Test Windows
Alt ELPA Summative - January 26 - March 13, 2026
MSAA - March 9 - April 24, 2026
District Test Coordinator Important Information
Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinators are also responsible for knowing State Specific Policies. These policies supersede any information presented in consortium-wide trainings and documents.
Alternate Assessment Eligibility and Student Registration
Eligibility determination is an annual IEP (Individualized Education Program) team decision. Eligibility for students must be made before the Student Selector Application closes to ensure the opportunity for an adequate period of standards-aligned instruction guided by the Core Content Connectors prior to test administration. To participate in Arizona's Alternate Assessments, students must meet specific alternate assessment eligibility criteria. When making this decision, IEP teams must consider and document how the student meets each of the criteria, using the Alternate Assessment Participation Decision Documents as guidance. The Eligibility Form is located on ADE's MSAA webpage under the eligibility tab.
All students in Grades K-12 who are eligible for alternate assessments must be identified in the Student Selector Application no later than November 28, 2025. Eligibility determination should continue even when students are not English learners or enrolled in a tested grade. Alternate Assessment eligibility also applies to any assessments required by the Local Education Agency (LEA).
Students are identified by the District of Attendance (DOA). The District of Residence (DOR) must ensure records are updated to reflect attendance and special education programs at the DOA for the DOA to be able to identify students in the application.
- Braille is available for assessing ELA Foundational Reading Standards (grades 3 and 4) MSAA only. Test Coordinators must identify any students in grades 3 and 4 who are learning foundational Braille.
- If a student is not on your list in the Student Selector Application, the student records are not current or complete. Please update the student records and sync with AzEDS. AzEDS updates nightly, so look for your student on your list in the Student Selector Application or change the student data.
- If student records are incorrect, please update the records and sync with AzEDS. Pay careful attention to the EL status as this determines which students are uploaded to TIDE for the Alt ELPA Summative. If records must be updated, the DTC will need to unselect and reselect the student in the Student Selector Application.
Please notify your teachers early so that they are prepared to give the Alternate Assessment Test Coordinator 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 Summative (Grades K-12). All students must be identified for participation in all Alternate Assessments (MSAA and Alt ELPA Summative) using the Student Selector Application, which is open from October 1 - November 28, 2025. Registration for the Alt ELPA screener follows a different process. If a student took the Alt ELPA screener and was determined not proficient, they must be identified for the Alt ELPA summative in the Student Selector Application.
Alt ELPA
Screener
Students must be determined eligible for alternate assessments before participating in the Alt ELPA screener. The Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator must complete the Alt ELPA Screener Request Form so the Alternate Assessment Unit can add the student to TIDE. More information is available in the District Test Coordinator Handbook.
Summative
All writing and speaking tests must have a second scorer to confirm the scores for the constructed response items. Please refer to the training modules and Test Administration Manual for more information on the purpose and responsibilities of the second scorer.
Change in District Test Coordinator
If at any point during the school year there is a change in the District Test Coordinator, 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 then 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. Notifications and instructions for the 2025 administration will be sent to Alternate Assessment Test Coordinators soon. More information is also available on the MSAA DTC website under the "1% Threshold" tab. The 1% Threshold does not apply to Alt ELPA.
New Resource
In conjunction with the social studies team, the alternate assessment team has developed guidance for administering the civics assessment to students who are eligible for alternate assessments. Although an IEP team may determine that students with disabilities do not have to receive a passing score on the civics assessment, all students must participate. Please refer to the Alternate Assessment Civics Test Guidance to prepare for test administration. 