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.
In school year 2024-2025, over 70% of Indiana schools are piloting the new ILEARN through-year redesign which will be fully implemented beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. This through-year assessment will feature three checkpoints for English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Schools can obtain data to inform instruction on the 2023 Indiana Academic Standards prior to statewide implementation in the 2025-2026 school year. For more information about the new ILEARN checkpoints, visit the Assessment Hub in the Indiana Learning Lab.
- Frequently Asked Questions
When is the ILEARN assessment held?
There are three ILEARN Biology ECA testing windows, three ILEARN checkpoint 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?
ILEARN English/Language Arts and Mathematics consist of a computer-adaptive test (CAT) and a performance task. ILEARN Science in grades 4 and 6 consist of a CAT and a computer science test. ILEARN Social Studies and the U.S. Government ECA are both fixed-form tests.
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 (Math/ELA)** Biology* U.S. Government Grade 5 (Math/ELA/SS)** Grade 8 (Math/ELA)** *ILEARN Test Blueprints for grade four and six Science include computer science standards. For additional information regarding Science Test Blueprints, please see this document.
**IDOE completed analyses and technical review to determine which 2020 streamlined standards may be removed from the ILEARN 3-8 Spring 2025 assessment without negatively impacting the validity and comparability of test scores. The ILEARN 3-8 Spring 2025 Special Test Blueprints reflect the results of this analysis. Refer to this explanation document for more information and how to interpret the Test Blueprints.
2025-2026 Test Blueprints - ELA (All Grades) & Math (All Grades)
Additional resources regarding ILEARN test design can be found in IDOE’s ILEARN Moodle course and the Assessment Hub.
- 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.
The new Item Specifications for ELA and Math are linked on the Indiana Academic Standard Indicator located on the 2025-2026 Test Blueprints.
Item Specifications Grade 4 Science Grade 6 Science Biology Grade 4 Computer Science Grade 6 Computer Science 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
- ILEARN Assessment Portal: Released Items Repository
- RIR Directory Documents: Indiana Assessment Portal
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. Beginning in school year 2024-2025, the ILEARN RIR will no longer have separate tests for each school year. Instead, there will be one test for each grade level to mirror the length of the operational test. RIR Directory documents (rather than RIR Scoring Guides) will be provided for each subject area to supply information including answer keys, year of release, and available accommodations.
- ILEARN Cut Scores
- ILEARN Policy Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs)
- ILEARN Range PLDs can be found on the Item Specifications for each grade level/content area.
- 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 participating in the ILEARN Checkpoints Pilot 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
- Sample Hundreds Chart
- Sample Multiplication Table
- Sample Graph Paper
- Assessment Calculator Policy
- ILEARN Mathematics Reference Sheet - Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, students will have access to a reference sheet for grades 4-8 mathematics assessments. The reference sheet will be embedded in the Test Delivery System’s (TDS’s) tools. Schools do not need to provide this reference sheet directly to students, unless they are testing on paper; however, schools may provide a paper copy of the reference sheet to students testing online if desired. If schools are providing students a paper copy, students must only receive the reference sheet for their grade level.
- ILEARN Non-Calculator Standards
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.