To assist in District 88’s quest for college and career readiness for all students, as well as to comply with the federal guidelines associated with the receipt of federal Title 1 funds, District 88 is in a continuous cycle of improvement to ensure all students are benefiting from high-quality programs. As part of this process of constant improvement, the district ensures we have a rigorous, culturally responsive curriculum. We also have created and implemented a comprehensive system of standard, aligned common assessments for all District 88 courses. Those common assessments are used by our course and district-specific teams called Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to track progress toward the acquisition of the required knowledge and skills in each course.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently announced the procurement process for the high school accountability assessment has concluded, and Illinois will transition back to the ACT beginning with the 2024-25 school year. The state exam is a graduation requirement for students. To read a press release from the ISBE regarding this decision, go to https://tinyurl.com/2h43cn2b.
Illinois previously used the ACT for 15 years, until it switched to the SAT in 2016. The ACT consists of four multiple-choice tests covering English, math, reading and science and is scored on a 36-point scale. The SAT has two sections, reading and writing and math, with scores ranging between 400 and 1,600 points.
District 88 wants to assure families that we are prepared to support students through this transition process. See important information below. District 88 Superintendent Dr. Jean Barbanente also shared information during the June 10 Board of Education meeting. To view that presentation, click on the video above.
Further details will be shared soon regarding the above initiatives.
In the meantime, below are ACT resources for parents and students to reference: