ASSESSMENTS/ACCOUNTABILITY

1. How will the mandatory suspension of in-person instruction impact the administration of Spring 2020 State-mandated assessments and accountability?

Executive Order 2020-15 suspends state assessments for the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation. With this order, state assessments, including the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10, SAT, DLM-AA, the Illinois Science Assessment, and Constitution exam are all suspended for Spring 2020. We know that the free SAT provided by the state is the only opportunity many students get to take a college entrance exam. ISBE is working with the College Board on developing options to allow current 11th-grade students to take the SAT in the fall. We hope to have more information on these options by the end of April. 
UPDATE AS OF AUGUST 19, 2020: The state is offering RIHS Senior students the opportunity to take the SAT assessment with the choice of testing in the Fall 2020 or the Spring of 2021. Senior students were informed through their Google Classroom. Students can contact RIHS Asst. Principal Carmen Woods for more information 309-793-5950. 

For the 2019-20 exam administration only, students can take a 45-minute online exam at home. Students will be able to take these streamlined exams on any device they have access to— computer, tablet, or smartphone. College Board will conduct standard-setting processes to set appropriately rigorous cut scores for AP scores of 3, 4, and 5. To be fair to all students, some of whom have lost more instructional time than others, the exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March. College Board recognizes that the digital divide could prevent some low-income and rural students from participating. Working with partners, College Board will invest so that these students have the tools and connectivity they need to review AP content online and take the exam. The exam questions are designed in ways that prevent cheating; College Board is using a range of digital security tools and techniques, including plagiarism detection software, to protect the integrity of the exams. 

All AP students and teachers will be able to draw on the free online resources that were provided to every AP classroom this fall. Additional resources will be made easily accessible to AP students and teachers through mobile phones and other devices. Beginning on March 25, students and teachers could begin attending free, optional live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from across the country. Courses will be recorded and available on-demand. These mobile-friendly classes are designed to be used alongside work schools may continue to assign.