THE EXAMINER
An ADE Newsletter for Test Coordinators
August 2022 Edition |
Audra Ahumada
Deputy Associate Superintendent
of Assessments |
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Welcome back...hope you all are ready to start another school year! This year should be a little more normal as far as testing goes. We DO NOT have any stand-alone field tests. We will have a new AZELLA Reassessment test aligned to the new Arizona ELP Standards, configured to the new grade bands and a new Operational/Field Test Alternate ELP Assessment for eligible students with significant cognitive disabilities (Alt ELPA). All of our other Statewide Assessments will remain the same!
ADE, our educators, and community members were very busy this summer! We had three standard setting committees and several program-specific committees, including data review, item review, and bias and sensitivity reviews. Thank you to those educators and community members who participated and provided their insightful expertise. I enjoy observing these meetings and seeing the panelists engaged and putting their students front and center in this work. I shared that all of these committees have tried-and-true processes and methodologies that enhance the educational experiences. Our biggest take-away was "Trust the Process!"
Our next big project is the first-ever State Assessments, Standards, and Accountability conference. We are looking forward to bringing in national speakers, providing an experience that will celebrate all of our efforts, and providing take-aways that can be used in our schools.
We also wanted to pass along information from our K-12 Standards colleagues regarding the Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA). Please see the following link: https://www.azed.gov/ece/kindergarten. Under the Kindergarten Entry Assessment tab, you will find a recorded webinar, FAQ, RFP updates, and a Fact Sheet. |
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The Arizona Assessments Conference will be held in person September 26-28, 2022 at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel and Spa, 9495 W. Coyotes Blvd., Glendale, AZ 85305.
Participant registration is open. Registration is $425 per person and must be completed in ADE's Event Management System. For more information, please visit the Registration page of our conference website.
Guest rooms are still available at the conference hotel, Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel and Spa. The group room rate is $121 per night plus applicable state taxes and is subject to availability. This room rate is available for room reservations made before September 5, 2022 or until the conference room block is sold out, whichever comes first. If you will need a guest room, please reserve it as soon as possible as the room block is expected to sell out.
A draft schedule of breakout sessions has been published on the Schedule, Sessions, and Guidebook page of our website. Please note this schedule is subject to change, so we encourage you to check this webpage over the coming weeks for any updates. Additional information, including session descriptions and presenter biographies, is coming soon! We will also be using the Guidebook mobile app for this conference.
If you have any questions regarding the Arizona Assessments Conference, please contact us at Testing@azed.gov. |
Assessment Test Coordinator and Security Agreement
ADE must receive the Assessment Test Coordinator and Security Agreement for the 2022-2023 school year even if there are no changes from last school year. This form requires the names and contact information for each of the Achievement Assessment, Alternate Assessment, and AZELLA District Test Coordinators and must be signed by the Superintendent/Charter Representative and each designated District Test Coordinator prior to the start of any 2022-2023 state assessments. If ADE has received this document from your district or charter for the 2022-2023 school year, then you do not need to resend it unless there has been a change since the last submission. This form is located on the District Test Coordinator page of our website. Completed forms should be submitted to Testing@azed.gov. |
2022-2023 Friday Focus Webinar Series
The ADE Assessments team has scheduled the following webinars for the 2022-2023 school year. Each webinar is scheduled on a Friday afternoon, 1:00-2:00pm. Each will be recorded and posted on our website following the live event. Registration in ADE's Event Management System is required to attend the live events. Webinar registration links are included in the Friday Focus Webinar Series flyer, which is posted on the home page of our website: https://www.azed.gov/assessment, under the dropdown for "Friday Focus Webinars - 2022-2023."
