We hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather! ADE is still off and running to ensure communications, resources, and supports are created, rebranded, or presented at conferences or trainings for all of you. Don't forget about the Friday Focus webinars. Several webinars on pressing topics have already taken place. After each webinar, we post the presentation slides, recording, and FAQs on the Assessment homepage under "Friday Focus Webinars 2021-2022."

Currently, ADE is reviewing test forms for AASA, AzSCI, MSAA, and AZELLA (Reassessment) and making final revisions to manuals and trainings.

ADE is also preparing organization and student registration files to upload to our vendor for the AASA Writing Stand-Alone Field Test, AASA, AzSCI, ACT Aspire, and ACT.

Reminder: All students are required to participate in this year's Stand-Alone Field Tests.

*This test window is now open, and over 22,500 students have already completed testing. Hats off to you all!

We continue to move forward with planning for in-person test administrations in the Spring.

We encourage DTCs to bookmark and frequently check the Assessment Webpage for updates. We are posting new information as soon as it becomes available!

Newly posted:

As we approach the Achievement testing windows and begin to complete tasks to prepare for testing, DTC emails will be sent to you more frequently, generally once per week. Please watch for these emails as we will be reminding you of important tasks and deadlines for all of the Achievement tests: AASA (Grades 3-8 ELA and Math), AASA Writing Stand-Alone Field Test (Grades 3-8), AzSCI (Grades 5, 8, and 11/Cohort 2023), ACT Aspire (Grade 9/Cohort 2025), and ACT (Grade 11/Cohort 2023).

DTC emails will be organized as follows to assist you with finding the information you need for your sites:

Districts and charters with Grade 11/Cohort 2023 students will need to select one of the ACT test windows listed above in which to complete all ACT testing. This selection must be made in ACT's PearsonAccessNext (PAN) platform, November 1 - December 3, 2021. District Test Coordinators received access to begin this task on November 1. Additionally, within this window and in ACT's PAN platform, District Test Coordinators will need to indicate online or paper testing and the preferred materials shipment date for each school.

Note: 

Achievement District Test Coordinators for district and charters with Grades 3-8 students:

Achievement District Test Coordinators for districts and charters with Grade 9/Cohort 2025 and Grade 11/Cohort 2023 students:

In Spring 2022, all of the Achievement assessments will utilize the PAN and TestNav platforms. There will be three separate PAN websites, with three separate logins depending on the grade level of students in your LEA.

Many documents have been rebranded for AASA and are now posted on our website, including Blueprints, Item Specifications, Writing Rubrics, Writing Guides, and Sample Test Scoring Guides. These documents are located on the AASA page of our website.

Please have students practice with the Sample Tests so they can become familiar with the test features, tools, and different types of items on the online tests. Please also have third grade students practice with the ORF Sample Test.

All students in Grades 3-8 will participate in the AASA Writing Stand-Alone Field Test (SAFT). This is in addition to and separate from the operational AASA test in April 2022, which will also include a Writing section. The window for the Writing SAFT is January 24 - February 18, 2022. The estimated time for students to complete the Writing SAFT test session is 60-90 minutes, which is the same as for the Writing section of the operational AASA test. Each student will receive one writing prompt.

Note: The reason for the Writing SAFT is that at the end of ADE's contract with Cambium, Assessments, Inc. (AzM2/AzMERIT), Arizona did not own the Writing items. We are focused on developing Arizona-specific items for our item bank; therefore, we need to administer the Writing SAFT.

Any school that was approved for paper-based testing for AASA, through the Testing Mode Selection Application in October 2021, will also administer the AASA Writing SAFT on paper. All computer-based testing schools will also administer the AASA Writing SAFT online in TestNav.

As with all field tests, districts and charters, schools, and students will not receive score results from the AASA Writing SAFT.

All third grade students will have a new test section for Oral Reading Fluency (ORF), which will be administered in small groups of no more than 6 students in a testing room at a time. This test section will take approximately 15 minutes for each small group of students. Each student will read three separate passages, with a time limit of one minute per passage. This is similar to what is done for other Oral Reading Fluency tools used in schools.

The ORF test section is being field tested in Spring 2022. The ORF items will not be included in the students' ELA score nor the Move On When Reading score this year. As with all field tests, districts and charters, schools, and students will not receive score results from the ORF test section this year.

