I hope 2026 is going well so far!

The AZELLA Reassessment and Alt ELPA Summative assessments are now open. Other test windows will be opening soon. We look forward to supporting you and your schools. As we are preparing for test administration, please make sure you pay attention to the important information in this Assessments Bulletin and share relevant information with school test coordinators, administrators, and teachers.

This summer, the Assessment Unit will have several educator committees for many of our statewide assessments. If you would like to participate, please fill out the Educator Committee Application. Please also share this link with your colleagues. If you have previously filled out the application and any of your contact information or roles have changed since then, please submit a new application. We thank you for your willingness to be a part of our assessment process.

Any homeschooled student who is not enrolled in the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program is eligible to participate in the statewide assessments at their local school if the local school agrees. A homeschooled student who is also a participant in the ESA program is not eligible to participate in statewide assessments. This is because the student is receiving state funds directly through ESA, and we do not currently have a method for parents to pay for statewide assessments through their ESA funds. When parents inquire about participation in statewide testing for the homeschooled student, it is important to determine whether the student is in ESA. If you have any questions, please contact us at Testing@azed.gov.

Many statewide assessments are in the RFP process for new contracts. AZELLA and MSAA will have new contracts for the 2026-2027 school year. AASA, AzSCI, and high school assessments will have new contracts for the 2027-2028 school year. We will share more information about these contracts and future administrations when updates are available. 

We have received several questions about changes for the next school year. Please join us on May 1 for the final Friday Focus Webinar, during which we will share updates for the 2026-2027 school year. Please visit the Friday Focus website for the link to register.

Achievement District Test Coordinator (DTC) emails will be sent regularly in preparation for the testing windows. DTCs are responsible for sharing statewide testing information with other staff and district or charter administration, as appropriate. Please watch for communications from ADE's Achievement Assessments team for all of the Statewide Achievement tests:

All 2025-2026 Achievement DTC emails are published on the Achievement DTC webpage for easy reference, under "Achievement DTC Communications - 2025-2026 School Year."

Remember the following when emailing the ADE Achievement Assessments team:

Please send your question to only one of the Achievement Assessment email addresses listed above. Do not copy all of the email addresses on your email. If you are unsure which inbox to use or if the question applies to multiple assessments, send your email to Testing@azed.gov. For issues that occur while students are testing, include in the email subject line, "Urgent - Students Testing."

When contacting Pearson Customer Support for assistance, retain your ticket number. If you contact ADE's Assessments team for assistance with the same question or issue, share the Pearson ticket number with us so ADE and Pearson can further assist you.

Testing windows for the Spring 2026 Achievement Assessments are included in the table below, as well as in the 2025-2026 Assessments Overview and the Detailed Testing Calendar. The Detailed Testing Calendar also provides estimated times for each test unit of AASA and AzSCI as well as time limits for ACT Aspire and ACT test sections.

Refer to the schedules linked below for each assessment's upcoming tasks and deadlines. Each schedule is posted on ADE's Achievement District Test Coordinator webpage.

The Achievement Assessments team has scheduled the following optional Office Hours sessions. Each session will be held on Wednesdays, 1:00-1:30pm. Registration is available in the ADE Professional Learning & Development (APLD) system using the registration links below. A Teams meeting invitation will be sent to all registered attendees prior to each Office Hours session.

All Achievement District Test Coordinators (DTCs) must complete training modules in Pearson's Arizona Learning Management System (AzLMS) as soon as possible and no later than February 20, 2026. All other testing staff must receive training prior to administering any tests. Refer to the Achievement Assessments Training Requirements for guidance in determining which training modules must be completed by each user role. ADE strongly recommends that users download the accompanying PowerPoint and transcript files associated with each applicable training module to refer to throughout the test administration.

ADE will track that all DTCs have completed training within AzLMS. It is the responsibility of the DTC to track training completion for other staff in the district or charter. Other staff may complete training within AzLMS, or DTCs may choose to train staff in a group setting. Tracking reports are available in AzLMS, or staff training completion may be tracked outside of AzLMS. This flexibility is left to the district or charter, but tracking must be in a format that can be provided to ADE upon request, if needed.

For additional information about using the AzLMS system, refer to the Navigating the LMS Learner Portal and Managing Learners in the LMS modules located in the AzLMS.

In Spring 2026, all of the statewide Achievement Assessments will utilize the PearsonAccess Next (PAN) platform and the TestNav application. PAN is the site where the test administration details will be managed, and the TestNav application is the test delivery platform. There are three different PAN websites (linked below), with three separate logins, depending on the grade level of students in your district or charter. All three PAN sites are now open for Spring 2026 test administration tasks.

Refer to the links below for TestNav technical requirements. All devices used for testing must have the latest version of the TestNav application installed. TestNav can be downloaded at http://download.testnav.com/.

Bookmark the TestNav Error Codes webpage for quick access during the test windows. The most common error codes seen in TestNav are the 1000's Error Codes. These are connectivity errors, and most can be resolved by restarting TestNav or moving the student to a new device. 

Requests for Special Paper Version (SPV) tests for AASA, AzSCI, and ACT Aspire, including braille, large print, or regular print tests, must be submitted to ADE for review by February 6, 2026, using the secure online form: https://www.azed.gov/assessment/spv2026. Documentation of the student's IEP, 504 Plan, or parent request must be uploaded with the request. Subject to available inventory, SPV tests may not be available for requests submitted after February 6, 2026.

Requests for additional accommodations for AASA, AzSCI, and ACT Aspire must be submitted to ADE for review by February 6, 2026, using this secure online form: https://www.azed.gov/assessment/achievement_aa_fy26. Requests for additional accommodations should not include Universal Test Administration Conditions or Universal Tools, which are available for all students. Refer to the Achievement Assessments Accommodations Manual for additional information about Universal Test Administration Conditions and Universal Tools. Refer to the ACT Aspire Accessibility Supports Guide for additional information about ACT Aspire accommodations, including which ACT Aspire accommodations require a request and which do not. 

Additional Accommodations Requests that need to be submitted to ADE for review and approval include:

Contact us if a student has an injury or illness after February 6, 2026, that necessitates a paper test or additional accommodation. Specific accommodations will be considered based on a doctor's written recommendation and the appropriateness for statewide testing.

Students should be provided ample opportunities to practice with the sample tests so they can become familiar with the test features, tools, and different question types in the online tests. Sample tests for each assessment can be accessed at https://home.testnav.com using the instructions below. Login information is not required.

ADE has completed the state student uploads in PAN for AASA, ACT Aspire, and ACT. ADE's student upload for AzSCI will be visible in PAN on February 17, 2026. Following each state upload, Achievement DTCs should verify that all students who are eligible for testing have been uploaded, and if not, Achievement DTCs need to ensure that all eligible students are added to the appropriate PAN site in preparation for Spring testing. 

Please note the following about ADE's student uploads for the Achievement tests:

Reports are available in ADEConnect to identify the students who need to be administered an Achievement Assessment. To access these reports in ADEConnect, select Assessments > Achievement Reports, then select the Eligibility Report for the appropriate assessment.

AASA, AzSCI, and ACT Aspire all use the Work Request process in PAN when students need to be transferred from one school to another. Refer to the AASA and AzSCI PearsonAccess Next User's Guide and/or the ACT Aspire Test Coordinator Manual for additional details about the Work Request process for these assessments.

Achievement DTCs should check each PAN site regularly for work requests that may be waiting for approval by looking for the red bell at the top of the screen.

The Work Request process is not utilized for student transfers for the ACT test. For ACT, use the Enroll or Unenroll Students template, located in ACT's PAN site under Support > Documentation. A support request will need to be submitted to ACT within PAN with the completed spreadsheet. ACT will then check to see if a student has already completed testing before processing the support request. Requests are typically processed within 24-48 hours. More information about submitting an ACT support request is available on the ACT website under Step 2: Configuration and in this ACT tutorial.