- September 9, 2022 - The State of Assessments and Accountability: An Overview for the 2022-2023 School Year
- October 7, 2022 - ACT and ACT Aspire Scoring: Interpreting the Results
- October 14, 2022 - Things to Know as a New District Test Coordinator
- October 21, 2022 - Updates for the New Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessment
- October 28, 2022 - Accessibility and Assessments
- November 4, 2022 - AZELLA Tests Aligned to the 2019 English Language Proficiency Standards
- November 18, 2022 - AzSCI Performance Level Descriptors
- January 13, 2023 - Reducing Achievement Test Irregularities
- January 27, 2023 - Accountability Updates
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Statewide Achievement Test Windows |
New this year: Schools may utilize both published ACT test windows in order to assess all Cohort 2024 students. Schools are encouraged to administer ACT during the first test window and may also use the second test window, as needed, to complete any makeup testing. Schools administering ACT on paper may also use the online test dates for makeup testing. Any schools that choose to administer the ACT during only the second test window will not have an additional ACT test window to use for makeup testing. Test window selection will be made in ACT's PearsonAccessNext platform in Fall 2022. |
Accommodations Manual
ADE's Assessment Team has updated the Achievement Assessments Accommodations Manual. The updated manual is posted on the Accessibility page of our website. |
Special Paper Version Test Formats
Arizona offers three test formats to meet the needs of students who cannot access the test content through computer-based testing.
Braille - A braille test kit will include directions for administering the braille assessment. For AASA and AzSCI, student responses must be key-entered in TestNav by the end of the appropriate test window. For ACT Aspire and ACT, the test coordinator must transcribe the student's responses to a regular-print test booklet.
Large print test booklets - The 504 plan or IEP must clearly state the font size used for instruction and the type of materials teachers enlarge for the student. Unless a student regularly has reading and math materials enlarged for both diameter and font size, you may consider using the Zoom feature instead. The Zoom feature can be tried out in the sample tests. Large print test booklets are approximately 18 inches tall, and the font size is 18pt.
Regular print paper test booklets - A student who cannot access the computer for classroom work due to injury, illness, or low vision may need a paper test in lieu of taking the test with peers on the computer. The 504 plan or IEP must clearly indicate how the teachers accommodate the student's needs in class and the restrictions the student has when using technology (examples: no more than xx minutes of screen time per day, or must have a significant break after xx minutes, no computer usage at all, etc.).
More information will be sent to Achievement District Test Coordinators soon regarding the process for submitting Special Paper Version test requests as well as Additional Accommodations requests. |
ACT Accommodations Requests
ACT accommodations requests for students in Grade 11/Cohort 2024 are to be submitted directly to ACT using ACT's processes and are not to be submitted to ADE for approval. ACT's Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) system will open for accommodations requests on September 12, 2022. More information will be provided soon, including an ACT webinar focused on accommodations, which will be hosted by ACT this fall. Please do not wait to submit student documented (IEP) accommodations. |
PearsonAccessNext (PAN) and TestNav
All of the Statewide Achievement tests, including AASA (Grades 3-8), AzSCI (Grades 5, 8, and 11/Cohort 2024), ACT Aspire (Grade 9/Cohort 2026), and ACT (Grade 11/Cohort 2024), will utilize the PAN and TestNav platforms. There are three distinct PAN websites, listed below. Links to the technical requirements for each assessment are also included below.
PAN Websites:
TestNav Technical Requirements Websites:
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Achievement Testing Mode
All Statewide Achievement tests are administered online, by default. This includes AASA, AzSCI, ACT Aspire, and ACT. Any school that wishes to switch to paper-based testing for any of the Statewide Achievement tests must indicate this change in the Achievement Testing Mode application in ADEConnect, which will be open September 19 - October 14, 2022. An email will be sent to all the Achievement District Test Coordinators to notify when the application is open and to provide additional information.
Please note that AzSCI is designed as an online test only; therefore, there is no scanning for scoring of AzSCI paper tests. Any AzSCI paper tests that are administered are treated as Special Paper Version tests and require that all student responses be key-entered in TestNav by the Test Administrator prior to the end of the AzSCI test window. |
Achievement Assessments Training Modules and
Pearson's Training Management System
Training modules are currently being updated for 2022-2023. The new training modules will be published in Winter 2022-2023 in preparation for Spring 2023 testing. More information will be included in the November issue of The Examiner. Pearson's Achievement Training Management System will soon go off-line to be updated for the 2022-2023 school year. If you need to download your Spring 2022 training certificate from the site, please do so prior to September 1, 2022. |
AASA Updates
The AASA Spring 2023 test administration will go live in PearsonAccessNext on December 21, 2022. District Test Coordinators will receive login information and can begin adding other district and school users on that date. Look for additional critical dates to be published in the AASA District Test Coordinator (DTC) Checklist in the November issue of The Examiner.
