For MUSD Educators
Explore this page to locate resources related to Illuminate.
Illuminate is a powerful assessment and data reporting platform utilized by Madera Unified in all grade levels. Teachers can use this platform to create modern, rigorous assessments in any subject area and use the data reporting features of the website to help guide instruction. Illuminate's New Item Bank contains over 100,000 pre-made, rigorous, and CAASPP-aligned questions for educators to choose from when creating assessments on the platform Additionally, this platform provides accessibility and support tools for students to use during tests, such as text-to-speech and the ability to notify their teacher if they need assistance.
Logging Into Illuminate
Illuminate now supports Google sign-on. Open Illuminate using the tile on Clever or the link above, then click the "SAML" button that appears at the bottom of the sign in screen.
Practice Tests
Looking for some practice opportunities to help students get used to Illuminate?
Each of these practice tests contains one of each item type students will encounter on the Scope and Sequence assessments (drag and drop, multiple select, etc.). Feel free to utilize them in a whole-class or small group setting to help students get used to manipulating items on Illuminate.
Practice Test Links (English):
Practice Test Links (Spanish):
Quick Guides
Scroll down to find Quick Guides for:
Creating a New Item Bank Assessment
How to Set Up Online Tests
Assigning Text-to-Speech Accommodations
Recommended Reports for Data Analysis
Sharing Assessments
Manually Scoring Constructed Response Items
Creating Tile Shortcuts on Illuminate
Creating a New Item Bank Assessment
Creating a New Item Bank Assessment .pdfIlluminate Best Practices
Illuminate Best Practices.pdfBest Practices for Sharing Assessments
Sharing Assessments in Illuminate.pdfHow to Set Up Online Testing
Printable Quick Guide (2 pages)
*Includes Steps for Student Access*Illuminate Test Administration Quick Guide.pdfStep-by-Step Walkthrough
Assigning Text-to-Speech Accommodations
Printable Quick Guide
Assigning Text-to-Speech Accommodations in Illuminate.pdfStep-by-Step Walkthrough
Manually Scoring Constructed Response Items
Printable Quick Guide
Scoring Constructed Response Items in Illuminate.pdfStep-by-Step Walkthrough
Recommended Reports for Data Analysis
Printable Quick Guide
Recommended Reports in Illuminate.pdfCreating Tile Shortcuts on Illuminate
Printable Quick Guide
Creating Tile Shortcuts in Illuminate.pdfStep-by-Step Walkthrough
Locating ELPAC Domain Scores
Printable Quick Guide
Accessing ELPAC Domain Scores.pdfIlluminate Overview - 3 Part Series
Looking to start implementing Illuminate in your classroom? This 3-part video series will walk you through everything from logging into Illuminate, creating assessments, to analyzing results and more. If you're new to Illuminate, start with Video 1. Otherwise, read the descriptions below each video to determine which one has the information you need.
Part 1 - Basics
Slides to accompany Part 1
Part 1 covers all the basics of Illuminate-how to log in, what the platform is used for, how to navigate, and how to locate the assessments you need.
Part 2 - Creating Assessments
Slides to accompany Part 2
Part 2 will be the most useful piece for most educators. This presentation covers creating assessments in the New Item Bank (Illuminate's premiere assessment platform), administering assessments, manually scoring items, and more.
Part 3 - Understanding the Results
Slides to accompany Part 3
Part 3 is all about data analysis. This section covers the most useful reports in Illuminate and how to use them to gain the most useful insights about student performance. Additionally, it contains a brief overview of how to create Flexible assessments, which are particularly useful for analyzing writing in Illuminate.
General Resources
Illuminate Certification
Canvas Course
Did you know Illuminate has thousands of prebuilt rigorous and standards-aligned assessments that are ready to use? Complete this MUSD course on the Canvas platform to earn your certification in Illuminate’s prebuilt assessments and reports. After completing this 30-40 minute self-paced course, you will earn a badge to show your mastery and can be a valuable resource to your PLC and other colleagues.
Guide for Finding SBAC, CAST, and ELPAC scores
Locating Student Test Scores on Illuminate.pdfLooking for SBAC scores for a previous year's class or want to review how your current students did on the most recent SBAC? Use this guide to find Illuminate's prebuilt reports that provide data for all state assessments.
Common Item Types on Illuminate
Illuminate Item Types.pdfThis document lists all of the item types in Illuminate along with a brief description of each. Additionally, if an item type appears on the CAASPP ELA/MATH or NWEA MAP Growth test, it is marked accordingly.