Prairie State Achievement Examination Explained

The Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) was a two-day standardized test taken by all high school Juniors in the U.S. state of Illinois. On the first day, students take the ACT, and on the second day, a WorkKeys examination and Illinois State Board of Education-developed science examination.^[1] The test is no longer administered in Illinois schools; however, it was required for all Illinois High School Students from 2001 to 2014.^[2]

Areas of assessment

The PSAE attempted to assess students in the areas of math, reading, science and writing.^[3]

Exemptions

Students were required to take the PSAE to achieve a high school diploma, unless they met one of the following requirements:

• The student's Individualized Education Program is incompatible with the PSAE, and the test cannot be modified to comply. In this case, the student takes the Illinois Alternate Assessment instead.
• The student is not proficient in English. In this case the student takes the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English instead.
• The student is enrolled in an alternative Education program, including an adult education program, or high school equivalency certificates.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Memorandum:2006-07 Guidance – Graduation and the Prairie State Achievement Examination . April 20, 2007 . Becky McCabe, Division Administrator, Student Assessment Division . August 21, 2006 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060213040300/http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/pdfs/psae_grad_guid_memo.pdf . February 13, 2006 .
2. Web site: Stephen M. Ponisciak . September 2005 . Understanding the Prairie State Achievement Exam . April 20, 2007 . . January 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090114202337/http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/psae_report.pdf . dead .
3. Web site: Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) . April 20, 2007 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070427072148/http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/psae.htm . April 27, 2007 .