We hope you all had a restful summer! There are several topics to share to prepare for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Assessments Overview document has been updated with the 2025-2026 Statewide Testing Windows for your planning purposes. 

Each year, the Assessment Unit requires a new District Test Coordinator (DTC) Security Agreement Form. If you  have not submitted your form, please do so as soon as possible with the names and contact information for the DTC for each assessment. The form must be signed by the Superintendent/Charter Representative and each designated DTC prior to the start of any 2025-2026 state assessments. 

The Friday Focus Webinar series will continue, with our first webinar scheduled for August 15. In this webinar series, we will be highlighting important information for each assessment program as well as some other relevant and timely topics. Registration links are now available in the Friday Focus Webinars Flyer.

ADE is offering 1-day professional development opportunities that will teach you how to dive deeply into the new Essential Standards for grades 3-8 (ELA and Math). You will learn through a step-by-step process how to best implement the Essential Standards, while using your current scope and sequence, curriculum, and supplemental materials to ensure everything is aligned to the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA). The cost is $30, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

Please see the Essential Standards Website for more information and to register.

We are still negotiating the Navvy contract and hope to be able to offer this formative assessment tool again this school year. Our apologies for the delay in having this available for you.

You may have heard about exploring some changes to AZELLA to better support our English learners. We are looking at approaches to increase reclassification rates. Test administration and the student experience will not change. More information will be shared throughout the school year. 

Although we are still working toward virtual proctoring, this option will not be available for the spring 2026 administration. We will provide updates as they are available. 

And finally, we are starting the process for Request for Proposals for most of the assessment programs. We will be sharing information and ask for your involvement and feedback throughout the process.

All statewide achievement tests (AASA, AzSCI, ACT Aspire, and ACT) are administered online by default. If any school wishes to switch to paper-based testing for any of the statewide achievement tests, the Achievement District Test Coordinator must indicate this change in the Achievement Testing Mode Application in ADEConnect, September 8 - October 3, 2025. Requests for paper-based testing will apply to the entire school. Due to the passing of HB2540, schoolwide requests will require explanation of special circumstances for which paper-based testing is needed. An email will be sent to all Achievement District Test Coordinators when the application is open and to provide additional information.

Please note that all AzSCI paper tests are administered 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. 

All of the statewide achievement tests, including AASA (Grades 3-8), AzSCI (Grades 5, 8, 11/Cohort 2027), ACT Aspire (Grade 9/Cohort 2029), and ACT (Grade 11/Cohort 2027), will utilize the PearsonAccess Next and TestNav platforms in Spring 2026.

We had previously announced that ACT would transition from PearsonAccess Next to ACT Now in Spring 2026; however, ACT has determined that additional time is necessary before Arizona moves to ACT Now. Therefore, the transition from ACT PearsonAccess Next to ACT Now for the statewide ACT test administration has been delayed until Spring 2027. Arizona's statewide ACT test administration will remain in PearsonAccess Next for Spring 2026.

There are three distinct PearsonAccess Next websites, linked below. TestNav technical requirements are also included below. 

AASA and AzSCI: https//az.pearsonaccessnext.com

ACT Aspire: https://aspire.pearsonaccessnext.com

ACT: https://testadmin.act.org

Dates that each PearsonAccess Next site will open for the Spring 2026 test administration tasks to begin are listed below:

ACT - November 3, 2025

AASA - December 17, 2025

ACT Aspire - January 14, 2026

AzSCI - January 28, 2026

The new version of TestNav (Version 8.25) has been released.

For the most up-to-date TestNav information, please visit Pearson's Technical Bulletins webpage. In addition, please visit the following TestNav System Requirements webpages.

Arizona offers three paper test formats to meet the needs of students who cannot access the test content through computer-based testing. Requests for Special Paper Version tests for AASA, AzSCI, or ACT Aspire must be submitted to ADE for review and approval September 10, 2025 - February 6, 2026. Submissions must include pages of the student's current IEP or 504 Plan that indicate the need for a Special Paper Version of the test.