Parent Portal
For AASA, schools can utilize the Parent Portal to provide access to their child's results. This is not required; however, it is a new resource now available for AASA results. The AASA Reporting Guide and the AASA Parent Portal Access Guide provide additional information.
District Summary File
The AASA District Summary File (.txt file) has been published in PearsonAccessNext. This file includes the percent passing for ELA and Math for each grade level, aggregated at the state, district, school, and testing group levels. |
AzSCI Updates
The AzSCI Spring 2023 test administration will go live in PearsonAccessNext on February 1, 2023. District Test Coordinators will receive login information and can begin adding other district and school users on that date. Look for additional critical dates to be published in the AzSCI District Test Coordinator (DTC) Checklist in the November issue of The Examiner.
AzSCI Cut Scores and Reporting Dates
The Arizona State Board of Education has approved cut scores for the AzSCI performance levels, which are posted on the Achievement District Test Coordinator page of our website. Due to the rescheduling of the State Board meeting to review and approve AzSCI cut scores, the delivery dates for AzSCI reports were modified.
August 16, 2022 - Electronic reports will be published in PearsonAccessNext. Reports will include the District Student Data File (.txt), District and School Summary Reports (PDF), and Individual Student Reports (PDF).
August 29, 2022 - Paper score reports will be delivered to districts and charters.
AzSCI Test Units - Spring 2023
New this year - The AzSCI test will include three separate test units. The approximate time for each test unit is 60-90 minutes. Please note the overall AzSCI test unit is the same length as last year; however, based on challenges and feedback received, the AzSCI test has been split into three test units instead of two. When two or more units are administered in a single day, a significant break must be given between test units. Test units must be completed on the day the unit is begun. Do not start the test unit unless there is sufficient time to complete the testing session. |
ACT and ACT Aspire Updates
The ACT Spring 2023 test administration will go live in ACT's PearsonAccessNext platform on November 7, 2022. District Test Coordinators will receive login information and can begin adding other district and school users on that date.
The ACT Aspire PearsonAccessNext platform will open for the Spring 2023 test administration on January 30, 2023.
Look for additional critical dates to be published in the ACT Schedule of Events and the ACT Aspire Schedule of Events this fall. Once each Schedule of Events is finalized, they will be published on the ACT-hosted website for Arizona.
ACT Cut Scores
ACT and ACT Aspire Crosswalk
ACT Webinars - Save the Date
ACT and ADE have scheduled the following webinars for test coordinators in preparation for Spring 2023 testing. Webinar registration links are coming soon!
- ACT Accommodations - November 2, 2022, 9:00am AZ time
- Test Administration #1 - November 9, 2022, 9:00am AZ time
- Test Administration #2 - February 22, 2022, 9:00am AZ time
ACT Accommodations Requests
ACT accommodations requests must be submitted directly to ACT for review and approval using ACT's Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) system. TAA will open for submission requests on September 12, 2022. Please submit requests early!
Please note that if a student with an approved ACT accommodation transfers between schools/districts, the approved accommodation can transfer with the student using the ACT-assigned TAA pin. ADE and ACT can assist you with this process, as needed.
For Spring 2022 ACT state testing, 87% of accommodations requests submitted to ACT for Arizona students were approved! In addition, 90% of EL requests submitted for Arizona students were approved. Common reasons submitted accommodations or EL supports were not approved: requests received after the deadline, requests received for supports that do not require ACT approval for state testing (such as small group or individual testing), and insufficient documentation. Please do not wait to submit ACT accommodations or EL requests to allow sufficient time to submit additional documentation if needed and requested by ACT.
ACT Reporting - success.act.org
ACT's Online Reporting Portal (https://success.act.org) maintains data for the most recent five years of trend information. The ACT and Success systems operate according to school-year and not calendar-year. 2017-2018 data in Success will be removed by September 1, 2022. This is to support rollover processes to start reporting 2022-2023 data for September ACT testing. This timing will be consistent each year. Users should plan to download and save their 2017-2018 data prior to September 1 in order to have access to it after this date. While 2021-2022 was the first year of statewide ACT testing, the removal of 2017-2018 data would apply for any schools or districts that administered ACT in prior years through district or school contracts with ACT.
