Voice of Supporters:

“Tests are well designed and highly effective in subjectively measuring individual student achievement relative to set learning standards.”

“The Islamic Studies Standardized Test is important in various facets of Islamic or Muslim schools. For the school it provides benchmarks and standards that can be used in comparison with the school’s own curriculum. Moreover, it provides data for teachers and administration to evaluate their program in terms of content,instruction and assessment….. Read More

For parents it provides a clear picture of what is being taught, what should be taught, and howmy child compares to the national average. In terms of students the use of standardized curricula can Inshallah allow for a more smooth transition intoa new religious studies class when transferring from one Islamic school to another throughout United States.

There will always be room for improvement but this is the startingpoint for schools to nationally agree on content and to shift focuson tarbia and the implementation of concepts into behavior changes”

“ISST (Islamic Studies Standardized Test) is a first and positive step towards setting the Standards for all Islamic studies subjects in Full Time and supplementary Islamic Schools. According to a peer reviewed, 100- year analysis of testing research by testing scholar, Richard P.Phelps in 2011, "93% of studies have found….. Read More

student testing, including the large scale and high stakes standardized tests, to have a "positive effect" on student achievement.We hope that this will bring uniformity to Islamic Studies curriculum and help students, teachers and parents to set goals and clarify objectives. "

“The first edition of the ISST directed focus on the importance of measuring student progress in Islamic studies. Building on this foundation, the second edition has been created by content experts and constructed to meet the most stringent professional standards.….. Read More

The resulting assessments are the most reliable and valid measure of student mastery of essential Islamic studies knowledge and the reports effectively communicate results to both school stakeholders and family members.” 

“Although, as standardized tests do not get alot of my support, they are needed in this day and age to help us, to guide us and to direct us in new directions. This is a decade of new developments for Islamic education. We have taken our positions in the American landscapeand now we need to solidify our roots …..  Read More

in Islam and provide the Islamic education we all dream of. To do this we must be organized and evaluation oriented.

Inshallah, through this next phase, I continue to fully support the IQRA team and look forward to the next steps of developing more comprehensively the curriculum for Islamic Schools in the west. I encourage all Islamic Schools to step up and work in this direction. Together we are stronger and we are an Ummah with responsibility.”

ISST Committee Members

The ISST Committee is a national team of scholars, Islamic educators, and certified teachers and principals working in the Islamic school system.  Members have collaborated in various areas of the national assessment program (i.e. program development, National Islamic Studies Standards (NISS) development and review, national assessment research and design, item development, item review, program education, school piloting, and data analysis)