Braille Test Booklets - The student's IEP or 504 Plan must document the need for braille materials for instruction and assessment. A braille test kit will include directions for administering the braille assessment.

Large Print Paper Test Booklets (18 pt. font on paper sized 14" x 18") - The student's IEP or 504 Plan must document the need for large print materials for instruction and assessment. Please note that this is an enlarged font of the regular print paper test booklet; however, the amount of text and images per page is the same as the regular test booklet. Unless a student regularly has reading and math instructional materials enlarged, the student may benefit from using the Zoom feature in the online test rather than the large print paper test. The student should be provided opportunities to try out the Zoom feature within the TestNav sample tests to determine if online magnification will meet their needs. Using the keyboard buttons CTRL and +, the student can access the Zoom feature and enlarge the entire screen. If the Zoom feature does not meet the student's needs, a large print test booklet may be requested.

Regular Print Paper Test Booklets - A student who cannot access the computer for classroom work due to injury, medical condition, or visual impairments may need a paper test in lieu of taking the test with peers on the computer. The student's IEP or 504 Plan must clearly indicate how the teachers accommodate the student's needs in class and the restrictions the student has when using technology. Examples include no more than xx minutes of screen time per day, must have a significant break after xx minutes, no computer usage at all, etc.

Due to the passing of HB2540, a school district or charter school may administer a Special Paper Version test on request by a student's parent or guardian. The parent may not submit the request directly to ADE but may submit the request to the school, district, or charter. When a school, district, or charter submits the request to ADE, documentation of the parent's request must be uploaded in the request form.

More information about Special Paper Version test requests for AASA, AzSCI, and ACT Aspire will be sent to District Test Coordinators prior to the request window opening. 

The following additional accommodations requests must be submitted to ADE for review and approval. The window for submitting these additional accommodations requests is September 10, 2025 - February 6, 2026. Please note that hearing devices / hearing assistive technology requiring a Bluetooth connection no longer need to be submitted to ADE for review and approval. Guidance for testing with Bluetooth-enabled hearing devices will be provided in the Achievement Assessments Accommodations Manual (coming soon).

Schools may utilize both ACT test windows in order to assess all Cohort 2027 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, Please note that the ACT test windows are two distinct test windows. Any students with approved accommodations for testing over multiple days must complete testing within the same test window in which they begin testing. 

Schools administering ACT online may use any of the online test days to complete testing. Schools administering ACT on paper may only administer paper tests on the designated paper test dates but may use the additional 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 must be made by test coordinators in ACT's PearsonAccess Next platform in November 2025.

The ACT Enhancements will be in effect for the Spring 2026 statewide ACT test administration and are summarized below.

ACT and ADE have scheduled the following webinars for test coordinators in preparation for Spring 2026 testing. All District Test Coordinators with Cohort 2027 students are expected to attend each webinar or view the webinar recording after it is posted on the ACT-hosted website. Important updates for 2025-2026 testing will be presented. Webinar registration links are coming soon!

For questions about AASA, please contact us at AASA@azed.gov.

For questions about AzSCI, please contact us at AzSCI@azed.gov.

For questions about ACT Aspire or ACT, please contact us at Testing@azed.gov.

If you have any questions about Alternate Assessments, please contact us at AlternateAssessment@azed.gov.

Welcome to a year filled with AZELLA! We had a successful Spring 2025 Reassessment Test administration with over 118,000 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.

PearsonAccess Next (PAN) is the AZELLA test management system for the 2025-2026 school year. All AZELLA District Test Coordinators are required to have a PAN account. Students must be registered and assigned their appropriate test(s) in PAN before they are tested. The AZELLA DTC will have access to order additional paper testing materials, view published reports, and view the Student Data Files (SDF) for both AZELLA administrations. The online AZELLA tests are controlled through PAN by the test administrator. 

All the 2024-2025 AZELLA Placement Test and Spring 2025 AZELLA Reassessment Test published reports and Student Data Files from PearsonAccess Next (PAN) (district and school-level entities) must be downloaded and saved by September 30, 2025. 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 document for detailed instructions. You will need to change the Test Administration in PAN to access the reports and Student Data Files that you need.

