Prairie State Achievement Examination : questions and answers for parents of Illinois students

6 Pages·2001·0.27 MB·English

by  Illinois State Board of Education (1973- )

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Prairie State
Achievement
Examination
Questions andAnswers
forParents ofIllinois Students
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ILLINOIS
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Making Illinois Schools
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Illinois State Board of Education
What is the Prairie StateAchievement
Examination, or PSAE?
The PSAE is a new statewide achieve-
ment test for grade 11 students thatthey
will take forthe firsttime inApril 2001.
What is the purpose ofthe PSAE?
The PSAE will evaluate the progress
that high schools have made toward
meetingthe Illinois Learning Standards
andmeasure the achievement ofindividual
students with respect to the Standards.
What are the Illinois Learning Standards?
The Illinois Learning Standards are
statements that describe the specific
knowledge and skills that everypublic
school student shouldlearnin school.
To develop the Standards, thousands
of Illinois citizens—teachers, parents,
school administrators, employers,
communityleaders, and representatives
ofhigher education—contributedtheir
ideas aboutwhat students needto know
and be able to do after high school. Thus,
the Standards have a real connectionto
entry-leveljobs and post-high school
education.
Where can I find more information about
the Illinois Learning Standards?
A
Parent's GuidetotheIllinoisLearning
Standards (a brochure) and printed copies
ofthe Standards are available. To request
a copy, callthe Illinois State Board of
Education (ISBE) at 217/782-4321. If
you have Web access, youmaygo to the
ISBE Web site to read the full 144-page
text: www.isbe.net/ils/lstandards.html
When will students take the PSAE?
April 25-26, 2001
Make-up tests will be two weeks later
on May9-10. Students can retake the
exam in late October to raise their scores.
Will students with disabilities take the
PSAE?
Students with disabilities will takethe
PSAE unless theyhave an Individualized
Education Program (IEP) that identifies
regular state testing as being inappropri-
ate forthem.
Decisions about participation and any
need students with disabilities mayhave
for accommodations are to be made for
each student on an individual basis.
Will students in state-approved bilingual
education programs take the PSAE?
Students inthese programs willtake
the PSAE withthe exception ofthose
who have been in these programs less
than 3 years andwhose lack ofprofi-
ciencyin Englishwouldkeep them
from understandingthe PSAE.
What subjects will be tested by the PSAE?
The PSAE willtest reading, writing,
mathematics, science, and social science.
What will the PSAE be like?
Students will be tested overtwo days.
Onthe first day, theywill take the ACT,
which includes English, mathematics,
reading, and science reasoningtests.
On
the second daytheywilltake tests
developed by ISBE inwriting, science,
and social science andtwoWorkKeys
tests, Reading for Information and
AppliedMathematics.
Why does the PSAE include different kinds
oftests?
ISBE wants the PSAE to be valuable
to individual students. WorkKeystests
measure skills in mathematics and reading
that employers feel are criticalto job
success. The ACT can be used for college
admissions.
Why include tests that measure workplace
skills on the PSAE?
Manyemployers use WorkKeys test
scores to determine whether ajob
applicant is suited for a particularjob. High
school students can use theirWorkKeys
scores to identifythe reading and
mathematics skills theyhave andthose
they needto acquire for different jobs.
Why should students who are not planning
to go to college take the ACT?
The Illinois Learning Standards are
for all Illinois students, notjust those who
planto go to college. Takingthe ACT,
which matches the Illinois Learning
Standards well, will give students a meas-
ure oftheir academic strengths and
weaknesses. Based on the results, students
can concentrate on areas that need
improvement.
Students not considering college now
maydecide to go backto school afterthey
have graduated from high school and
worked for atime. The need forlearning
never ends intheworkplace, and it is likely
that most high school graduates will
eventually have to continue their
education to achieve career or life goals.
What is a Prairie State Achievement
Award?
A Prairie State Achievement Award
is an award given by the state in
recognition ofexcellent performance
on the PSAE. A student can earn an
award in each ofthe five subjects that
are tested. (There is no composite score
or overall award for the PSAE.)
Where can I find more information about
the PSAE?
Call your local high school for more
information, or go to the ISBE Web site:
www.isbe.net/isat/prairiestatenew.htm
The Web site includes a handbook
for teachers, a test preparation booklet
for students, and a comprehensive list
ofquestions and answers. Both the
teacher and student materials include
sample test questions.
Will colleges and universities accept the
ACT score generated from the PSAE?
Colleges and universities throughout
the country have been notified ofthe
state administration ofthe ACT.
To date, colleges and universities
throughout Illinois and the Illinois
StudentAssistance Commission (ISAC)
have indicated that theywill accept
and use ACT test results from PSAE
testing just as they would an ACT
score generated by testing at a national
test center.
8
What scores will students get from the
PSAE?
Students will get five PSAE scores,
one for each ofthe subjects tested on
the PSAE: mathematics, reading, writing,
science, and social science.
In addition, theywill get subscores
for the two ISBE-developed tests
ACT
(writing and science), an composite
score and subscores, and WorkKeys
scores for the Reading for Information
and Applied Mathematics tests.
Will PSAE scores appear on student
transcripts?
Student transcripts will include PSAE
scores for each ofthe five subjects tested
and indicate whether a student has earned
a Prairie State AchievementAward.
Will ACT scores appear on student
transcripts?
ACT scores that are generated by
taking the PSAE should not automatically
be placed on student transcripts. These
ACT scores should be placed on
transcripts only withpermission ofthe
student (orpermission ofthestudent's
parents ifthestudent is less than
1 years old).
For additional information contact the
Assessment Division
Illinois State Board ofEducation
100 North FirstStreet
Springfield, IL62777-0001
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
www.isbe.net/isat/prairiestatenew.htm
PrintedbytheAuthorityoftheStateofIllinois
February2001 300MMY99536No.023
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