Additional resources, listed and linked below, are available on the Achievement DTC webpage and on the AASA webpage.

Please have students practice with the Sample Tests so they can become familiar with the test features, tools, and different types of items on the online tests. 

Note: There is a separate tab at the top of the ACT-hosted website for Arizona for ACT and for ACT Aspire. If you have Grade 9 and/or Grade 11 students, please bookmark this website as all ACT and ACT Aspire test administration will be posted here. New resources are being posted by ACT as they become available.

If you have any questions about any of the Statewide Achievement tests, please contact us at AASA@azed.gov or at AzSCI@azed.gov.

Important Dates for Alternate Assessment 

A checklist for Alternate Assessment Test Coordinators, along with instructions for each task, is available in the Alternate Assessment Test Coordinator Handbook. 

IEP teams should consider test administration that will occur during the student's IEP year and include suitable instructional time before test administration windows if a student's eligibility has changed. For example, an IEP team that determines eligibility before the close of the Student Selector Application in the Fall shall carefully consider the instructional time prior to test administration before determining if the student will participate in an Alternate Assessment for that same year (see Participation Guidelines and Eligibility requirements).

An IEP team making the determination in the Spring should be documenting the preparation for the assessment during the following school year. Students must be identified during the Student Selection window (October 1 - November 30, 2021) to participate in the administration of the MSAA. To add students to the alternate assessment systems after the Student Selector Application closes, the Alternate Assessment Test Coordinator must submit a letter signed by the Alternate Assessment Test Coordinator and District Superintendent/Charter Holder. The letter will include a list of students' SSIDs and an explanation for missing the students in the selection process. For explanations related to a deficiency in policy or practice, include steps the LEA will take to correct the issue. An explanation stating that the IEP team did not make the determination that the student is eligible for alternate assessment before the close of the Student Selector Application will not be accepted since this does not follow eligibility guidelines. Please notify your teachers early so that they are prepared to give you their list of eligible students.

To meet criteria for alternate assessments, the student must meet all participation criteria descriptors.

1. The student has a significant cognitive disability.

2. The student is learning content linked to (derived from) state content standards.

3. The student requires extensive direct individualized instruction and substantial supports to achieve measurable gains in the grade-and-age-appropriate curriculum.

NOTE: The Alternate Assessments Eligibility Form was updated July 2021. This updated form is required for IEP meetings when alternate assessment eligibility is discussed. The eligibility criteria have not changed. IEP teams do not need to amend the IEP for students who were already determined eligible using the previous form. More information is available in the Determining Eligibility for Alternate Assessments webinar.

The Student Selector Application in ADEConnect will be available October 1 - November 30, 2021 for identifying students for alternate assessments this school year. The IEP team must determine eligibility for alternate assessment before the close of the Student Selector Application to allow for suitable instructional time before administration. Only the Alternate Assessment Test Coordinator (TCs) can identify the eligible students for MSAA ELA and Mathematics (Grades 3-8 and 11) and MSAA Science (Grades 5, 8, and 11) and assign their respective teachers/Test Administrators (TAs).

If you have questions whether a student requires any of the AZELLA tests, please send your inquiry to AZELLA@azed.gov and include the student(s) SSID numbers.

Schools in the NAEP 2022 sample have been notified. Please continue to check MyNAEP for school tasks and establish a routine to make sure all steps are completed in time for your assessment date. Having tasks completed on time will ensure a smooth administration cycle for all Arizona schools in 2022.

NAEP data is used in a variety of ways. If your school was selected, please do speak with the students involved in the sample. They are providing valuable information for state and national policies. It helps us determine what students know and can do. It provides a comparison to Arizona assessments, studies demographics, tracks students from diverse backgrounds, and compares achievement levels through time. Please discuss with your students the service they are providing and why we are testing them. It is not just another test. They are representing Arizona.

I was a teacher and worked as a school administrator prior to working for ADE. It is with that lens I wanted to take a moment to share with our education community some valuable insights I have gained while working with AZELLA, NAEP, Assessments, and Statisticians. NAEP is the gold standard of assessments. Part of achieving that reputation is working with statisticians and following statistically sound assessment practices. I have found that ADE and NAEP follow the exact same set of procedures and guidelines when developing and administering assessments. Frequently I receive questions from the field, and they may not be thinking like a psychometrician. Some examples are:

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