AASA
Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment (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 and Mathematics.
Resources
English Language Arts and Math Essential Standards
2026-2027 Achievement Tests Staff Security Agreement - Coming Soon
Contact Pearson Customer Support for AASA: 1-888-705-9421, Option 3 or Contact Support
Contact ADE's Achievement Assessments team at [email protected].
Arizona's test development process involves an extensive review before an item will count toward students' test scores. During the item development process, all assessment items are written in accordance with Item Specifications. A committee of Arizona educators reviews and approves the items to confirm alignment and appropriateness for inclusion on the test. Each step in the process is designed to ensure that test results are valid, reliable, and appropriate for Arizona students, families, and other members of Arizona communities. Participating educators are representatives of Arizona's geographic regions and represent culturally diverse populations.
For the Educator Review Committees, we are inviting content area teachers, teachers of students with disabilities, teachers of English learner students, instructional coaches, and administrators to provide their perspectives on the items and standards set on Arizona's statewide assessments. If you are interested in serving on an Assessment Educator Review Committee, please complete the form linked below.
Spring 2027 Test Windows Coming Soon
Spring 2026 Testing Mode
The Achievement Testing Mode Application will be open in ADEConnect in Fall 2026.
All Achievement testing (AASA, AzSCI, ACT Aspire, and ACT) is, by default, administered to students by computer.
Requests for schools to administer paper tests must be submitted by Achievement District Test Coordinators in ADEConnect during the designated window. Requests must explain special circumstances for which paper testing is needed.
No action needs to be taken if school site(s) will administer computer-based assessments in Spring 2027.
The following Special Paper Version (SPV) test formats are available to meet the needs of students who cannot access the test content through computer-based testing: braille, large print, and regular print paper.
SPV test requests must be submitted to ADE for review and approval September 14, 2026 - February 5, 2027.
2026-2027 Special Paper Version Quick Guide - Coming Soon
2026-2027 Special Paper Version Request Form - Coming Soon
Additional Accommodation Requests must be submitted to ADE for review and approval September 14, 2026 - February 5, 2027.
- Additional Accommodation Requests SHOULD NOT include Universal Test Administration Conditions or Universal Tools detailed in the Achievement Assessments Accommodations Manual.
2026-2027 Additional Accommodations Request Quick Guide - Coming Soon
2026-2027 Additional Accommodations Request Form - Coming Soon
AASA Sample Test Scoring Guides - ELA
The ELA Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) test unit is administered to all third-grade students.
Recommended Seating Arrangements
Coming Fall/Winter 2026-2027:
- Spring 2027 AASA District Test Coordinator Important Tasks Checklist
- Spring 2027 AASA Test Coordinator's Manual
- Spring 2027 AASA Test Administration Directions (for Computer-Based Testing)
- Spring 2027 AASA Test Administration Directions (for Paper-Based Testing)
- Spring 2027 PearsonAccessnext User's Guide
AASA Item Specifications are aligned to the 2016 ELA and Mathematics Standards.
ELA Item Specifications
Math Item Specifications
AASA Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) are aligned to the 2016 English Language Arts and Mathematics Standards.
ELA
Math
AASA Writing Resources - Descriptions
Writing Rubrics
- Grades 3-5 Informative-Explanatory Rubric
- Grades 3-5 Opinion Rubric
- Grades 6-8 Informative-Explanatory Rubric
- Grades 6-8 Argumentative Rubric
Writing Guides
- Grades 3-5 Informative-Explanatory
- Grades 3-5 Opinion
- Grades 6 Argumentative
- Grades 6-8 Informative-Explanatory
- Grades 7-8 Argumentative
Writing Rubric Guides
Annotated Writing Sample Guides
Writing Prompt Templates
Grade-level prompt templates can be found in the Item Specifications documents for each grade level.
AASA Spring 2026
May 15, 2026 - Electronic score reports, Student Data Files, and OnDemand Reports for Grade 3 ELA and Math are available in PearsonAccessnext
May 22, 2026 - Electronic score reports, Student Data Files, and OnDemand Reports for Grades 4-8 ELA and Math are available in PearsonAccessnext
May 29, 2026 - AASA Summary Cluster Performance Reports for Grades 3-8 ELA and Math are available in PearsonAccessnext
June 10, 2026 - The optional AASA Parent Portal will be available for parents to access their student's Individual Student Report. Schools that opt to participate must provide families with a claim code from PearsonAccessnext for them to access the AASA Parent Portal.
June 11, 2026 - Paper copies of score reports are delivered to districts and charters
June 12, 2026 - Performance Level Dashboards and Historical Student Data for Grades 3-8 ELA and Math are available in PearsonAccessnext
Spring 2026 AASA Student Data File Layout
Spring 2026 Reportable Clusters