On January 9th, ADE held a Friday Focus Webinar, Reducing Achievement Test Irregularities, that focused on how District Test Coordinators and Test Administrators can minimize irregularities during statewide testing for AASA, AzSCI, ACT Aspire, and ACT. The webinar, transcript, and FAQ are posted on the Statewide Assessments Friday Focus Webinar page on the ADE website. 

As statewide assessments approach, please review the guidance on identifying and submitting testing irregularities in PearsonAccess Next. All events that impact testing, regardless of severity, must be reported. Prompt and accurate reporting helps protect test integrity and ensures fair and valid results for all students.

The AASA Test Coordinator's Manual (TCM) and the AASA Test Administration Directions (TAD) for both computer-based testing schools and paper-based testing schools are published on the Achievement DTC webpage and on the AASA webpage, under "Manuals and Checklists." They can also be accessed in PAN under Support > Documentation.

Districts and charters will receive hard copies of the AASA manuals, based on the participation counts entered in PAN in January. Manuals will be delivered during the selected materials delivery window. If a materials delivery window was not selected for a district or charter in PAN, then the materials will be delivered in the first delivery window option (March 16-19).

The following chart lists the number if testing tickets that will be required for students taking the AASA. This setup is the same as it has been in previous years, with Grade 3 students requiring additional testing tickets due to the Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) test unit.

ADE has uploaded students for AASA in PAN. Online test sessions were created automatically in the upload process, and students were placed into the appropriate sessions for the grade level indicated. ADE will move students approved for a Special Paper Version (SPV) or American Sign Language (ASL) test into the approved SPV or ASL test sessions.

Students in Grades 4-8 will have three test units for ELA: Writing, ELA 1 (Reading), and ELA 2 (Reading); and two test units for Math: Math 1 and Math 2.

In PAN, there will be only two sessions for Grades 4-8 students: one for ELA and one for Math. During testing, all ELA test units will be accessed under the one session for ELA (with one testing ticket) and all Math test units under the one session for Math (with one testing ticket).

Students in Grade 3 are set up a little differently in PAN due to the Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) test unit. Grade 3 students will have a separate session in PAN for each ELA test unit: Writing, ELA 1 (Reading), ELA 2 (Reading), and Oral Reading Fluency. Each will require a separate testing ticket. 

For Grade 3, there will be two test units for Math: Math 1 and Math 2. As with Grades 4-8, these units will be in one Math session, requiring one student testing ticket. 

Schools administering AASA paper-based tests will receive ELA and Math Pre-ID Labels for any students that have been uploaded to PAN by February 20, 2026. Pre-ID Labels will be sent in a separate shipment from paper test booklets, but both shipments will be delivered within the same week in March.

Pre-ID Labels must be affixed to student test booklets prior to testing. Take care to apply the ELA Pre-ID Labels to the ELA test booklets and the Math Pre-ID Labels to the Math test booklets. Additional Pre-ID Labels are not available. Students who do not receive a Pre-ID Label or whose Pre-ID Label contains any incorrect information must have their student demographic information bubbled in on the back of their test booklets prior to testing and must be updated in PAN.

AASA Testing Groups and Reporting Groups are optional functions in PAN. The deadline to create Testing Groups and Reporting Groups is April 24, the last day of the AASA testing window.

Testing Groups can be used to group students by classroom, teacher, or testing days. Testing groups are useful for quickly locating a group of students in test sessions in PAN. Students may be in only one testing group at a time.

Reporting Groups can be used to group students by classroom, teacher, or testing days for reporting purposes. Students may be in more than one reporting group. The AASA Student Data File and the Summary Cluster Performance Report can display up to five reporting groups for a student. 

Refer to the PearsonAccess Next User's Guide for instructions on creating testing groups and reporting groups.

The AzSCI Test Coordinator's Manual (TCM) and the AzSCI Test Administration Directions (TAD) are published on the Achievement DTC webpage and on the AzSCI webpage, under "Manuals and Checklists." They can also be accessed in PAN under Support > Documentation.

Hard copies of the AzSCI manuals will not be shipped automatically to districts and charters. A limited number of copies are available for order during the AzSCI Additional Order window, which opens on February 23. The manuals may also be downloaded and used electronically from ADE's website and from PAN.

