The Star Assessments are administered three times a year: Fall, Winter, and Spring.

STAR Family Resource Center

Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS)

The Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) is an observational tool designed to help teachers, administrators, families, and policymakers better understand the developmental readiness of children entering kindergarten. KIDS is a state-required measure of kindergarten students’ development across four domains-approaches to learning and self-regulation, social and emotional development, language and literacy development and math. The data entry window for districts opens one week before the 40th day of attendance and will remain open until one week after the 40th day of attendance.

ISBE KIDS - Families & Caregivers

English Language Proficiency Assessment (ACCESS)

ACCESS is a state required English language proficiency test designed to measure English language learner’s speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Potential English Learners (ELs) must be screened and placed in EL services if they qualify. Districts must make annual placement determinations for ELs based on the ACCESS scores.

January 2023 ISBE ACCESS Parent Letter in English (en Español)

What is the AAPPL?

The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) is an assessment of standards-based language learning across the three modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational) as defined by the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. The AAPPL assesses receptive and productive skills in a language that learners have learned and practiced within a classroom setting, providing evidence that points toward a learner's proficiency level. The AAPPL assesses language proficiency within a familiar classroom context.

AAPPL Forms A and B are designed for students in 5th through 12th grades. AAPPL Elementary, or Form E, is designed for 3rd and 4th graders and includes the ILS component of AAPPL with age-appropriate content for those learners.


Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment (DLM-AA)

The Dynamic Learning MapsTM (DLM®) offers an innovative way for all students with significant cognitive disabilities to demonstrate their learning throughout the school year via the DLM Alternate Assessment System. Traditional multiple-choice testing does not always allow students with significant cognitive disabilities to fully demonstrate their knowledge. By integrating assessment with instruction during the year and providing a year-end assessment, the DLM system maps student learning aligned with college and career readiness standards in English language arts and mathematics. The DLM system is accessible by students with significant cognitive disabilities, including those who also have hearing or visual disabilities, and/or neuromuscular, orthopedic, or other motor disabilities. DLM assessments are flexible. They allow for the use of common assistive technologies in addition to keyboard and mouse and touch-screen technology.