The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is seeking the expertise of Illinois educators to strengthen our assessment system. Throughout the 2024-25 school year, ISBE will work with the field toward a unified standard setting that will establish new performance levels and cut scores for each of our general education content assessments of English language arts (ELA), math, and science across all administered grade levels 3-11.  
 

ISBE is recruiting educators and curriculum experts to develop profiles of proficiency, also known as performance level descriptors (PLDs), that will serve as the foundation for setting unified academic performance standards. All participating educators must have demonstrated experience working with the Illinois Learning Standards in ELA, math, and/or science, such as teaching, coaching, and/or curriculum development.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY 11:59 P.M. ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024.

The intent of this initiative is to provide clear and consistent signaling to students, families, educators, and communities about how students in Illinois are performing on the state’s assessments and how assessment results should be interpreted.
 

The first step is to develop profiles of the academic knowledge and skills students exhibit in each performance level at each grade level in each subject, called PLDs. There are three primary types of PLDs that each working group will seek to establish:  

• Content PLDs: Describe a rubric of performance at each level tied directly to the content learning standards. 
• Range PLDs: Describe the spread of knowledge and skills within and across levels. 
• Threshold (or Target) PLDs: Describe minimum performance expectations (e.g., performance for students who just barely meet expectations). These PLDs help standard setting panelists determine cut scores.  

Serving as a PLD writer is a crucial and influential role in bringing coherence to our state assessment system. Experience developing curriculum maps, scope and sequence, or a system of assessments is particularly relevant. However, we also invite the participation of educators in positions outside of the classroom; those in content areas outside of ELA, math, and/or science; those supporting students with diverse learning needs, including students with exceptionalities and multilingual learners; and those who can serve as advocates for targeted student populations. The PLDs will represent the performance of all Illinois students, and we need a variety of perspectives to inform the work.  
 

ISBE will create nine PLD writing teams: 

ELA, Math & Science
Grades 3, 4, 5
Groups of 10 

• Six grade-specific content experts 
• Two per grade 
• From diverse geographic, demographic and experiential groups  
• One non-assessed subject educator 
• One special education educator 
• One multilingual educator 
• One subject matter expert 
• Someone whose position supports multiple grades and who has deep expertise in the content & standards 

ELA, Math & Science  
Grades 6, 7, 8
Groups of 11

• Six grade-specific content experts 
• Two per grade 
• From diverse geographic, demographic and experiential groups  
• Two non-assessed subject educators 
• Career and Technical Education endorsement preferred for one of the two 
• One special education educator 
• One multilingual educator 
• One subject matter expert 
• Someone whose position supports multiple grades and who has deep expertise in the content & standards 

ELA, Math & Science  
Grades 9, 10, 11
Groups of 12 

• Six grade-specific content experts 
• Two per grade 
• From diverse geographic, demographic and experiential groups  
• Three non-assessed subject educators 
• Career and Technical Education endorsements preferred for two of the three 
• One special education educator 
• One multilingual educator 
• One subject matter expert 
• Someone whose position supports multiple grades and who has deep expertise in the content & standards 

Each writing team will meet for up to 12, two-hour virtual sessions, held approximately twice per month, from September through February. These virtual sessions will be held during the after-school time frame (sessions will start at 3 p.m. or later and end by 6 p.m.). Eligible participants will earn up to 24 continuing professional development hours.  

ISBE will receive public comment on the draft PLDs in the first part of 2025. The writing teams will incorporate that feedback into a final set of PLDs to share with the ISBE Board for approval in spring of 2025. ISBE will use the final PLDs to support the establishment of cut scores during the standard setting in summer of 2025.  

The application requires submission of a resume and letter of recommendation. Applicants can also indicate whether they would like to be considered as a standard setting panelist, item writer, or serve on other review panels that ensure the quality of our assessments.