ILEARN
Indiana’s Learning Evaluation and Assessment Readiness Network (ILEARN) is the summative accountability assessment for Indiana students in grades three through eight and high school biology. ILEARN measures student achievement and growth according to Indiana Academic Standards for English/Language Arts for grades three through eight, Mathematics for grades three through eight, Science for grades four and six, and Social Studies for grade five.
Students are required to participate in the ILEARN Biology End-of-Course Assessment (ECA) upon completion of the high school biology course to fulfill a federal participation requirement. The ILEARN U.S. Government ECA is available per state legislation as an optional assessment for students upon completion of the high school U.S. Government course. A student may only have one test attempt for any given ILEARN assessment. There are no retest opportunities available for ILEARN assessments.
- Frequently Asked Questions
When is the ILEARN assessment held?
There are two ILEARN Biology ECA testing windows, one ILEARN 3-8 testing window, and one ILEARN U.S. Government testing window during the school year. The ILEARN Biology ECA is held in the fall, winter, and spring for students on a trimester schedule, ILEARN 3-8 is held each spring, and the ILEARN U.S. Government ECA is offered as an optional online assessment in the spring. View this year’s assessment windows on the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) Assessment webpage.
What is the test design for ILEARN?
Each online ILEARN assessment consists of a computer-adaptive test segment and a performance task, and fixed-form test segments for social studies and U.S. Government. Fixed-form tests are not adaptive and available only as an accommodation for students with formal accommodations.
ILEARN measures the breadth of Indiana Academic Standards. This means that all standards are represented in the test blueprints, including content area literacy, media literacy, listening, and computer science standards and the item specifications. Indiana educator committees collaborated with content experts to create the ILEARN test blueprints and item specifications.
Who participates in ILEARN?
ELA Math Science Social Studies Biology* U.S. Government Grade 3 x x Grade 4 x x x Grade 5 x x x Grade 6 x x x Grade 7 x x x Grade 8 x x x High School x Optional *Students will participate in the ILEARN Biology ECA upon completion of the biology course in middle or high school.
How will students receive scores?
Scores will become available to relevant users through the Cambium Assessment, Inc. (CAI) Centralized Reporting System. Schools will provide results to students and families locally using the Individual Student Report (ISR).
- Additional ILEARN Resources and Guidance
- ILEARN Test Blueprints
The ILEARN Test Blueprints define the essential content which will be measured by the assessment. Each set of grade-level test blueprints are available in the table.
Test Blueprints Grade 3 Biology* Grade 7 U.S. Government Grade 5 Grade 8 *ILEARN Test Blueprints for grade four and six Science include computer science standards. For additional information regarding Science Test Blueprints, please see this document.
Additional resources regarding ILEARN test design can be found in IDOE’s ILEARN Moodle course.
- ILEARN Item Specifications
Item Specifications define exactly how each standard will be measured on an assessment. Item specifications are used by professional item writers to create items and include information such as evidence statements, Depth of Knowledge requirements, and sample items.
Per the recommendations of the 2016 ISTEP+ Panel, IDOE is leveraging quality content from third-party item banks for use on ILEARN assessments. These item banks are accompanied by item specifications which will be utilized where alignment was confirmed by Indiana educators.
Visit the ILEARN Item Specification Database to view item specifications for each Indiana Academic Standard or download each set of grade-level item specifications from the table.
Access the web-based database: ILEARN Item Specification Database
Item Specifications** Grade 3 Grade 6 Math/ELA
Grade 6 Science
Grade 6 Computer ScienceBiology Grade 4 Math/ELA
Grade 4 Science
Grade 4 Computer ScienceGrade 7 U.S. Government Grade 5 Grade 8 **Some third-party ILEARN Item Specifications include content beyond the scope of the associated Indiana Academic Standards. For these specifications, only portions that align to the Indiana Academic Standards are used for ILEARN. Indiana educators approved alignment of items to each standard. For additional information regarding Science Item Specifications, please see this document.
Additional resources regarding ILEARN test design can be found in IDOE’s ILEARN Moodle course.
- Sample Items, Scoring, and Reporting Resources
IDOE releases 10 items from each ILEARN grade-level assessment every year in accordance with Indiana Code. These items may be used as sample assessments to familiarize students with test content and format.
- ILEARN Cut Scores
- ILEARN Policy Performance Level Descriptors
- ILEARN Range Performance Level Descriptors
- ILEARN Rescore Request Parent Letter Template
ILEARN Individual Student Reports (ISRs) reflect content-specific measures for English/language arts and mathematics for each student in grades three through eight. Lexile® measures are reported from ILEARN and provide insight into students’ ability to read and comprehend text and serve as indicators to help select appropriate texts for their reading levels. Quantile® measures are also reported from ILEARN, indicating students' readiness for mathematical skills and concepts. Quantile measures help identify mathematical skill demand and student ability so they can be matched for targeting instruction.
Beginning fall 2024, students in grades 3-8 will also receive a Lexile® range reported from Checkpoints 1 and 2. The Lexile range can be used as a guide to inform and differentiate instruction as well as help monitor student progress toward specific learning goals. Students in Indiana may also receive Lexile and Quantile measures from a variety of different tests and programs used by local schools. Visit MetaMetrics Hub for tools and resources that help make Lexile and Quantile measures actionable for educators, parents, and students. Send questions to Indiana’s MetaMetrics contact, Mandie Bechard, at mbechard@lexile.com.
- Additional Testing Resources
For general assistance regarding statewide assessments, please contact IDOE’s Office of Student Assessment via email at INassessments@doe.in.gov or phone at (317) 232-9050.