Facts about the Idaho ISAT

According to the Idaho Department of Education, students attending school in grades 3 to 10 must take part in the Idaho Standards Achievement Test. The exam helps parents, teachers and students assess progress on the Idaho state curriculum.

ISAT
These exams cover English language arts/literacy, science and math. Students in grades 3 through 10 take the English language arts and math exams. Only 5th and 7th graders or students who are enrolled in high school biology or chemistry also take the science exams.

Proctors administer the tests via computers at most schools, but paper versions are available upon request. Idaho Education News noted that students should receive their test scores within 10 days of completing the exams, but Smarter Balanced didn't release the 2015 testing scores until around a month later. As that was the first year of the ISAT, it is likely the reporting process will be more efficient in the coming sessions.

Parents should know that normal letter grades during the school year do not affect ISAT scores. These scores may be good indicators of how kids will do on the exams, though.

Preparation for the ISAT
State educators create their yearly lesson plans around the Idaho Content Standards and the Idaho Core standards. This helps them ensure students are ready to take the ISAT. Some kids, however, have trouble taking tests. There can be a lot of pressure to perform, and that may harm children's scores due to nervousness. These students can benefit from trying practice tests ahead of time. It's helpful to get to know the new online exam format by viewing examples of questions and selecting potential answers. The ISAT features more than just multiple-choice questions, which means choosing an answer may take extra time and consideration.