Old Quarry Anticipates Success on Upcoming ISAT

The following release was submitted to Patch from .

As the month of March draws near, Illinois schools prepare for the annual State assessments. The Illinois State Achievement Tests (ISAT) are administered in all elementary schools each year during the first two weeks of March. These tests are used by the State to determine if students and schools are meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals. This year 92.5% of the students in each demographic group need to be meeting or exceeding the state standards.

 At Old Quarry Middle School, staff has been helping students focus on the standards through classroom assessments and activities in preparation for the oncoming tests.

“Our curriculum is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards and our staff uses Best Practices to help our students demonstrate growth,” states Dr. Bill Caron, Principal.

“This is not something we focus on just before the tests; it is a major focus of what we do all year.  Our teachers are preparing our students for the future.”           

One measure used by Old Quarry Middle School to determine if the students are prepared for the upcoming ISAT tests is a local assessment called the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP).

“We can use our students’ scores on the MAP tests to predict success on the ISAT tests,” Caron said.

Old Quarry staff use this assessment to develop lessons which meet the needs of their students and differentiate instructional activities. Students also use the MAP results to set goals.           

An analysis of the winter MAP data indicates that approximately 92% of Old Quarry students are meeting proficiency in math at their grade level. This is a good indicator of future success on the ISAT tests. In reading, approximately 90% of the Old Quarry students are demonstrating proficiency. Dr. Caron explains, “Looking at the current data, we are confident that Old Quarry students are prepared for the State Assessment. We have used this data in the past and have found it to be a reliable predictor of success.”