ACT Aspire Reporting Updates
The 2021-2022 ACT Aspire administration will remain open in PearsonAccessNext through the fall and winter so that reports can continue to be accessed. Please be aware that the Current Progress report and the OnDemand Reports will no longer be accessible after October 31, 2022. Please download those reports if you will want to reference them after that date. |
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MSAA Reports
The MSAA reporting portal for ELA and Mathematics is open July 18 - September 9, 2022. Reports are available at the District of Attendance (DOA), so your tuitioned-out and privately placed students will not be included in your reports. Please work with the DOA to get the results.
MSAA reports are available to District Test Coordinators in the MSAA System using the same login credentials as during the assessment window. Accounts have been created for new Alternate Assessment test coordinators. It is important to download all reports during the reporting window since the reports will not be available after the window closes.
Hard copies of student reports for ELA and Mathematics will be sent this month. Test coordinators must ensure one copy is sent home to the parent/guardian and the other is placed in the secure student file.
The MSAA reporting portal for Science will be open October 17 - 28, 2022. Because the MSAA Science test is a new assessment, we will be conducting a standard setting to set cut scores and the Arizona State Board of Education must approve the cut scores before we can generate the reports. This is causing the delay with the Science reporting window this year.
Eligibility Determination and Student Selector Application
Alternate Assessment eligibility determinations are made annually at the students' IEP meeting. The current IEP must document all areas of student needs including evidence of a significant cognitive disability, plans for learning academic content aligned with grade level standards, extensive supports, and English language acquisition needs for English learners. The eligibility determination form, which is part of the IEP, must synthesize the information as it pertains to assessment participation. Eligibility for these students should be made early in the school year, even if the annual IEP is due later in the year. Starting this year, IEP teams must determine Alternate Assessment eligibility for English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities for participation in Alt ELPA. Please see the Alt ELPA section for more information on this assessment.
Please notify your teachers early so that they are prepared to give the District Test Coordinator (DTC) their lists of eligible students this fall. Eligible students participate in MSAA ELA and Math (Grades 3 - 8 and Grade 11), MSAA Science (Grades 5, 8, and 11), and Alt ELPA (Grades K - 12). All students must be identified for participation in all Alternate Assessments (MSAA and Alt ELPA) using the Student Selector Application, which is open October 3 - November 30, 2022.
Change in District Test Coordinator (DTC)
If at any point during the school year, there is a change in the District Test Coordinator (DTC), the DTC Test Security Agreement will need to be submitted and approved. Please fill out the form, including the required signatures, and send the completed form to: Testing@azed.gov.
1% Threshold
Under federal regulation, the State is required to "provide appropriate oversight to each LEA that the State anticipates will assess more than 1.0% of its assessed students...using alternate assessments aligned with alternate academic achievement standards." An LEA may test students who qualify for Alternate Assessment, even if that participation means that the LEA will exceed 1%. This is then addressed with the Action Plan that the LEA develops and submits to ADE as part of the monitoring requirement. We will share more information when it is available. Monitoring activities for the 1% Threshold occur in the fall. The 1% Threshold does not apply to Alt ELPA.
Alt ELPA
ADE partners with other states in the Collaborative for the Alternate Assessment of English Learner Proficiency (CAAELP). This has been an exciting opportunity to develop a high-quality Alternate English Language Proficiency assessment, Alt ELPA. Eligible students must meet alternate assessment participation criteria. Alternate Assessment Test Coordinators will register students using the Student Selector Application from October 3 - November 30, 2022. Registration instructions will be available in the Alternate Assessment Test Coordinator Handbook.
The Alt ELPA is aligned to Alternate English Language Proficiency Standards. Please work with your EL coordinator to support English language proficiency instruction for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities using these standards.
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Project TIES Resources
The TIES Center has published several resources to support teachers of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities within any Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). The website includes general resources for parents and provides guidance for implementing inclusion practices. We encourage you to check out these resources and the other great support documents the TIES Center has available.
