CUSD 308 · IL

What matters most here

The earliest test that affects placement is Acceleration and Early Entrance screening, starting in Kindergarten.

The bar: Published for the CogAT trigger: 3rd and 4th graders who score at or above the 90th percentile on the fall and/or winter FastBridge in math and/or reading — in a content area they are not already served in — are administered the CogAT. (FastBridge)

≈ Typical practice — not verified for this district

What schools usually do with these scores

Grouping. Screener results sort kids into small skill groups for reading and math. Groups are re-dealt after each testing window — fall, winter, spring — so a score follows your kid for about a trimester, not a year.
Extra help and enrichment. Kids below benchmark usually get small-group support, checked every week or two. Kids far above it are the pool schools draw on for enrichment.
Placement. Advanced-track decisions almost never hang on one test. Districts combine an ability test, an achievement measure, and teacher input into a matrix — which is why each score below earns its keep.

The path to the advanced track

K–8 · Acceleration and Early Entrance screening
1–8 · FastBridge
2, plus 3–4 · CogAT
2–4 · HOPE Teacher Rating Scale
IAAT

Your kid's grade

Pick a grade — the page narrows to what your kid actually takes.

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Every test, in detail

All 11 assessments CUSD 308 runs. Tap a test for what it measures and why it matters.

Acceleration and Early Entrance screening
K–8 · Acceleration applications Jan 15 – Mar 1 (none after Mar 1). Early entrance applications Mar 1 – May 1, screening scheduled the first week of May.
What it measures: Whole-grade acceleration, single-subject acceleration, and early entrance to kindergarten. The district states it uses "multiple criteria" but does not name the assessments used.
Affects placement: Early entrance screening runs as one to three separate one-hour sessions with the student; results are reviewed by a panel of educational professionals and the home school principal delivers the decision. The district describes it as a three-to-six-week process from the May 1 deadline. Acceleration request forms may be submitted by a parent or guardian, a teacher, or an administrator. No SD308 page found cites the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act (105 ILCS 5/14A) by name, and no assessment names or score thresholds are published for either pathway.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test)
2, plus 3–4 · September 24 – October 9, 2026
What it measures: Verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning. The Verbal battery is used for ELA identification; the Quantitative or Quantitative/Nonverbal is used for math identification.
Why it matters: Measures reasoning, not what was taught — the test type gifted and advanced-placement decisions lean on most.
Affects placement: Universal for all 2nd graders — SD308 states it universally screens every 2nd grader for gifted education services. 3rd and 4th graders take it only after clearing the 90th-percentile FastBridge trigger. Identification letters go home at the end of May and services begin the following school year. No cut score exists to publish: the district states it identifies and places students "using a blind screening process, inclusive of formal assessments and a teacher rating scale (HOPE Scale)", so the absence of a number reflects the design of the process. Elementary appeals are accepted only June 1–30, with none accepted after June 30.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
FastBridge
1–8 · Fall · Winter · Spring
What it measures: Nationally normed, computer-adaptive screen of reading and math ability, measuring growth against national and local grade-level peers. The district describes it as both an achievement and an aptitude test.
Why it matters: Tracks your kid's growth against national norms through the year. Often one of the numbers behind advanced-placement decisions.
Affects placement: FastBridge is the universal screen behind SD308's gifted identification: the reading portion is used for ELA identification and the math portion for math identification, and it is also used for acceleration screening. Every 2nd grader takes it in fall and winter and is then screened. 3rd and 4th graders are pulled into CogAT testing on the strength of their FastBridge scores. Dual Language students take Star 360 instead.
Threshold: Published for the CogAT trigger: 3rd and 4th graders who score at or above the 90th percentile on the fall and/or winter FastBridge in math and/or reading — in a content area they are not already served in — are administered the CogAT.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
HOPE Teacher Rating Scale
2–4 · Alongside the FastBridge and CogAT screening cycle
What it measures: Standardized observational instrument completed by the student's current teacher, rating two domains: Academic and Social.
Affects placement: The third input to SD308's blind screening, alongside FastBridge and CogAT. It is how teacher observation enters the identification decision. No weighting or score contribution is published.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
IAAT (Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test)
5 (gifted math) · February 1–19, 2027
What it measures: Pre-algebra readiness, used to sort students into middle school math tracks.
Affects placement: Decides the math pathway into 6th grade for students in gifted math. Eligible students may enter Pre-Algebra — taught to 8th grade standards — instead of Honors Math. IAAT results and placement notifications go to families by the end of April. Appeals for 6th grade placement close May 1; the district says review takes four to six weeks.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR)
3–8 · March 1 – April 16, 2027
What it measures: State assessment of ELA and math achievement against the Illinois Learning Standards.
Why it matters: The state's own test of grade-level mastery. Schools report it, and some programs use it for eligibility.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
Illinois Science Assessment (ISA)
5 and 8 · March 1 – April 30, 2027
What it measures: State science assessment.
Why it matters: The state's own test of grade-level mastery. Schools report it, and some programs use it for eligibility.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS)
Kindergarten · August 20 – November 23, 2026
What it measures: Kindergarten development across learning, social-emotional, language, and math domains.
Why it matters: A quick skills check, not a graded test. Schools use it to catch kids who need extra help — or a bigger challenge — early, and to set reading and math groups.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
Mastery Connect
K–5 · Ongoing throughout the year
What it measures: Standards-based formative assessments given throughout the year.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
Panorama SEL
3–8 · Fall · Spring
What it measures: Social-emotional well-being and competencies.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026
Star 360
1–8 (Dual Lang) · Fall · Winter · Spring
What it measures: Reading and math screening in English and Spanish, given to Dual Language students in place of FastBridge.
Why it matters: Tracks your kid's growth against national norms through the year. Often one of the numbers behind advanced-placement decisions.
✓ Officialsd308.org2026-27checked Aug 2026

Got a score report?

Your kid's scores come home without context. Check one against the published bar — free, no account.

Not every test here has a published benchmark — where there isn't one, we won't invent a bar. And one score is one data point: schools decide from several measures across the year, plus the teacher's judgment.

Keep this page honest

Every fact above shows its source. Still accurate?

Something's off