Illinois Certification Testing System Test

The Illinois Certification Testing System (ICTS) test has been required since 1998 for school teachers in Illinois. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) determines who needs to become certified and which tests each teacher needs to take. The ICTS is administered to teachers to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to effectively teach students. The tests measure a teacher’s knowledge in terms of meeting specific criteria, not how well they score against other teachers.

Six tests may be taken as part of the ICTS test: basic skills, assessment of professional teaching (APT), content area, foreign language, Learning Behavior Specialist II (LBS II), and language proficiency. The basic skills portion tests teachers on four subjects: reading comprehension, language arts, math, and writing. Teachers will be required to answer multiple-choice questions and complete one writing assignment. A passing score is required on each subtest. Each test is scored independently, so if you fail one portion, you only have to retake that portion instead of the entire ICTS test. The APT assesses a teacher’s knowledge of professionalism and pedagogy. It is given for four different levels of childhood: birth to third grade, grades K-9, grades 6-12 and grades k-12. Each of these tests contains 120 multiple-choice questions and two writing assignments. The content area tests contain 125 multiple-choice questions. The foreign language content portion of the ICTS test may or may not include multiple-choice questions, depending on the language being tested. Tests in Spanish, Russian, French, German, Latin, Hebrew, and Italian contain 100 multiple-choice questions, along with two written assignments. Foreign language tests in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic contain no multiple-choice items, only seven written responses. The LBS II portion of the ICTS test consists of six written responses, three of which involve a case study. The language proficiency portion is for those looking to receive a Transitional Bilingual Certificate. It has a mix of multiple-choice and written response questions, depending on the language being tested.

Not all ICTS tests are available on computer, so you might have to take both pencil-and-paper and computer-based tests. Registration for the pencil-and-paper format costs $26 per test, while the computer-based version is more costly at $84 per test. In addition, each test costs $60, except for several special education content area exams. How you register for the ICTS test depends on when you register. Online, telephone, and mail registration are available at different times before the testing date. Once your registration is confirmed, you will receive an admission ticket, which you must bring to the testing center. This ticket lists your test, location, date, time, and ID number.

On the day of your ICTS test, you will need to bring your admission ticket, several sharpened No. 2 pencils, and one form of valid ID that displays your photograph and signature. Note that pencils will not be provided at the testing center, so be sure to bring several of them. Breaks are not scheduled, but you may take them as needed.

Your ICTS test score will be available to you in fewer than 30 days after you take the test. You will be able to view your score online. If you registered online, you can request to have your score e-mailed to you. If you registered via telephone or mail, your score will be mailed to you.