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Assessments
Schools will administer the test in-person on a computer or paper. Find the test window dates, here.
PUSD Approach to Assessment
PUSD’s approach to assessment includes appropriate periodicity within each content area and a focus on five measurement purposes:
Baseline (beginning level of knowledge prior to instruction)
Inform instruction (level of understanding throughout instruction)
Show content mastery (summative)
Gauge student growth (summary of learning attained over a period of time)
Predict success (expectation of future performance)
Statewide Achievement Test
Pinon Unified School District #4 is committed to having students excel in education. Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) is Arizona’s new statewide achievement test based on the new standards for reading, writing and mathematics. Using this standardized test will help teachers, students, and parents know if students are on track to becoming college and career ready once they graduate from high school.
Read through the information we have available and become familiar with Arizona’s achievement test.
AASA (Formerly AzM2)
AASA is the statewide achievement test for Arizona students in Grades 3 - 8. All Arizona public school students in Grades 3 - 8 will take the grade level AASA assessments in English Language Arts (including both Reading and Writing) and Mathematics. The assessment is aligned to the ELA and Math academic standards adopted in 2016. Each year, the state of Arizona publishes School Report Cards, which includes results from the assessment. Parent information about the statewide achievement tests can be found at https://www.azed.gov/assessment/parents.
For more information, please visit the Arizona Department of Education’s AASA information page.
Schools will administer the test in-person on a computer. Find the state test windows, here and the district testing window here.
AzSCI
The Arizona Statewide test to measure Science is the AzSCI (formerly the AIMS Science test) and is administered to students in Grades 5, 8, and 11 in the Spring. The AZSCI is a computer-based assessment that allows for the use of a variety of innovative item types, all aligned to the Arizona science Standards adopted in 2018. A sample test can be viewed here.
For more information, visit AzSCI Assessment.
Arizona’s Alternate Assessments: MSAA and AIMS-A Science
Arizona’s alternate Assessments were designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities and administered each spring to students in Grades 3-8 and High School. Students must meet the eligibility requirements as determined by the student’s IEP team in order to participate in the State’s Alternate Assessments.
For more information, visit MSAA AZED Assessment.
AZELLA
The Arizona English Language Learner Assessment (AZELLA) is a standards-based assessment that meets both state and federal requirements to measure students’ English language proficiency. AZELLA is used for both placement and reassessment purposes. Students who have been identified as second language learners on the Home Language Survey take the AZELLA placement test, and the students’ proficiency scores determine appropriate placement for instruction. Students who have been placed into an English language learner program will also take the AZELLA reassessment once per year until they achieve proficiency. Students who have scored proficient on the AZELLA are then monitored for two years to help ensure success after their move into a mainstream classroom.
The AZELLA is available as an online test. A sample test can be viewed here.
For more information, visit AZELLA Assessment.
NAEP
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only assessment that measures what U.S. students know and can do in various subjects across the nation states, and in some urban districts. Also known as The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP has provided important information about how students are performing academically since 1969. NAEP is given to a representative sample of students across the country. Each year schools across the U.S. are chosen at random. The assessments are given to a sample of students Grades 4, 8, and 12. Results are reported for groups of students with similar characteristics (e.g., gender, race and ethnicity, school location), not individual students. National results are available for all subjects assessed by NAEP.
For more information, visit NAEP’s website.
ACT and ACT Aspire
The statewide high school achievement tests are now the ACT Aspired (Grade 9) and ACT test (Grade 11). Together, thest assessments measure English, Math, Reading, Writing, and Science. In addition, ACT is college-reportable. Parent information about the statewide achievement tests can be found at https://www.azed.gov/assessment/parents.