MSAA Instructional Supports
The MSAA website is up and running with resources for families, educators, and students. There are supporting documents for Alternate Assessments, instructional resources, Core Content Connectors (CCC's) and much more! Resources are updated periodically and are free to all. |
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Welcome to a year filled with AZELLA! We had an incredible Spring 2022 Reassessment Test administration with over 98,000 students tested. We are confident that this school year will be just as successful because of you. ADE's Assessment AZELLA Team appreciates your dedication and advocacy for the EL students in your schools and across the state. We understand what the job entails, and we are ready to provide you with guidance and assistance throughout the school year as the AZELLA is a year-round assessment with two separate test administrations this school year. The AZELLA has been developed by Arizona educators and scholars, like you, for Arizona students.
AZELLA Web Pages
This web page provides current AZELLA test administration information and guidance, calendars, forms and reports, training information, presentations, and useful web links.
This web page provides information about the AZELLA test, including resources and sample tests, AZELLA blueprints, PLDs, and Item Specifications.
This web page provides the Arizona Accommodation manual with a section specifically for AZELLA accommodations and Universal Test Administration Conditions.
This web page provides AZELLA technical and legal resources such as the Standard Setting Reporting for AZELLA, Technical Reports, and Research and Alignment Studies for AZELLA.
PearsonAccessNext Accounts
PearsonAccessNext (PAN) is the AZELLA test management system for the 2022-2023 school year. All AZELLA District Test Coordinators are required to have a PAN account. All students who are administered the AZELLA must be registered in PAN for the test. The AZELLA DTC will have access to order additional paper testing materials as well as access to published reports and the Student Data Files (SDF) for both AZELLA administrations. The online AZELLA tests are controlled through PAN by the test administrator.
PearsonAccessNext 2021-2022 Reports and Data Files
All the 2021-2022 AZELLA Placement Test and Spring 2022 AZELLA Reassessment Test published reports and Student Data Files from PearsonAccessNext (PAN) (district- and school-level entities) must be downloaded and saved by September 30, 2022. After this date, these reports and Student Data Files will not be available as Pearson nor ADE keep these. Please refer to the PAN User's Guide and the Accessing PDF Reports and Data Files in PearsonAccessNext Quick Guide document. You will need to change the Test Administration in PAN to the reports and Student Data Files that you need. |
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2022-2023 Placement Test Administration
This document includes important dates and tasks for each AZELLA test administration. It also includes the AZELLA Placement Test Cycle Calendar on pages 4 and 5. We encourage all AZELLA DTCs to print these pages to reference throughout the school year.
This document provides the training requirements for each AZELLA test administration by AZELLA role or category. AZELLA testing can begin after the DTC, STCs, and TAs complete their requirements associated with the Annual and Placement requirements.
New 2022 AZELLA Kindergarten Placement Test (KPT) Materials
(for districts/charters that service KG)
After the four tasks bulleted below have been verified as complete, Pearson will 2-day ship the new 2022 KPT materials: 1 KPT Starter Kit for the DTC and 1 KPT Starter Kit per school. Each KPT Starter Kit contains testing materials to test 20 kindergarten students. Additional KPT Response Sheets can be ordered by the AZELLA DTC through PAN.
The AZELLA DTC may place an order for additional Stage II (Grades 1 and 2) paper test materials through PAN.
Which Students Require an AZELLA Placement Test?
Potential English learners are identified in Arizona by the parent responses on the student's Home Language Survey (HLS). If any of the responses on the HLS indicates a language other than English and/or American Sign Language (ASL), the student must be tested with an AZELLA Placement Test upon the student's first enrollment in an Arizona public school.
The EL70 - AZELLA Student History Report must be reviewed for each student enrolling in your school because an AZELLA test history supersedes an all-English HLS. The EL70 Report also includes the HLS responses.
Students who require a new AZELLA Placement Test include: |
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When a district or charter does not receive state funding for a Foreign Exchange student, then the student should not be administered any AZELLA test.
AZELLA for EL/SPED
All students, regardless of disability, who have a non-English/non-ASL Home Language Survey require an AZELLA test. There are no provisions, in either state or federal law, which would allow the exemption of AZELLA testing for students who are enrolled in the Special Education program and require an AZELLA test.