District Test Coordinators must verify their contact information and shipping address in PAN no later than February 20, 2026. Any changes to contact information or shipping address must be made by notifying ADE at AzSCI@azed.gov.

Students in Grades 5, 8, and 11 (Cohort 2027) will have three test units for AzSCI. There will be one test session in PAN that includes all three test units. Students will use one testing ticket to access the three test units.

The approximate time for each test unit is 60-90 minutes. If more than one test unit is administered on the same day, a significant break of at least 15 minutes must be provided between test units.  

ADE's student upload will be visible in PAN on February 17, 2026. When students are uploaded to PAN for AzSCI, the test sessions are created automatically, and students are placed into those sessions based on their grade level. 

The Pearson-hosted ACT Aspire support website includes many ACT Aspire resources, including recently published PAN tutorial videos for inviting users, completing a student's Personal Needs Profile (PNP), and creating reporting groups.

The ACT Aspire Test Coordinator Manual, Room Supervisor Manual - Online, and Room Supervisor Manual - Paper are published on the Pearson-hosted ACT Aspire support website and on ADE's Achievement DTC webpage. Hard copies of the manuals will not be shipped to districts and charters and are not available to order. These manuals should be used when training staff for ACT Aspire test administration.  

Pearson has scheduled two ACT Aspire Chat with an Expert sessions to answer Test Coordinator questions related to ACT Aspire. Teams meeting links are included below. Registration for the Chat with an Expert sessions is not required. 

Districts and charters administering ACT Aspire paper-based tests, including any Special Paper Version tests (braille, large print, or regular print) should verify their shipping address in PAN now. If any changes are needed to the shipping address, please notify ADE at Testing@azed.gov no later than February 6, 2026, to ensure paper testing materials are delivered appropriately.

Schools administering ACT Aspire paper-based tests will receive preprinted barcode labels for any students that have been uploaded to PAN by February 6, 2026. Barcode labels will be sent in a separate shipment from paper test booklets and answer documents, but both shipments will be delivered within the same week in March. If barcode labels are not received for any students, or if any barcode labels contain incorrect information, the demographic information will need to be bubbled in on the student's answer documents and must also be updated in PAN. 

Any approved Special Paper Version tests for ACT Aspire must be administered within the shorter paper-based testing window, including for schools that are otherwise administering online tests. Student responses from braille and large print tests must be transferred to a regular answer document for scoring. The deadline for ACT Aspire to receive all paper testing materials for scoring is April 15, 2026.

Test sessions for ACT Aspire were not automatically created when students were uploaded to PAN. This step will need to be completed by schools or districts/charters. Refer to the ACT Aspire Test Coordinator Manual for details. Students must be placed in a separate test session, and will have a separate testing ticket, for each ACT Aspire test section. Any student accommodations or supports must be indicated in the student's Personal Needs Profile (PNP) in PAN prior to moving the student into test sessions.

ACT Aspire is a timed test. The test sections may be administered on the same day, or they may be administered on different days. This flexibility is left up to schools/districts. If administering on the same day, a break may be scheduled between the test sections. Additionally, the test sections for ACT Aspire may be administered in any order. The test sections include English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing.

The Spring 2026 ACT statewide assessment will include the Science and Writing sub-tests in addition to the English, Math, and Reading sub-tests. Students will receive an ACT Composite score, which will be comprised of the English, Math, and Reading tests; an ACT STEM score, which is an average of the Math and Science tests; and an ACT ELA score, which is an average of the English, Reading, and Writing tests.

ACT test sections are timed tests and must be administered in the following order: English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing.

The ACT Enhancements will be in effect for the Spring 2026 statewide ACT test administration. The ACT Enhancements will include fewer test items overall and more time per test item. Additional information is available on ACT's Test Enhancements webpage and in the Comparison of the Legacy and Enhanced ACT Test resource.

