The Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) was a two-day

standardized test A standardized test is a Test (assessment), test that is administered and scored in a consistent or standard manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored ...

taken by all

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Juniors in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. On the first day, students take the ACT, and on the second day, a

WorkKeys ACT WorkKeys consists of three elements: *Job skill assessments, which are designed to measure foundational and personal skills as they apply to the workplace *Job analysis, which pinpoints or estimates skill benchmarks for specific job positions ...

examination and

Illinois State Board of Education The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. Board members serve four-year terms, wit ...

-developed science examination. The test is no longer administered in Illinois schools; however, it was required for all Illinois High School Students from 2001 to 2014.

Areas of assessment

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

Exemptions

Students were required to take the PSAE to achieve a

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

, unless they met one of the following requirements: *The student's

Individualized Education Program An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document under United States law that is developed for each State school, public school child in the United States, U.S. who needs special education. IEPs must be reviewed every year to keep t ...

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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. 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.

References

{{reflist Education in Illinois Standardized tests in the United States School examinations Achievement tests Secondary education in the United States