PSAE -- Prairie State Achievement Test

The PSAE is a test that Illinois high schools give to all of its juniors in April. It is a big deal. The scores of these tests are used to compare one school against the other and schools against state standards.

The PSAE is a two-day event. On day one, students take the ACT, which is a a college aptitude test. On day two, students take the WorkKeys test, which is a readiness to work test. The combination of the two -- college and work preparedness -- gives educators, parents, and students a strong idea of how systems and students are performing and are preparing students for the world they will face after high school.

Despite criticisms of standardized tests within teaching communities, the PSAE is a tool for measuring student success. The curriculum throughout all high schools have been aligned around a set of benchmarks. To measure whether or not schools are meeting the benchmarks, PSAE questions are aligned to the same benchmarks.

Consequently, PSAE reports are very valuable. They can be used to assess individual, school and state progress toward the standards. It can help schools modify curriculum and adjust programs. The test lends itself as a litmus test to student learning.

Since the PSAE shows no signs of going away, schools need to prepare students for it. Educators need to build programs and learning activities to meet the challenges of the PSAE. The below strategies can be used to address the PSAE within every school.

• Teachers can start every class with a PSAE-like question.
• Classroom tests can be made to have PSAE questions embedded within them.
• Teachers can explain test-taking strategies to students.
• Since one of the tests within the PSAE is timed as 60 minutes per 60 problems, math teachers can create quizzes with the same ratio: 10 problems/10 min, 15 problems/15 min, ...
• Teachers can start with a WorkKeys type of problem and then use it to approach an ACT type of problem. Moving from concrete problems to abstract problems by changing problem parameters or modifying the original problem can invite students to participate in higher order thinking. This helps students with the overall PSAE.

Another way to prepare for the PSAE is to have teachers and students visit web sites that offer sample PSAE questions. To find those sites, visit http://www.mathguide.com/services/MathAssess.html#PSAE.