Mission: To empower all educators and stakeholders across the birth to college continuum to increase achievement and opportunity for all students.

Vision: Promoting educator expertise to impact student success.

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 Resources for District Counselors and Administrators

Resources for District Counselors & Administrators

 

Shifts for Arizona College & Career Readiness

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• Education Career Action Plan (ECAP)
• School Counselors
• Post-Secondary Resources
• Post-Secondary Events
• Post-Secondary Data

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Description 

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS?

Essential Standards are individual standards selected to receive a greater proportion of questions on the AASA exams. The AASA exams, administered for grades three through eight, are developed based on a standards blueprint that groups individual standards into clusters and identifies an allocation of questions for each cluster. The identified Essential Standards will receive the maximum allowable number of questions allowed by the standards blueprint.

Note that ALL standards will continue to be included in the test design of the annual state exams. 

REPORTING

The AASA exam results will be reported in a new format in which Essential Standards will be represented. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, identified Essential Standards, from the existing State Board of Education-approved standards for ELA and math, in grades three through eight, will have a higher proportion of items on the statewide assessment, keeping within the current blueprint adopted by the State Board of Education. 

ALL STANDARDS WILL BE ASSESSED 

The identified Essential Standards are targeted for emphasis, indicating that there could be a higher proportion of questions on those standards in the AASA. The state assessment will retain the same length and duration. ALL standards remain valid and subject to inclusion in each year’s AASA. 

ESSENTIAL STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

Coming Soon - Online Asynchronous Essential Standards Course

Arizona English Language Arts Standards

ELA Grade 3 ELA Grade 4 ELA Grade 5 

ELA Grade 6 ELA Grade 7 ELA Grade 8

Arizona Mathematics Standards

Math Grade 3  Math Grade 4 Math Grade 5 

Math Grade 6 Math Grade 7 Math Grade 8

FAQs

Young Voter Registration Challenge

SIGN UP TODAY

MORE INFORMATION TO COME THE FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER!

The Arizona Department of Education is partnering with New Voters to present the Young Voter Registration Challenge. The goal of this challenge is to register our youth to vote and create spaces where civics thrives!

Sign up to host a voter registration drive overseen by and advisor and run by students! 

Goal: get as many eligible* students to register to vote as possible!

Winners will be recognized by the Arizona Department of Education and the State Board of Education. Students who participated automatically meet the civic engagement requirements of the Seal of Civics Literacy. Plus, students have a chance to win prizes! 

Once signed up for the challenge, head to tinyurl.com/runadrive or new-voters.org to start the student-led registration drive. By working with New Voters, you’ll get a personal college mentor, a digital toolkit of resources to plan and run your drive, and a box of New Voters swag to use during your drive!

Find out more about New Voters at https://www.new-voters.org/.

*Must be 18 or older by November 5, 2024.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL [email protected].

Navigate, Integrate, Elevate: The ADEL Experience

ADEL, the Arizona Digital Educators Library, is a digital ecosystem that provides educators a map to NAVIGATE academic standards and a path to INTEGRATE curated, standards-aligned resources. The Academic Standards unit at ADE has begun working with educators, industry professionals, and content specialists to publish high-quality, standards-aligned materials.

Collaborations with PBS Media, the Arizona Science Teachers Association, Illustrative Mathematics, and the Arizona Geographic Alliance, among others, have offered lesson plans, resources, and videos to help teachers design outstanding instruction.

ADEL also allows teachers to ELEVATE the standards with SPARKL, a digital learning tool for K-12 teachers and students. SPARKL offers a new approach to lesson design and student interaction. It enables teachers to focus the learner’s cognitive energy on generating the correct responses, checking their understanding, clearing up misconceptions quickly, and getting feedback throughout the learning process.

The Arizona Department of Education continues to innovate with ADEL by introducing a new lesson plan companion powered by generative AI. This cutting-edge tool is designed to assist educators in unpacking state standards and creating dynamic, personalized lesson plans that align with Arizona's Academic Standards.

Learn more by clicking the blue ADEL sticker or emailing [email protected].