4 Ways Our Indiana Educators are Preparing for ILEARN Testing

At Edmentum, our technology is only part of the solution. We’re not interested in only providing logins and point-and-click resources—we’re here to support you as you get your program implementations off the ground; as you expand into new grade levels, subjects, and uncharted territory; and as you review the performance data and measure the return on your investment. We are Jackie Weber and Denise Williams, your Indiana education consultants. Our job is to be where you are, to meet with you and your teachers, and to help make sure that the technology programs you’ve purchased are supporting teaching and learning in the best ways they can.

Over the last few months, we’ve been crisscrossing the Hoosier State, and it’s no surprise that the upcoming Indiana Learning Evaluation Assessment Readiness Network (ILEARN) tests are top of mind! With the official testing window opening today, April 22 through May 17, it’s prime time for closing academic gaps, hitting those power standards, and ensuring that students are familiar with a high-stakes testing environment. For many of the educators we work with, a popular tool that helps them do this work is our K–12 practice and formative assessment program, Study Island. Built to the Indiana Academic Standards, Study Island includes powerful practice and assessment tools to help students reach standards proficiency. But, don’t just take it from us, here’s a peek behind the curtain at how four different schools and districts are putting Study Island into action to prepare for the brand-new ILEARN assessments.

Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Wabash County

Jackie: This school district wanted to take the “power standards” identified by the state and find opportunities for students to get additional practice in these critical areas. At Edmentum, our Curriculum team had previously conducted a crosswalk between the Indiana “power standards” and Study Island practice topics, so we were able to use this work to support MSD. We assisted the district in creating Built Tests using the Study Island Test Builder tool to help assess against these specific content areas. MSD’s plan now is to shore up weaknesses using practice and instruction in Study Island.

South Bend Community School Corporation

Denise: At South Bend Schools, Study Island has been used all year for quick “checkpoint” assessments. At the beginning of the year, we worked with the district to create standards-based quick checks using Study Island Test Builder. Educators at South Bend Schools then assess students every 4–6 weeks in math and ELA. From there, we’ve encouraged them to drill down into the reports to the standards level to identify individual student strengths and weaknesses, then build targeted assignments for those students who require additional remediation. By doing this work all year long, there shouldn’t be any surprises during crunch time!

School City of Hammond (SCH)

Jackie: SCH is on the cusp of trying out something new with its Study Island implementation! In a recent partnership meeting, the need for standards-based quick checks prior to ILEARN came up, but instead of jumping into Built Tests, we proposed trying out Group Sessions for this district. There was a lot of excitement as, together, we looked at how these interactive whole-group practice opportunities would give educators the chance to deliver formative assessment and also give them pause for any necessary reteaching as scores were coming in live. Not to mention, with the new Challenge and Race Mode options, teachers could really crank up the competition for a little added engagement!

Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County

Denise: At Southern Hancock Schools, educators are just scratching the surface in regard to what Study Island can do as part of a pilot of this program the district currently has underway. Here, we had the opportunity to jump into a math classroom on site to try out Group Sessions live with students. The teacher quickly created the Group Session on the spot, and we had the students try it out in the new race mode—in which students race against each other to answer as many questions correctly as possible, as quickly as possible. The students were so excited and, at the close, were already asking, “Can we do it again?” We don’t yet know if other teachers have picked up on this fun, formative assessment feature, but we have a hunch that the word has started to spread.

With ILEARN assessments upon us, it’s a rewarding challenge to seek out additional ways to help educators and students feel more prepared for these brand-new exams. We can’t wait to check back in to see what other innovative approaches were taken this year to help students meet grade-level expectations!

Interested in learning more about Study Island for Indiana? Check out the available programs we offer for Indiana educators!