Understanding the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) for Parents and Students

While parents generally know that their child(ren) are tested regularly for reading, writing, and math, much less is understood about the way science is tested. Every year, we get so many questions about helping improving students science scores, both by schools and by parents, that we wanted to create an easy to use resource with the basics on the Illinois Science Assessment. Kids Science Labs is here to help. Note this this information was most recently updated in March 2025.

This update will cover how to prepare your child for the ISA, the types of questions covered on the ISA, the material requested, and provide a reference to find out the historical ISA performance of your child’s school.

What is the Illinois Science Assessment?

Every year, generally in the spring, students in 5th, 8th, and 11th grade are given the Illinois Science Assessment, a nationally recognized standardized assessment, that helps determine a child’s “proficiency” in science facts, data and chart evaluation, critical reasoning, and being able to express written perspectives based on information given.

The Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) is a cumulative assessment, meaning each time the test is given to students, it covers a broad array of science material, as follows:

  • 5th Grade ISA - covers all NGSS from Kindergarten - 5th grade (100+ science standards)

  • 8th Grade ISA - covers all NGSS from 6th m- 8th grade ((200+ science standards)

11th Grade - as of 2024-2025, Illinois uses the ACT to cover required science standards, according to the ISA website.

My child is not in 5th grade or 8th grade, so should I read about the ISA today?

Without question, the answer is an emphatic YES. The ISBE has assigned required learning for each grade, and because so many elementary schools in Illinois DO NOT have a dedicated K-5th grade science teacher, as many outstanding elementary teachers are generalists (they teach all subjects), there is a significant chance your child may not have received all of their required NGSS for their grade. It is best to be aware now, of what they will be tested on in 5th grade, because it is not recommended to try to cram.

Kids Science Labs has been offering hands-on science classes based on the NGSS since 2010, and while tens of thousands of students have benefited in Chicago, there are so many more families we want to support. If you are seeking

What science material is covered on the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA)?

The ISA covers three broad categories of science, as required by Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which were adopted most recently in 2013. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) designs the assessment and adopts annual changes. However, the test will include material covering the following three categories:

  • Physical Science - 32 questions on the non-living world (physics, chemistry)

  • Earth & Space Science - 32 questions focused on Earth’s Systems, including our place in the solar system, and how humans impact these systems (erosion, climate, weather, planetary motion)

  • Life Science - 32 questions focused on the study of living organisms, ecosystems, cells, and processes that sustain life

It’s important to note that these questions are cumulative, meaning that the ISA can cover any material required from K-5th on the 5th grade test, so it is not something that is testing just for 5th grade assessment…..or 8th grade assessment, it is assessing much more.

What types of questions are asked on the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA)?

The ISA is taken on a computer. The ISA has two main types of questions:

  1. Multiple Choice Questions - Typical standardized questions that ask information based on a child’s ability to read science data, express their knowledge of a science fact, or reason through a science experiment. A child must correctly select the single write answer A - D. Each exam section has 30 questions in Life Science, 30 questions in Physical Science and 30 questions in Earth & Space Science.

  2. Constructed Response Questions - These are typically a passage or series of charts and graphs pertaining to some conceptual science topic, where students must answer with written statements and evidenced reasoning. Each exam section has 2 written constructive response questions, where the child has a limited time and space to write, with evidence.

You can find information and sample practice ISA test here

When is the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) given?

Each school is required to administer the test to all of their students in 5th and 8th grade. For the 2024-2025 academic year, this test is given between March 3rd and April 30th.

The test is administered at school, typically alongisde the ELA (English Language Arts) and Mathmatics (Math) version of assessment, given annually to students. It’s just that science is ONLY covered in 5th and 8th grade.

How is the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) scored?

Students are scored in four levels on an individual basis, when compared to all of the students in Illinois who took the Illinois Science Assessment. Schools are also scored as aggregate groups, which can be compared to the performance of other schools and districts on the Illinois Science Assessment.

  • Level 4 - Exemplary - (Score of 832-900) - Work at this level exceeds the standard and shows a sophisticated application of knowledge and skills. ~ 1% of schools achieve Exemplary Level.

  • Level 3 - Proficient - (Score of 799-831) - Meets the standard. It is acceptable work that demonstrates application of knowledge an skills.

  • Level 2 - Developing - (Score of 770-798) - shows basic, but inconsistent application of knowledge and skills.

  • Level 1 - Emerging (700-769) - Work at this level shows a partial application of knowledge and skills. It is superficial, fragmented or incomplete and needs development.

Your child will answer all 96 questions on their ISA in 5th and 8th grade, and based on their correct responses, and a scale adjusted score range is given to each child, and to each school.

Parents should know that special accomodations can be made for your child, if needed, but myst be requested in advance.

You can find the recent Illinois Science Assessment scores, and the number of students at the school, whom tested as Exemplary, Proficient, Developing or Emerging here.

Illinois Report Card

Just type in the school name on the Illinois Report Card, and click “Academic Progress” and then “Science Assessment”. the page will look like this:

How do I best prepare my child for the Illinois Science Assessment?

Let’s start with some critical test taking advice:

  • Students perform best on written tests when they have eaten well, slept well, and are comfortable with the environmental conditions of any assessment. A recent study from Stanford University, attributed 25% of the variance in standardized test scores to “sleep”. We would encourage you to read this summary Stanford University article on how sleep affects the brain and boosts kids performance on standardized tests.

  • Awake early on testing day. This is not a joke, as research is clear that waking up early is correlated with higher scores on the ISA. We are not taking getting up at 4am, but recognizing that mental readiness requires time to get your brain right!

  • Register your child for afterschool STEM enrichment classes, summer camps, or hands-on science laboratory courses designed for elementary students. For 15 years, Kids Science Labs has been the leader in this field, transforming the way kids perform basic science experiments to optimize learning, and there are other programs that may help.

How can I help my child do exceptionally well on the constructed response written questions of the Illinois Science Assessment?

The constructed response questions can be confusing and hard, especially for learners that are not used to writing or verbalizing evidenced-based reasoning. This gets better for students in high school, but many fifth graders struggle because much fo their world is based on opinions.

Rest assured, you can help them get better, even if its just 1 week before the test. Here are just two example of how to get better

Take the ISA practice test, as a parents, so you can see first hand the types of analysis that is expected of your 5th and 8th grader. We took test and can attest that students absolutely can perform their best when they have been given opportunities to practice making well reasoned arguments every year from first grade. If your child is asking you to buy them a new toy…as a parent, try to ask them to give you “evidence” that they will actually play with the toy.

Research shows that many students underperform these questions because they are not familiar with the difference between “evidence” and “opinion”, while even more do poorly because they are just not used to having to express themselves this way.

Have a conversation with your child to help them understand how to construct a reasoning based argument. A big portion of outperformance on NGSS is based on whether each child can apply critical thinking. You can actually practice this at home in simple ways:

  • Ask your child which flavor of ice cream is the best, and ask them for EVIDENCE justifying their choice?

  • Ask your child which sport is the best, and ask them for EVIDENCE justifying their choice?

  • Ask your child to ask you what your favorite color (car, or fruit) is and YOU provide EVIDENCE justifying your choice.
    …..the point is to practice with your child how to make an argument that is based on evidence and not opinion, as that is exactly what is covered by the Illinois Science Assessment.

Where Can I find information about my Child’s Illinois Science Assessment?

All of the necessary info on the ISA is here.

This web page is for informational purposes and for the most recent data and recommendation son the Illinois Science Assessment, please contact ISBE here. Our previous blog in the ISA is available here: