Passage Preparation™ offers courses to help you prepare for two Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) assessments: the ILTS Early Childhood Education (206) and Elementary Education (305) tests. These tests are rigorous and designed to assess your knowledge about many standards related to early childhood and elementary education. Passage Preparation’s courses break these standards down, provide you with rich, in-depth content aligned to each standard, and provide you with many opportunities to practice applying your knowledge through quizzes and practice tests.
What are the ILTS Tests?
Illinois has adopted certification tests for aspiring teachers to assess their content knowledge and pedagogical, or teaching, skills. These tests are designed around specific standards defined by state and national education organizations for each specific content area. Illinois has determined passing, or cut, scores for each of these certification tests. For both the Early Childhood and Elementary Education tests, the passing score is 240.
How are the ILTS Tests Structured?
The ILTS Early Childhood Education (206) test is comprised of 100 multiple choice questions. You are allotted three hours and thirty minutes to take this test, and the fee is $122. The test covers topics such as child development, language and literacy, cross-curricular connections, and professional roles and responsibilities for teachers.
The ILTS Elementary Education Grades 1-6 (305) test covers content and pedagogical knowledge for teachers of students in grades 1-6. It consists of 150 multiple choice questions. You have 4 hours and 15 minutes to complete the test. This test covers topics such as language and literacy, mathematics, science, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health education.
The ILTS Elementary Education Grades 1-6 (305) test spans a vast number of content areas and standards. Passage Preparation has developed two separate courses to cover the Literacy, Language, and Mathematics portions of the test and the Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, and PE and Health portions of the test. Additionally, we offer both courses as a bundle. Please note that the ILTS Elementary Education Grades 1-6 (305) test must be taken in its entirety; you cannot register for subsections of the test.
ILTS Test Scoring
ILTS tests are scored on a 100-300 point scale. As noted above, the passing score for the Early Childhood Education (206) and Elementary Education Grades 1-6 (305) tests is 240. If you earn a score of 240 or above, you have met the benchmark set by Illinois and passed your certification test. However, if you do not earn a score of at least 240 you must retake the test to meet the state’s passing standard.
It is important to respond to each item on your test. You earn points for every correct item response, but you earn zero points for incorrect responses. So, even if you have to guess at the answer for a multiple choice item, you have a 25% chance of getting the item correct and earning points toward your overall score. However, if you do not respond to an item at all, you miss the opportunity to earn points!
How Long Does It Take to Receive Scores for the ILTS Tests?
You will receive preliminary score reports at the test center after completion of your test. You will receive your official score report about two to four weeks after completion of the test. At the time of registration and testing, you can identify your educator preparation program as a test score recipient. You must also submit your scores to the Illinois State Board of Education as part of your teacher certification package.
How to Prepare for Your Test
You can use some strategies to help you prepare for your tests. Passage Preparation’s courses include in-depth, high-quality content and assessments to help you master the content covered on your exam and to practice responding to items structured like those on the certification test.
Our courses include a diagnostic assessment to help you identify the areas you should prioritize as you study. Next, you will develop a study plan to help guide you through the course content modules.
Throughout the course, you will complete checks for understanding and quizzes to help you engage with the content and practice taking items structured like those on your test. Finally, you take a practice assessment, structured to reflect the actual certification test. You can take the practice assessment as many times as necessary to feel confident on your exam.
On Test Day
Ways to prepare on test day:
- Get a good night’s sleep.
- Eat breakfast.
- Arrive at least 30 minutes early to find parking and check in.
- Remember to bring required documents and identification.
- Breathe. You’ve prepared with Passage Preparation. You’ve got this!
Prepare for Your ILTS Tests with Passage Preparation!
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About the Author: Nathan Estel
