Alternate Assessments District Test Coordinators

Welcome, Alternate Assessment DTCs!

Please review the 2025-26 New AA DTC Newsletter for a brief overview of newly assigned DTCs. This letter will cover the beginning of the school year tasks as well as resources to refer to. 

The Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator Handbook 2025-26 covers tasks, deadlines, and calendar dates for this school year. In the handbook, you will find explicit instructions as well as screenshots for step-by-step access. The Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator will oversee MSAA, Alt ELPA Summative, and the Alt ELPA Screener. Each assessment has its own respective timeline, so please review the Alternate Assessment District Test Coordinator Handbook 2025-26 on page 2 for calendar dates and further guidance.

If you need assistance, please contact us by emailing the Alternate Assessment inbox [email protected] or calling (602) 542-8239.

 

 

 

Alt ELPA Screener

August 4, 2025 - May 8, 2026

Alt ELPA Summative Testing

January 26 - March 13, 2026

MSAA Testing 

March 9 - April 24, 2026

For the 2026-2027 school year, the Arizona Department of Education has launched a new application for submitting the District Test Coordinator (DTC) Test Security Agreement for the 2026-2027 school year. There is an MP4 and a PowerPoint presentation regarding this new electronic process for filling out the Test Security Agreement. Only electronic form submissions will be allowed moving forward. Please review both versions of guidance below. 

MP4 version

PPT version

  • 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. 

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 12, 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 Parent 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 the Assessment experience. The MSAA Practice Site does not require a username or password.

Alt ELPA (Summative and Screener) Training

MSAA Training

ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT ELIGIBILITY

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.

Specific accommodations for both instruction and the assessments should also 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.