Your kids could fail the Illinois state test, but they aren’t stupid

SPRINGFIELD — The state of Illinois is telling millions of parents that their kids did not get dumber since last year, the state’s elementary school test just got harder.

The Illinois State Board of Education has “raised the bar” for the Illinois Student Achievement Exam, which third through eighth-graders will take this spring.

“What’s changed is that the bar is higher. And it’s more aligned to the Common Core,” said Illinois State Superintendent Chris Koch.



TOUGH TEST: ISBE’s Koch says Illinois test got tougher to meet national learning standards.

The “higher bar” will result in lower scores. Koch is telling parents to expect that only 60 percent of kids will meet or exceed the stands of the new test. In 2011, 79 percent of students met or exceeded standards in reading, and 86 percent met standards in math.

In a letter to parents Koch and the state board said the double-digit drop in scores “does not mean that our students know less. Instead, ISBE is simply expecting more from students.”

The changes to the ISAT scores are just the first of many changes for students, parents, local schools and the state of Illinois.

For the complete article see the 01-29-2013 issue.

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