New in Spring 2026, schools will have the flexibility to administer Science and Writing after an extended break or on a different day than English, Math, and Reading are administered. Schools may continue to administer all test units on the same testing day, if preferred. The decision to provide schedule flexibility is at the school level and applies to ALL standard time and single-day accommodations testing rooms and administrations for that testing event/window at the school. Refer to ACT's Schedule Flexibility Policy for additional guidance which must be strictly followed. 

The ACT Test Coordinator Manual and Test Administration Manuals are published on the ACT-hosted webpage under Step 5: Administration. Hard copies of administration manuals will be shipped to districts and charters according to the materials delivery window selected in PAN. The administration manuals should be used when training staff for the ACT test administration.

All Achievement DTCs with students in Grade 11/Cohort 2027 are expected to view the three ACT-hosted webinars, either by attending the live webinars or viewing the recordings. Two webinars were held in the fall, Accommodations and Test Administration #1, and are now available on demand. The third webinar, Test Administration #2, will be held on February 18, 2026, 9:00-10:00am. Links to all three webinars are available through the ACT Schedule of Events. 

The ACT Accessibility Supports Guide and additional resources needed by Test Coordinators to request and/or arrange test accommodations, English learner supports, and designated supports are available on the ACT-hosted website for Arizona, under Step 3: Accommodation. For further assistance, ACT has scheduled a series of Accommodations Office Hours sessions through March 17, 2026. Register for upcoming sessions or view recordings of previous sessions on demand through ACT's Accommodations Office Hours webpage.

ACT has updated their policy regarding English learner supports. Translated test directions and bilingual dictionaries are now designated (local) supports and do not require a request to be submitted to ACT for approval. The only English learner support that requires a request to be submitted to ACT for approval is the use of one-and-one-half time. Review ACT's Supports for English Learners webpage for additional information. 

ACT accommodations requests must be submitted directly to ACT through ACT's Test Accessibility and Accommodations (TAA) system according to the following deadlines:

Please contact us at Testing@azed.gov if a student enrolls after the submission deadlines and requires accommodations for ACT. If the student has transferred from another Arizona district or from another state, ADE and ACT can research to determine if accommodations were approved for the student at their previous school.

ADE has uploaded Cohort 2027 student to ACT's PearsonAccess Next (PAN) platform. Please review your student list and confirm that all students eligible for testing have been uploaded. If any students need to be added to PAN, a support request will need to be submitted to ACT using ACT's Enroll or Unenroll Students form, which is available in PAN under Support > Documentation. More information about submitting an ACT support request is available on the ACT website under Step 2: Configuration and in this ACT tutorial. ACT typically processes support requests within 24-48 hours.

All schools administering the online ACT test are strongly encouraged to complete a mock administration to ensure that devices are ready for testing. More information is available on the ACT website under Step 2: Configuration.

Test sessions for ACT were not automatically created when students were uploaded to PAN. This step will need to be completed by schools/districts according to the timeline provided in the ACT Schedule of Events and the resources included on the ACT website under Step 4: Preparation.

Student Authorization Tickets will need to be printed before test day and provided to the Room Supervisor the day of testing. Seal codes are used to begin each ACT test session. 

Schools testing online will receive hard copies of the online administration manuals, online test administration forms folder, MyACT Instructions for Students, and Taking the ACT. The MyACT Instructions for Students documents will be personalized with each student's name and ACT code, for students to use when creating their MyACT account, and is considered secure test material. These resources are also available on the ACT-hosted website for Arizona, under Step 4: Preparation (MyACT resources) and Step 5: Administration (administration manuals and forms).

In addition to hard copies of the test administration manuals, test administration forms, MyACT Instructions for Students (secure documents personalized with each student's name and ACT code to use when students create their MyACT account), and Taking the ACT, schools testing on paper will also receive paper test booklets, answer documents, pre-printed barcode labels, and return packaging materials. If schools have answer documents saved from previous years or previous ACT test administrations, these must not be used in Spring 2026 testing. Spring 2026 ACT answer documents have been updated to reflect the new ACT Enhancements and will be shipped to paper-based testing schools.