The AZELLA DTC must contact the AZELLA Team at ADE regarding any student who requires a Special Paper Version (SPV) of the test, additional accommodations, or has a documented disability (for example: deafness or blindness) that precludes assessment in one or more domains of AZELLA prior to administering the AZELLA test by submitting one of the EL/SPED forms.
One AZELLA Additional Accommodations Request Form submission per student covers all AZELLA test administrations (Placement and Spring 2023 Reassessment) for the school year. Please submit this request form by August 31, 2022 to reduce delays in testing. You must wait for ADE's response to your request and further directions from the AZELLA Team prior to administering the AZELLA. Each request form may take up to 4 weeks to process as communication between ADE and the district transpires. Submit your request forms as soon as possible and before August 31, 2022.
- Grades KG-12
- AZELLA Braille
- Reassessment (only) - Grades K-12 - Braille (with some accessible domains without braille knowledge for lower grades)
- AZELLA Special Paper Version (SPV) for ONLINE test administrations
- Placement Grades 3-12 - SPV for online test
- Reassessment - Grades 2-12 - SPV for online test
- AZELLA Large Print (LP) for paper AZELLA test administrations
- Placement - Grades 1-2 - paper Large Print
- Placement - Grades 3-12 - SPV Large Print
- Reassessment - Kindergarten - paper Large Print
- Reassessment - Grade 1 - paper Large Print
- Reassessment - Grades 2-3 - Large Print for paper test unit
- Reassessment - Grades 2-12 - SPV Large Print
Retained Kindergarten Students
Kindergarten students from SY 2021-2022 and retained in Kindergarten for SY 2022-2023 are not permitted to be administered the Kindergarten Placement Test (KPT).
- For KG students who were administered the KPT and/or the Spring 2022 Reassessment Test, you will use the results of the most recent AZELLA test for the EL program services eligibility for SY 2022-2023.
- For KG students who were never administered any AZELLA test during SY 2021-2022, you must contact the AZELLA Team at AZELLA@azed.gov and provide us with the student's SSID and school name. ADE will give you further guidance for testing.
Preparation for a Successful Test Administration
The best way to prepare for administering the AZELLA is to allow your students to use the new Sample Tests (digital kits for paper-and-pencil grades). These Sample Tests will be available for downloading inside PearsonAccessNext in August. The Grades 2-12 new online Sample Tests will be available to everyone without a username and password in TestNav this month. The AZELLA Team will be hosting a webinar on new Sample Tests during the week of August 22 to provide information and guidance regarding the digital kits, test design and item types, and scoring rubrics.
State Student Identification Number (SSID) |
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Schools must verify that a new student doesn't already have an SSID before obtaining one through AzEDS. All students who will be administered an AZELLA test must have an active SSID. When creating a student in PearsonAccessNext (PAN) and registering the student for an AZELLA test, an 11-digit SSID must be entered in PAN, which means that leading zeros must be added to the student's SSID number.
When communicating with ADE and the AZELLA Team, DTCs are expected to provide a student's SSID number, not the student's name and date of birth. FERPA does not allow for districts, schools, charters, and ADE to include a student's personal identifiable information such as the full name and/or date of birth in written electronic communications when the student's SSID number is known. Please refer to the AZELLA Test Security and Ethics training module for more information about this topic.
ADEConnect - EL Reports and the AZELLA Corrections Application |
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All AZELLA DTCs must have an ADEConnect account with the role of AZELLA District Test Coordinator. Other district and school staff who require access to the AZELLA (EL) Reports from ADE must have the role of ELL for ADEConnect. Only one person per district can have the role of AZELLA District Test Coordinator. You must contact your ADEConnect Entity Administrator for this. If you already have this role and access to the EL Reports, then you do not need to contact your ADEConnect Entity Administrator. |
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AZELLAology is an open invitation for AZELLA District Test Coordinators to attend a virtual call using the Microsoft Teams application (camera is not required) where the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) AZELLA Team answers your AZELLA questions and shares AZELLA essential information, news, guidance, and mini-tutorials about a variety of AZELLA-related topics.
These optional AZELLAology sessions will last about one hour and will focus on a few specific AZELLA topics. We will answer individual session-specific questions during this hour. Sessions are not recorded and are not posted on the website; however, ADE will provide attendees with the presentation slides that we use for that session when requested.
