Indiana Educators’ Ultimate Guide to Prepare for ILEARN Testing

Between making sure that you are staying on pace with curriculum guides, practicing test-taking procedures and strategies, and providing the targeted preparation and reinforcement individual students need, spring testing season can quickly begin to feel overwhelming for educators. The good news is that a little research and planning can go a long way toward ensuring that you’re able to provide the support students need to be successful on their ILEARN and ISTEP+ assessments. We’ve gathered all of the most useful, detailed, and relevant resources out there on the ILEARN and ISTEP+ assessments to help put your mind at ease and arm you with an outstanding test-preparation program.

Assessment Resources from the Indiana Department of Education

When it comes to the ILEARN and ISTEP+, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) is the authority. And, the IDOE has a great collection of free resources for educators! We’ve done the legwork of combing through the IDOE library to find the best materials.

Office of Student Assessment Homepage
This is your launchpad for digging into any and all assessments offered across the state, from the most common ILEARN and ISTEP+ assessments, to the more specialized IREAD-3 and IAM assessments. The Indiana Assessments Overview is a good place to start.

ILEARN Test Design
When it comes to preparing for any assessment, knowing exactly how test content will be measured is key. Find academic standards, blueprints, and item specifications on this page which not only determine test content but also describe exactly how that content will be measured.

ILEARN Sample Items and Scoring
Now that the first year of ILEARN is complete, approved cut scores have been posted and a released repository of items are available for each grade and content area.

ISTEP+ Grade 10 Assessments
These math and ELA achievement tests continue through school year 2019-2020 and impact student graduation through cohort 2022. Educator resources include test design, sample items and scoring, and program guidance.

ILEARN and ISTEP+ Assessment Preparation Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Classroom Teachers

Test prep doesn’t have to dominate your classroom agenda this spring. By getting started early, utilizing formative assessment strategies, and making the most of practice testing, teachers in the classroom can provide students with individualized ILEARN and ISTEP+ support without sacrificing time from the standard curriculum (and of course, some fun!). Check out these resources to get started.

4 Ways Our Indiana Educators are Preparing for ILEARN Testing
Get a peek at how four Indiana schools and districts put Edmentum's Study Island into action to prepare for ILEARN assessments.

5 Proven Ways to Get the Most Out of Practice Testing
The old adage “practice makes perfect” is a familiar turn of phrase for a reason. Ensure that you’re getting the most out of every minute your students are spending on practice testing.

3 Ways Online Practice Can Support Your Test-Prep Program  
As you are considering different options to ensure that your students have achieved standards proficiency, it’s critical that you have a program that’s aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards. Consider this and other benefits of using an online program.

4 Best Practices to Use Midyear Benchmark Assessment Data
Like any assessment, midyear benchmarks are only as valuable as the strategies you employ using the data. Here are four ways to make these assessments a truly valuable exercise for you and your students.

Marzano-Validated Best Practices for Online Practice
The Edmentum research team was honored to have Marzano Research peer review a research project that we conducted for our classroom practice and assessment program, Study Island. Through that review, Marzano confirmed our findings about the effectiveness of Study Island, and we also uncovered four best practices to help students get the most out of online practice.

General Test-Prep and Test-Taking Tips for Educators

No matter the exact situation, testing is a stressful process. But, successful test taking, beyond content knowledge, is also a skill that can be taught, acquired, and mastered. Here are some of our best resources on general test prep and test taking to help the ILEARN assessment process go smoothly at your school.

10 Classroom and School Tips to Improve Test Scores
Helping students achieve ILEARN success is about much more than targeted practice in the classroom. Check out these 10 holistic tips to make sure that your students are ready for their assessments in all ways.

8 Last-Minute Steps Districts Can Take to Improve Test Scores
Administrators may not feel like they have a direct hand in making sure that students are well-prepared for ILEARN assessments. But, there is no shortage of steps administrators can take to ensure that their teachers and students have what they need for a successful testing season—even when it comes down to the wire.

6 Tips for Teachers to Help Students Manage Stress
Testing season inevitably means classroom stress will hit a new high. So, how can you keep anxiety levels in check and help your students stay cool, calm, and collected when test day rolls around? Here are six tips for a low(er) stress testing season:

8 Tips for Parents to Help Your Child Prepare for High-Stakes Tests
Parents and other caregivers are critical to every student’s education journey. So, get them involved in the ILEARN-preparation process! Share these eight simple tips with parents to help them support their learners on testing days.

Ready to take your ILEARN-preparation program to the next level? Check out Study Island, Edmentum’s online solution for classroom practice and assessment, and our extensive library of programs designed exclusively for Indiana educators and students. Start your FREE trial of Study Island today!

This post was originally posted on January 24, 2019.