In most cases, there will be two separate shipments delivered to the district or charter for paper-based testing. The non-secure shipment will arrive first, and a secure shipment of test booklets will arrive later in the same week or the week before the applicable test window. Tracking information will be available in PAN after the materials are shipped.

Schools administering ACT paper-based tests will receive preprinted barcode labels for any students that have been uploaded to PAN by February 13, 2026. If barcode labels are not received for any students, or if any information on the barcode labels is incorrect, the student's demographic information will need to be bubbled in on the student's answer documents and must also be updated in PAN. 

MyACT is the platform for Grade 11/Cohort 2027 students to submit non-test information to ACT. This non-test information allows a student to send their scores, free of charge, to four colleges or scholarship agencies of their choice, and also allows students to receive their ACT scores faster than waiting for paper reports from their school. ACT recommends hosting an in-school session for students to create a MyACT account and to complete the non-test information online. This may be completed prior to test day and no later than two days after completion of their ACT test. Please see the MyACT resources on the ACT website under Step 4: Preparation.

An ACT score replacement request may be approved by ADE's Assessment Section when a student in Cohort 2027 has a previous ACT test score obtained on a national test date in the current school year. The ACT score replacement allows the student to use the score obtained outside of the statewide administration and administered by a person other than the school district or charter, rather than Arizona's statewide assessment date, for accountability purposes. 

The ACT score replacement is subject to ADE's review and approval, using the criteria outlined below.

ACT score replacement requests are to be submitted from the school district or charter directly to ADE's Assessment Section for review using the secure request form and must be submitted before the date on which the school administers the state ACT assessment. Requests are not to be submitted to ADE by students or parents/guardians.

A copy of the student's ACT score report, as well as a completed parent consent form, must be uploaded with the request. ADE's Achievement Assessments team will review the request then will respond to the Achievement District Test Coordinator regarding the final decision. 

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.

Please refer to the Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator Handbook for instructions and activities throughout the testing window. District Test Coordinators must also be familiar with the State Specific Policy and for collecting and retaining the Alternate Assessment Test Security Agreement for Test Administrators before the administration of Alt ELPA and MSAA. 

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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. 

IEP teams must determine eligibility for Alternate Assessments before November 28 (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.

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.

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.

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

As you may be aware, we have adjusted proficiency cuts and Performance Level Descriptors for the Spring 2026 AZELLA Reassessment administration. Please join us for a webinar on April 8 at 1:00pm for more information on these changes and how to understand the results. 

You can register for the webinar here: 

It is strongly recommended that all students taking the online Spring Reassessment Test and Test Administrators prepare for the test by taking the Sample Tests. AZELLA online Sample Tests are available in TestNav that can be accessed through the web browser version of TestNav at https://az.testnav.com/client/index.html or through the dedicated application that must be downloaded on all the computers and electronic devices that will be used for testing. Usernames and Passwords are not needed for the Sample Tests.

The digital kits (Student Test Book, audio files, and Teacher's Edition) of the Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grades 2-3 Unit 4 Sample Test, as well as the Grades 4-12 Teacher's Edition, are available for downloading at https://www.azed.gov/assessment/azella.

Districts and Charters who completed the Reassessment Participation Counts in November 2025 received an initial shipment of Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grades 2-3 Spring 2026 AZELLA Reassessment Test materials during the week of January 12, 2026. This included district and school test materials, return shipping materials, the Test Coordinator's Manual, and Pre-ID Labels for those Grades K-3 students who were pre-registered by Pearson.

If the Reassessment paper test materials received are not enough to test all students who need to be administered the test, the DTC may place an additional order for the district in PAN during the Additional Order window. Districts and Charters who serve Grades K-3 EL students and did not receive an initial shipment of the Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grades 2-3 Spring 2026 AZELLA Reassessment Test materials are expected to submit an order through PAN. ADE will receive and approve additional orders. KEEP all the Pearson boxes to reuse for return shipping.

The Additional Order window for testing materials closes on February 27, 2026. Return shipping materials (e.g., labels and boxes) will continue to be available to order through PAN until March 13, 2026.

ADE and Pearson will be ordering and shipping all Special Paper Version (SPV), Large Print, and Grades 2-3 ASL Unit 4 test materials to districts that have been approved for these materials.

