AZELLA FAQs

There are 2 separate AZELLA test administrations during one school year.

The AZELLA Placement - Dynamic Screener is administered from the start of the school year through mid-May of the same school year as needed. Not all students with an EL need require an AZELLA Placement - Dynamic Screener. Students may be administered the Placement - Dynamic Screener during the Spring AZELLA Reassessment Test, when the Placement Test is required.

The annual Spring AZELLA Reassessment - Summative is administered during a scheduled 7-week test window February 1 through March 19, 2027. All students with an EL need are required to participate in this test administration. Students who are administered an AZELLA Placement - Dynamic Screener after MARCH 1, 2027, are not required to participate with the Spring 2027 AZELLA Reassessment - Summative.

Yes, ADE, in partnership with Cambium and ELPA21, provides extensive online training and qualifications for the administration of the AZELLA Placement Test and the Spring AZELLA Reassessment Test. 

The online trainings and qualifications include:

• Training modules are provided through our vendor's ClearCourse Learning Management System and other resources provided in Cambium's AZ Portal.

Please review the section titled AZELLA Trainings and Qualifications, on the AZELLA DTC web page.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. This law applies to all schools that receive U.S. Department of Education funds under applicable programs, including the states' English Language Proficiency assessments, such as AZELLA.

AZELLA materials may contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and sensitive information about a student’s educational background and historical performance. As such, we are all responsible for protecting and securing AZELLA materials to prevent the accidental disclosure of the information they contain.

Do not include students' names and/or date of birth in the body of emails. Use their State Student Identification (SSID) number. When images are included in the body of emails, all student identifiable information, except for the SSID number, must be extracted or blacked out before adding the image to the email.

These are the Overall Proficiency Level results: Pre-Emergent/Emergent (PrE/E); PreEmergent/Emergent/Basic (PrE/E/B); Emerging (E); Basic (B); Basic/Intermediate (B/I); Progressing (PRG); Intermediate (I); Proficient (P); No Proficiency Level – Undetermined (No PL); Not Attempted (NAT), and Not Demonstrated (ND).

An EL student must achieve an OPL of Proficient on the AZELLA to be exited from EL program services.

September - October 2026

The 2026 State EL Reclassification Rate will be published by the Accountability Division after the A-F Letter Grades have been completed in September 2026.

Please visit the Accountability web page in September for this information.  /accountability-research

No. Arizona public school students who are eligible for the AZELLA do not require parental permission for testing because the student attends a public school. Public schools must comply with State and Federal testing requirements, including the AZELLA; therefore, parent permission is not required to test eligible students. EL students must be tested annually until they reach an Overall Proficiency Level of Proficient on the AZELLA or Alt ELPA.

Parents may decline EL program services. Students who have been parent withdrawn from receiving EL program services are still required to be administered the AZELLA annually until they reach an Overall Proficiency Level of Proficient.