Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator Information for Administration
Additionally, please note that students who are eligible for alternate assessments will also be uploaded in PearsonAccess Next (PAN) for all Statewide Assessments. Students eligible for alternate assessment should remain untested in PAN. The Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator must communicate with the AZELLA and Achievement Test Coordinators to ensure students are administered the correct assessment.
Observations
ADE works with contractors to conduct Alt ELPA and MSAA observations. Additionally, the Assessment Unit will conduct observations for state assessments. You will be notified by the Alternate Assessment Team if your LEA was selected for observations. These observations are required. Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinators or a designee must also observe at least one Alt ELPA and one MSAA administration and submit the responses from the MSAA and Alt ELPA observation protocols using the Microsoft Forms for
Alt ELPA and
MSAA.
Alt ELPA
Alt ELPA is the Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. If a student participates in Alt ELPA, they do not take AZELLA. All students taking the Alt ELPA Summative must have a current ELP test record including AZELLA Placement Test, Alt ELPA Screener, or participation in the AZELLA Reassessment or Alt ELPA Summative last school year.
Training
Alt ELPA training modules are available in the
LMS. Be sure to complete Alt ELPA training modules, not the ELPA21 training modules. All users must download and save the certificate of completion to be eligible for professional development hours.
Administration
The Alt ELPA is administered through TIDE in the
Cambium portal. The portal has additional resources, including user guides and technology requirements for the assessment. All users from the Test Administrator list in the Alternate Assessment Portal have been uploaded to TIDE. District Test Coordinators may add and remove users as needed.
MSAA
MSAA is administered in Grades 3-8 and 11 for ELA and Mathematics and Grades 5, 8, and 11 for Science. Students who are eligible for alternate assessments do not participate in AASA, AzSCI, ACT Aspire, or ACT.
Training
The
MSAA system will open for training on February 17, 2026. Test Coordinator and Test Administrator accounts will be created no later than February 16, 2026. Test Administrators will be uploaded based on the Test Administrator list in the Alternate Assessment application in ADEConnect. Once Test Coordinators have access, they may create accounts for any additional users directly in the MSAA system. Please refer to the MSAA User Guide for Test Coordinators for instructions.
Administration
The MSAA is administered in the
MSAA system. On February 17, users will have access to training modules, student lists, and secure test materials so they can download documents and gather items needed for test administration. Please note that secure test materials are available after completing the training.
Adding Students to Testing Platforms
IEP teams must determine eligibility for Alternate Assessments before November 29 (Close of the Student Selector Application) to allow for suitable instructional time before test administration. If a student was determined eligible for Alternate Assessments but was not identified in the Student Selector Application, please see below.
- Before requesting to add any students, you must check student records. Current records need to be accurate in your Student Information System (SIS).
- AzEDS syncs nightly. Student records must be updated in AzEDS before the student(s) can be added to testing platforms.
- If a student transfers, you can e-mail the alternate assessment team a list of SSIDs only and we will add the student, if eligible, to the testing platforms.
- For students who have been enrolled in the district all year, the Alternate Assessment Test coordinator must submit a letter, preferable on district letterhead. The letter will include the following components:
- Signed by the alternate assessment test coordinator and their supervisor.
- The letter will include a list of students' SSIDs.
- The letter will include an explanation of why students were missed in the selection process, which was open from October 1 - November 28, 2025.
- 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. General statements about clerical errors or ensuring students will be selected next year will not be accepted. This letter is your opportunity to identify inconsistencies within your systems and leverage needed support within your LEA.
Letters will be accepted now for Alt ELPA Summative and starting February 17 for MSAA. Students on your Alt ELPA letter in January will also be added to MSAA if they are enrolled in tested grades. Your February MSAA letter should only include students who were not already requested for Alt ELPA. Teachers should not be responsible for writing or submitting this letter to the DTC or the State. This task is the role of the DTC. There is not a template or specific format for these letters; however, email requests will not be processed. Letters should be emailed to the Alternate Assessment Team at
AlternateAssessment@azed.gov.
1% Threshold
ADE must take additional steps to support and provide appropriate oversight to each LEA that assesses more than 1% of its assessed students in ELA, Mathematics, or Science in a school year using an alternate assessment aligned with alternate academic achievement standards. This means that we will continue our monitoring through the 1% Threshold application and submission of Action Plans.
The first notification has been sent to all Alternate Assessment Test Coordinators and includes instructions to submit information used to determine eligibility for selected students. Student lists in the application apply to the 2025 administration and will not be changed. Student information is required even if the student is no longer participating in alternate assessments or is no longer enrolled in your LEA because the monitoring is for eligibility determinations before the student participated in MSAA. Eligibility information was due December 19, 2025. A second notification was sent on January 20, 2026, with instructions on submitting an Action Plan based on your designated tier. More information is provided in the
1% Threshold Presentation. There are notes on each slide of the presentation; please turn on the notes setting to view.
