Waukegan CUSD 60 staff explain district assessment types, results and how parents can help

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 staff presented an overview of district and state student assessments and how parents can interpret results during a Parents University session. The presentation was delivered on behalf of Dr. Jonathan Brown, director of assessment and data for Waukegan CUSD 60.

The presentation explained why the district uses assessments, described three categories—formative, summative and interim/benchmark—and outlined who participates, what is measured and how families can support students. Staff said interim assessments (such as NWEA MAP and i‑Ready) are typically administered three times per year, while state assessments are given once annually.

District staff emphasized that formative assessments occur during instruction to guide daily teaching and learning, summative assessments (for example, unit tests or end‑of‑unit exams) measure learning at the end of an instructional sequence, and interim or benchmark assessments are used to track progress and predict future success. Staff explained the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) covers grades 3–8 in English language arts and math; the PreACT and ACT were noted as assessments used for secondary students; and Illinois science assessments are taken in grades 5–8. Staff also referenced ACCESS for English learners and Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) for students who take alternate assessments.

On participation and accommodations, staff said all students take assessments appropriate to their program of study. Students in the district’s dual‑language program may take assessments in English and Spanish where applicable. Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) will receive required accommodations; a subset of students who qualify for alternate state assessments will take those alternate tests.

To help parents interpret score reports, staff recommended looking at three elements: the student’s performance level and its descriptor, the scale score (which shows how close a student is to the next performance level), and percentiles (national or local comparisons). As an example cited in the presentation, staff said a particular Illinois science scale uses 812 as the minimum score for the “competent” designation; a student scoring 810 is therefore two scale points short of that threshold while a student at 780 is farther from the competence cutoff. For interim measures such as MAP and i‑Ready, staff said a national percentile around the 70th or higher is often used as an indicator that a student is likely to meet state proficiency targets.

Staff advised families on concrete ways to support students: ensure regular school attendance, encourage classroom participation, set realistic and ambitious goals, maintain nightly routines (including sleep), engage in daily conversations about school, participate in practice testing opportunities, make use of teacher‑offered tutoring, and ensure devices such as Chromebooks are charged and ready on test days. They also told parents to contact their child’s teacher or school administrator with questions and offered the district’s assessment department as an additional resource for questions.

The presentation repeated that each assessment has a different purpose and timeframe for interpreting results: unit‑based summative assessments measure recent instruction over 3–6 week units, while annual state tests reflect learning across the entire school year. Staff encouraged parents to ask which assessment they are viewing, what the test is intended to measure and the appropriate time horizon for improvement.

For follow up, staff directed parents to contact their child’s teacher, the school administrator or the district’s department of assessment and data by email or phone.