Education advocacy groups and the Illinois Federation of Teachers are calling for a major overhaul of state testing of grade school students.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, a report was commissioned and found that major revisions need to be made for state assessments on grades 3-8.
The report was performed by the Center for Assessment starting in December. CFA’s findings showed that there was little support from teachers for a statewide interim assessment system for grades K-8. They also found that any interim tests should be decoupled from accountability measures used to evaluate and rate schools.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers released a list of recommendations for ISBE to improve current state assessments, including the creation of tests that are more authentic and aligned better to curriculum. They also recommended quicker turn time on test scores and better information and explanation of test results for teachers and parents.
The groups also asked ISBE to take a lead role in creating a fair and balanced assessment program as well as the creation of professional development for teachers on how to use testing information for the improvement of classroom instruction.