This document includes important dates and tasks for each AZELLA test administration. It also includes the AZELLA Placement Test Cycle Calendar on pages 6 and 7. 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. AZELLA Placement testing can begin after the DTC, STCs, and Test Administrators complete their requirements associated with the Annual and Placement requirements. 

New AZELLA District Test Coordinators will receive an email from Adobe Learning Manager admin@adobelearningmanager.com, with the subject as, "Welcome to Arizona's Learning Management System: Verification required."

Local Education Agencies (LEAs) may have email filters in place that are not allowing the email to come through to an email inbox. Please contact the LEA's IT Department and provide the following information: 

The 2025-2026 Understand Scoring training and qualifications for the Kindergarten Placement Test Administrators and the Grade 1 and Grades 2-3 Placement Writing Scores are accessed through the AzLMS.

The Understand Scoring content, including the Training, Practice, and Qualification sets have not changed. The secure content of Understand Scoring remains in place. Once users sign into the AzLMS, they will see Understand Scoring in the Catalog. A key code is required to access the 3 different qualifications. They key code is found in the AZELLA Placement grade level training modules.

Please refer to the Eligibility for the AZELLA Placement Test document for a detailed description of the students who require the administration of the Placement Test.

The AZELLA Placement Test Administration Compliance Time Frames explains when students must be administered the AZELLA Placement Test and the parents notified of the results.

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 in special education programs who require an AZELLA test.

The AZELLA DTC must contact the AZELLA Team at ADE about any student who requires a Special Paper Version (SPV) of the test, additional accommodations, or who 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 2025-2026 and Spring 2026 Reassessment) for the school year. DTCs must wait for ADE's response to the 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. 

AZELLA 2025-2026 Placement Test requests - submission deadline is August 29, 2025. Submit early!

AZELLA Spring 2026 Reassessment requests - submission deadline is December 5, 2025.

Please note: For students who are eligible for Alternate Assessments, AZELLA District Test Coordinators must contact their district's Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator.

*AZELLA Requests for Additional Accommodations for students who require a Braille test for Spring 2026 must be submitted as soon as possible to ensure that the student or students are included in ADE's Braille Kit count.  

Retained Kindergarten students are not permitted to be administered the Kindergarten Placement Test (KPT).

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 PearsonAccess Next (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 districts, schools, charters, and ADE to include a student's personal identifiable information, such as the full name and 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.

The AZELLA online tests are administered through PearsonAccess Next (PAN) and TestNav, both of which are Pearson systems. The Test Administrator manages the student's tests through PAN, and the students complete their tests using TestNav. There are no testing materials, such as a Student Test Book or Answer Document. AZELLA Online Student Sample Tests are available through TestNav.

Arizona Online Sample Tests and Assessment Tutorials:

The AZELLA Student Readiness Tool (SRT) includes a series of mini-lessons that teach students how to navigate their online AZELLA tests and use the various embedded tools within TestNav. The SRT is only accessed through the web version of TestNav. Simply click the link, locate the AZELLA Student Readiness Tool from the Sample Tests and Assessment Tutorials, and click the gray bar. The SRT is available to students, teachers, Test Administrators, DTCs, and families from any computer device with Internet access. Usernames and passwords are not required. 

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 do anything.

The EL Reports available through the Assessments section of ADEConnect include:

PLEASE NOTE: Districts will be able to access a student's EL70 Report within two calendar weeks prior to their school enrollment date provided the school enrollment has been processed through AzEDS and passed integrity. The date on which access to the student's EL70 Report is granted is 100% dependent on when the district's Student Information System has synchronized the student's school enrollment to AzEDS.

When emailing AZELLA@azed.gov, please:

If you have any questions about AZELLA, please contact us at AZELLA@azed.gov.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Gary McIlvaine, AZ Director of NAEP and International Assessments.

602-364-1583