105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5
Beginning no later than the 2017-2018 school year, the State Board of Education shall annually assess all students in science at one grade in grades 3 through 5, at one grade in grades 6 through 8, and at one grade in grades 9 through 12.
The State Board of Education shall annually assess schools that operate a secondary education program, as defined in Section 22-22 of this Code, in English language arts and mathematics. The State Board of Education shall administer no more than 3 assessments, per student, of English language arts and mathematics for students in a secondary education program. One of these assessments shall be recognized by this State's public institutions of higher education, as defined in the Board of Higher Education Act, for the purpose of student application or admissions consideration. The assessment administered by the State Board of Education for the purpose of student application to or admissions consideration by institutions of higher education must be administered on a school day during regular student attendance hours, and student profile information collected by the assessment shall be made available to the State's public institutions of higher education in a timely manner.
Students who do not take the State's final accountability assessment or its approved alternate assessment may not receive a regular high school diploma unless the student is exempted from taking the State assessments under subsection (d) of this Section because the student is enrolled in a program of adult and continuing education, as defined in the Adult Education Act, or the student is identified by the State Board of Education, through rules, as being exempt from the assessment.
The State Board of Education shall not assess students under this Section in subjects not required by this Section.
Districts shall inform their students of the timelines and procedures applicable to their participation in every yearly administration of the State assessments. The State Board of Education shall establish periods of time in each school year during which State assessments shall occur to meet the objectives of this Section.
The requirements of this subsection do not apply if the State Board of Education has received a waiver from the administration of assessments from the U.S. Department of Education.
Students receiving special education services whose individualized educational programs identify them as eligible for the alternative State assessments nevertheless shall have the option of also taking this State's regular final accountability assessment, which shall be administered in accordance with the eligible accommodations appropriate for meeting these students' respective needs.
All students determined to be English learners shall participate in the State assessments. The scores of those students who have been enrolled in schools in the United States for less than 12 months may not be used for the purposes of accountability. Any student determined to be an English learner shall receive appropriate assessment accommodations, including language supports, which shall be established by rule. Approved assessment accommodations must be provided until the student's English language skills develop to the extent that the student is no longer considered to be an English learner, as demonstrated through a State-identified English language proficiency assessment.
In each school year, the scores attained by a student on the final accountability assessment must be placed in the student's permanent record pursuant to rules that the State Board of Education shall adopt for that purpose in accordance with Section 3 of the Illinois School Student Records Act. In each school year, the scores attained by a student on the State assessments administered in grades 3 through 8 must be placed in the student's temporary record.
The State Board of Education shall review the use of all assessment item types in order to ensure that they are valid and reliable indicators of student performance aligned to the learning standards being assessed and that the development, administration, and scoring of these item types are justifiable in terms of cost.
105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5