All scheduled Tuesday and Thursday AZELLAology sessions, unless otherwise noted, begin at 8:00am and end at 9:00am. The link to attend a scheduled session, as well as the topics for each session, is posted on the AZELLA DTC web page under the AZELLAology section.
Attendance for AZELLAology is not required. The invitation is open to all AZELLA District Test Coordinators; however, we strongly encourage first and second year AZELLA DTCs to attend. |
Communicating with the
AZELLA Team
The most efficient way to communicate with the AZELLA team (Gabbie, Brenda, and Jessica) at ADE is by email. |
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- Use a meaningful subject line that includes your entire district name and entity ID.
- Include full contact information in your signature line or elsewhere in the email.
- Include the student's SSID number if your question is regarding a specific student. Per federal laws, please do not include the student's name and birthdate when providing ADE with the SSID.
- For students testing, please include the student's grade level and school.
- If the student is currently testing or is sitting for the test but waiting for confirmation from ADE, in the Subject line of the email, please include "Urgent - Student Testing" and be sure to include a phone number where you can answer ADE's call.
The AZELLA Team (Gabbie, Brenda, and Jessica) strives to respond to emails within one business day unless further research is needed. |
The AZELLA Art Contest was a huge success! We received entries from talented EL student artists across the state. The winning artwork pieces will be featured on the covers of the AZELLA Spring Reassessment, Placement, and the new Sample Tests, as well as the Welcome screens of the online AZELLA tests. The winners of the AZELLA Art Contest will be officially announced and recognized at the Assessment Conference in September. A big shoutout to all our AZELLA DTCs for taking the time and coordinating their district's submissions. |
OELAS Information
OELAS has released an important "Guidance to the Field" document focused on digital platforms and the legal requirements for obtaining electronic signatures on English Learner Forms. Be sure to download and read through the guidance as soon as possible.
PELL Meeting
OELAS will be hosting their annual beginning of the school year PELL Meeting on September 7, 2022 at the Desert Willow Conference Center. |
If you have any questions about AZELLA, please contact us at AZELLA@azed.gov. |
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The Alphabet Soup of International Assessments
Did you know Arizona participates in International Assessments? Participating in International Assessments is required when asked in Arizona, and the data they provide is invaluable! Data from International Assessments is used to add validity in NAEP, which in turn adds validity to Arizona's own state assessments. Principals of schools that participate in International Assessments are provided with a school-level report and shown comparisons to schools internationally. While the testing is low stakes for schools involved in these assessments, the data they provide is valuable to both the United States and the greater global educational community.
The snapshot of International Assessments that Arizona is participating in this academic year is included below. Schools in the samples for these assessments have been notified about their participation this academic year.
The Program for the International Student Assessment (PISA) is a system of international assessments that measures 15-year-old students' reading, mathematics, and science literacy. PISA also includes measure of general or cross-curricular competencies, such as problem solving. PISA emphasizes functional skills that students have acquired as they near the end of compulsory schooling. PISA is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) is an international comparative study that uses an innovative, computer-based assessment to evaluate students' computer and information literacy - their ability to use computers to investigate, create, and communicate in order to participate effectively at home, at school, and in the community.
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provides reliable and timely data on the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. fourth and eighth grade students compared to that of students in other countries and jurisdictions. TIMSS is coordinated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) examines the reading achievement and reading behaviors and attitudes of fourth grade students in the United States and students in the equivalent of fourth grade in other participating countries. PIRLS 2021 offered the PIRLS assessment of literacy and informational reading in a digital format. Because PIRLS is all electronic, countries can administer the full PIRLS reading assessment - PIRLS Literacy and Informational as well as the ePIRLS Online Informational - as one seamless, digitally-based endeavor. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) coordinates PIRLS. |
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Gary McIlvaine, AZ Director of NAEP and International Assessments:
602-364-1538
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The Examiner is published electronically every August, November, February, and May for distribution to Test Coordinators in Arizona schools. Test Coordinators are responsible for disseminating information in The Examiner as appropriate.
Arizona Department of Education - Assessment Section
602.542.5031 |
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