KEEP all Pearson shipping boxes. These boxes will be used to return all Spring 2026 AZELLA Reassessment materials to Pearson at the close of the test window.

The Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grades 2-3 Reassessment Pre-ID Label files were generated by Pearson based on the students pre-registered for the Spring Reassessment. The Pre-ID Labels were packaged and shipped in the school-level boxes of paper testing materials. Not all Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grades 2-3 students who must be tested received a Pre-ID Label. Additional Pre-ID Labels cannot be ordered. Instead, the student data grid on the back cover of the student test book must be bubbled in by an adult. Pre-ID Labels that include any incorrect information cannot be used. These labels must be securely shredded or placed into a Nonscorable box of materials. 

Incorrect labels and labels the were applied to student test books for students who have withdrawn from school prior to testing must have a blank label placed over the Pre-ID Label. The test book will be available for another student to use with their demographics bubbled in on the back cover.

Please refer to the DTC-STC training module and the Spring 2026 AZELLA Reassessment Test Coordinator's Manual for detailed information about Pre-ID Labels.

There are no provisions, in either state or federal law, that would allow the exemption of AZELLA testing for eligible students who are enrolled in the Special Education program and require an AZELLA test. An IEP Team, which must include a specialist trained in Language Acquisition, may NOT exempt a student from participating in AZELLA testing.  

All dually enrolled EL/SPED students must be provided with the opportunity to make an earnest attempt at all the AZELLA domains tested. Review the Universal Test Administration Conditions and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities in the November 2025 AZELLA Accommodations Manual. Districts should have submitted requests for EL students who have an IEP or 504 Plan which require additional accommodations, include Large Print, Special Paper Version (SPV), ASL, and Braille, during the Fall 2025 semester. ADE Assessments has responded to AZELLA DTCs with approved accommodations. If the AZELLA DTC has not received a response to a request, they should ensure that ADE has not asked the district for additional information. 

Currently, ADE is only accepting requests for additional accommodations for newly enrolled and transfer students since the deadline to submit requests was December 5, 2025. For additional accommodations requests submitted for newly enrolled and transfer students, ADE will respond to the DTC or request additional information. Do not administer an AZELLA test to the student for whom the request has been submitted until ADE responds to the request.

AZELLA Additional Accommodations Request Form 2025-2026 

AZELLA Additional Accommodation to Administer the Test in More than 5 Instructional Days - this request is used for students with a current IEP or 504 Plan, and the ONLY additional accommodation being requested is for additional time to administer the AZELLA.

The Spring 2026 AZELLA Student Transferred with an EL Need form must be used throughout the Reassessment test window for all K-12 EL students who transfer during the Spring Reassessment Test window. This form helps the DTC determine if the student needs to be administered an AZELLA Placement Test, the AZELLA Reassessment Test, or if the student does not need to be tested with either AZELLA test.

Please submit the completed Spring 2026 AZELLA Student Transferred with an EL Need form for Kindergarten and Grade 1 students who transfer schools during testing and completed a portion of the Reassessment at one school. The district needs to submit this form to ADE because Pearson will need the testing information to combine the tests, so the student receives an Overall Proficiency Level. ADE does not need this form if the student did not start the test or completed the entire test.

The Spring 2026 Reassessment materials must be returned to the Pearson warehouses as Scorable and Nonscorable at the close of the Reassessment Test window using the Pearson shipping boxes they arrived in or in plain boxes without any logos. The color of the boxes does not matter. Pearson has provided prepaid UPS shipping labels for the testing materials. It is critical to ensure the Scorable and Nonscorable materials have the correct shipping labels adhered to the boxes. Additional return shipping materials can be ordered through PAN. When ordering boxes, a minimum of 2 boxes must be ordered. Explicit directions for packing the boxes for return shipping are included in the Spring 2026 AZELLA Reassessment Test Coordinator Manual (TCM). Materials must be picked up and shipped out no later than March 20, 2026. KEEP A LIST OF THE TRACKING NUMBERS!

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