English Language Arts and Math Essential Standards
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.
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
Essential standards are identified standards that will have additional questions tied to that standard on the AASA exam. The AASA exam continues to use the current blueprint.
Yes. All standards are assessed on the AASA exam.
No. All standards are assessed on the AASA exam. The essential standards will have more questions on the exam than other standards.
The essential standards will have additional items on the 2026 AASA exam.
No. Given that the AASA continues to use the same blueprint, the cluster proportions on the test have not changed.
No. All ELA curricula should be selected from the MOWR-vetted list. We recommend MOWR-vetted curricula for all ELA courses in grades three through eight. All curricula should be selected using best practices for high-quality instructional materials and aligned to ALL the Arizona standards.
