Alternate Assessments District Test Coordinators

Students must meet the eligibility requirements as determined by the student’s IEP team in order to participate in the State’s Alternate Assessments. The Eligibility Form should be completed and filed within the student's current IEP. 

MSAA was designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities. MSAA ELA & Mathematics are tested in grades 3-8 and 11. MSAA Science is testing in grades 5, 8, and 11

The Alt ELPA is an alternate English language proficiency assessment designed for English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Alt ELPA is tested in grades K-12.

Registering Students

For MSAA and Alt ELPA Summative, the District Test Coordinator will select eligible students in the Student Selector Application in the fall.

For the Alt ELPA Screener, District Test Coordinators will need to submit the Alt ELPA Screener Request Webform to request to add eligible students. Students must have been determined eligible for Alternate Assessments by the IEP team and require an English Language Proficiency placement test (screener) based on the responses on the Home Language Survey or have a missing English language proficiency test. 

 

Alt ELPA Screener

August 1 - May 9, 2025

Alt ELPA Summative Testing

January 27 - March 14, 2025

MSAA Testing 

March 10 - April 25, 2025

 

 

The Alt ELPA Summative reports from Spring 2025 are available in TIDE. 

The ADE Alternate Assessment Unit shipped two hard copies of each student report to the District of Attendance. One copy is sent home to parents/guardians, and the other is placed in the student’s secure file.

Alt ELPA Screener Reporting- Student reports will be available almost immediately after testing in the Cambium portal. Based on the results, follow the same processes required by the Office of English Language Acquisition Services (OELAS) as you would for students who take the AZELLA Placement Test.

The MSAA reporting portal will be open from July 14 to September 5, 2025.

MSAA Student Reports are not available outside the current year reporting window; however, the Accountability application in ADEConnect can provide individual student scores. 

The ADE Alternate Assessment Unit will ship two hard copies of each student report to the District of Attendance the week after the reporting portal opens. One copy is sent home to parents/guardians, and the other is placed in the student’s secure file. The MSAA Parent Guides accompany the student reports and should be sent home with the student. Teachers may download additional MSAA Parent Guides from the ADE Assessment website on the tab labeled "MSAA Parents Resources". 

Performance Level Descriptors - MSAA (ELA and Mathematics)

MSAA Science Extended Performance Expectations (EPE)

PRESENTATIONS

 

The MSAA Practice Site was developed as a way to become familiar with the MSAA sample items and Assessment experience. The MSAA Practice Site does not require a username or password.

Alt ELPA Training and Alt ELPA Screener Training

MSAA Training

IEP Teams must remember to address assessment eligibility and accommodations for the alternate assessments, MSAA Math, ELA, and Science

Specific accommodations for both instruction and the assessments also should be considered in the student’s annual IEP. Information regarding MSAA accommodations and eligibility criteria can be located on the ADE MSAA webpage under General Information.

ACTION PLANS – 1% Threshold

Under federal regulation, the state is required to "provide appropriate oversight to each LEA that the State anticipates will assess more than 1% of its assessed students...using alternate assessments aligned with alternate academic achievement standards." An LEA may test students who qualify for alternate assessment, even if that participation means that the LEA will exceed 1%.

Alternate Assessment Test Coordinators will be notified of your LEA's percentages and will provide the next steps.

Contact Information

Please contact us by emailing the Alternate Assessment inbox [email protected] or at (602) 542-8239.