"What is the PSAE?

 

The State Board of Education (ISBE) adopted the Illinois Learning Standards in 1997 to establish achievement targets for what Illinois students should be learning at each stage of their education.

 

The Standards represent what the people of Illinois consider the keys to a quality education; more than 28,000 Illinois citizens participated in their development. The Standards address student learning in seven areas: English language arts; mathematics; science; social science; physical development and health; fine arts; and foreign language.

 

The PSAE is an examination for eligible grade 11 students that measures their achievement of the Illinois Learning Standards. It covers reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social science. Students will take the PSAE for the first time in April 2001.

 

The PSAE incorporates the ACT Assessment® and two Work Keys® assessments along with ISBE-developed components.

 

The PSAE uses four ACT tests that measure educational development in English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. 

 

The PSAE employs two Work Keys assessments, Reading for Information and Applied Mathematics, to address the "Applications of Learning" part of the Standards for every academic area.

 

Work Keys may be unfamiliar to some teachers. Just as college officials use the ACT Assessment in determining whether to admit a student to their school, many employers use Work Keys tests to determine if an employee or applicant has the necessary skills for a specific job.

 

ACT developed Work Keys in response to concerns that students leaving school and workers already in the workforce are not well prepared for many available jobs. 

 

Work Keys scores help students identify their strengths and weaknesses with respect to their education and career goals. The Work Keys tests measure the level of skills needed in the workplace. Test items at each level simulate the characteristics of the workplace as much as possible. The materials for reading and problem solving come from actual workplace situations. 

 

The Work Keys increase the range of acquired abilities assessed by the PSAE. The Work Keys tests included in the PSAE give students a set of scores they can use to identify the workplace skills they possess and the skills they need to acquire.

 

Table 1 shows how the three components of the PSAE—ACT, Work Keys, and ISBE-developed assessments—combine to produce the five PSAE tests."

The PSAE in Unit 5:

Pending...

Testing Dates:

NCHS and NCWHS - April 25, 2001 - April 26, 2001

Additional Information:

Questions and Answers

PSAE Parent Brochure (in PDF format)

More information about the PSAE is available here.

*Information on this page was gathered from this site.