The Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) is a two-day standardized test

Standardized test

A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a...

 taken by all High School

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 Juniors

Eleventh grade

Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. On the first day, students take the ACT

ACT (examination)

The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...

, and on the second day, a WorkKeys

WorkKeys

WorkKeys is a job skill assessment system used in the United States. It was created in the late 1980s by ACT, Inc. It is used by businesses to measure workplace skills of employees and job applicants and by schools and colleges to help prepare students for the workplace.-Description:WorkKeys...

 examination and Illinois State Board of Education

Illinois State Board of Education

The Illinois State Board of Education administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the...

-developed science examination.. It has been required for all Illinois High School Students since 2001.

Areas of Assessment

The PSAE attempts to assess students on the following areas:

• Math
• Reading
• Science
• Writing

Exemptions

A student is required to take the PSAE to achieve a high school diploma

High school diploma

A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...

, unless he or she meets one of the following requirements:

• The student’s Individualized Education Program
  Individualized Education Program
  In the United States an Individualized Education Program, commonly referred to as an IEP, is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act...
  
   is incompatible with the PSAE, and the test cannot be modified to comply. In this case, the student takes the Illinois Alternate Assessment instead.
• The student is not proficient in English
  English language
  English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
  
  . In this case the student takes the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English instead.
• The student is enrolled in an alternative Education program, including an adult education program, or high school equivalency certificates.