Students will receive opportunities to study and retake the exam, or fulfill the AIMS requirements through other alternative methods. The AIMS assessment is designed to measure student proficiency in reading, writing, science, and math as required by state and federal law. To graduate from an Arizona public high school, a student had to meet the AIMS High School Graduation Requirement.
Schools will have the ability to opt-in to the
computer-based test if they feel they have the
resources to successfully administer the test in
this manner. The district uses a variety of assessments to measure student achievement and inform instruction. Statewide achievement tests, required by federal and state law, are part of a larger local and state assessment system.

Millions of dollars in federal funding depends on at least 95 percent of all students every year taking standardized tests. Through preparation and practice, your child can achieve successful results when taking standardized tests in Arizona. In addition, skill-building programs like Time4Learning can prepare your child and build their academic confidence while reducing test anxiety. The changes in AIMS scholarships applied beginning with the graduating class of 2013.
Even though non-English home language students are making gains, they are not on track to achieve parity in the foreseeable future; which is why language acquisition continues to be one of the most critical issues facing Arizona. CFSD uses a variety of assessments to measure student learning and inform instruction. The link below is a summary report of CFSD’s Assessment Program and test results with general inferences and/or conclusions about the data presented in the report. Students, who often feel pressured to do well on standardized tests, become overwhelmed with anxiety, which is unfortunate and unnecessary. There’s an old saying that tests are an opportunity to show how much one knows. Yet, many times, children are so flummoxed by taking standardized tests, they give the wrong answer to questions that they know because they’re stressed, distracted, or unable to concentrate.
Your application will be kept on file for 6 months in the event an opportunity becomes available. Sick leave is only available to Arizona, California and Oregon employees. This policy complies with the Fair Wages and Healthy Family Act of 2017 (AZ), Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (CA) and SB242 for 2016 (OR). At AIMS Companies, we offer competitive benefits to all full-time employees. This includes access to one of the best health plans on the market, a dental plan and options for other coverage plans that offer financial protection for you and your family.
Consequently, the questions may be biased for or against specific groups of students. Those familiar with any standardized tests know that the questions are almost exclusively multiple choice or true/false, which can be scored by computer, removing any subjectivity, favoritism, or bias from the scoring process. Among the state’s charter schools, 73 percent either improved their grade or maintained an A or B rating, according to Ildiko Laczko-Kerr, vice president of academics for the Arizona Charter Schools Association. Also in the top five were the Higley, Vail, Catalina Foothills and Cave Creek unified school districts. The state’s push to ensure that all children can read by the end of third grade is starting to pay off. Overall, 2,206 of nearly 85,000 third-graders scored at the “falls far below” level on the AIMS reading test — 28 percent fewer than last year.
In this post, we dive into the research and discover which techniques can improve knowledge attainment and retention, and which aren’t worth spending time on. Tack said those regions have tight resources and little incentive for good teachers. Maricopa (37 and 38 percent for English and math, respectively) and Pima (34 and 33 percent), were the top-performing regions, but Apache (14 and 17 percent) and La Paz (17 and 20 percent) lagged behind. Although Douglas has voiced disapproval of AzMERIT and its “hasty” 5-month adoption process, Tack said the new test provides a more realistic picture of Arizona students than AIMS did. Transportation Director Steven Schober said he is happy to work with the Alumni Assocation on the purchase of the bus, but the district must follow policy on acquiring bids.
Qualified students will receive a full state university tuition waiver valid for one year following graduation from high school. The scholarship is renewable for four years based upon university-determined criteria. The actual dollar amount of the scholarship will vary based upon the tuition charged by the state university in which they have enrolled.
To broaden the perspective gained from the focus group interviews, the study included classroom observations and document analysis. Two of the high schools chosen are located on the Navajo Reservation and were specifically chosen to include an important population of students in a discussion in which they are largely forgotten even though they face unique challenges. A review of the literature on high-stakes testing effects reveals almost no extant literature on the effects of the AIMS test. This study will contribute to the national dialogue on testing effects as well as make an important foundational research contribution to the Arizona state dialogue on AIMS effects. Test content depends on the grade, and corresponds to what students have learned in the classroom.
AIMS math and reading tests are taken in each of the required years, writing is taken in grades 5, 6, 7 and 10, and science in grades 4, 8 and 10. Gau said Common Core standards may have influenced how different age levels scored on the new test. According to results, the oldest high school students taking AzMERIT were more likely to fail it compared to their younger peers. Only 34 percent of Arizona students passed their English test in the state’s newest standardized assessment, according to results released Monday by the Arizona Department of Education. Unlike previous years, AIMS (and now AzMERIT) are not high-stake tests that require students pass before high school graduation. “There is no student-level accountability in AzMERIT or AIMS,” said Matt Strom, executive director of research and assessment for the Chandler Unified School District.
Spring 2014 was

Standardized Test Prep in Arizona

the last time AIMS was administered for reading,
writing, and mathematics. AzMERIT, based on the new standards, will tell
teachers, students, and parents if students are on
track to be college and career ready upon
graduation from high school. The Arizona Science Standards did not change, so

students in Grades 4, 8, and high school will still
take the AIMS Science test. High school students graduating after December
31, 2016 will no longer be required to pass the

More About the Arizona Merit (AzM Tests

AIMS test to graduate high school. Arizona public school students in Grades 3
through high school will take AzMERIT. Students in Grades 3 through 8 will take an

assessment in English language arts and

mathematics at their grade level.
We are fully accredited with the Better Business Bureau, and have many satisfied customers who have successfully passed their certification exam with the help of our test preparation materials. Unlimited access to your test re-views, no time limits & recurring charges. [Teacher Tips] Preparing YOURSELF for Testing SeasonYes, believe it or not, your human nature is not suspended just because it’s time for assessments. And you know that deep down you won’t be on top of your game unless you’re taking care of yourself. So, educators, here are a few healthy reminders to help you stay sane through another testing season. 8 Tips for Parents to Help Your Child Prepare for High-Stakes TestsParents and other caregivers are critical to every student’s education journey.

Here are some of our best resources on general test prep and test taking to help the AzM2 and AIMS Science assessment process go smoothly at your school. Practice Tests This site provides online sample AzM2 tests so that students can preview the testing experience and become familiar with the online tools that will be available during testing. AzM2 and AIMS Science assessment materialsThese pages house resources including test blueprints, test and item specifications, and performance level descriptors. Honsinger and board members agreed to make a concerted effort to notify pass students to come by the high school for their diploma and transcript. “I think we need to contact them because when they fill out an application, they might be hesitant when it says, ‘did you graduate from high school,'” Wells said.
The most common way to meet this requirement was to pass the writing, reading, and mathematics content areas of the AIMS HS test. High school students had multiple opportunities to take and pass these content areas. Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) is the statewide achievement test for students in grades 3-8. Students will take grade level assessments in Writing, English language arts (ELA), and Mathematics.
Many parents use the grades as a way to gauge the success of their school. Annie Gilbert, who has two sons at Chandler Prep charter high school, said the letter grades are an important factor parents use when choosing a school. AzM2 is the statewide assessment given to all Arizona grade 10 students. While it was not given during the pandemic; we anticipate it will be available for all sophomores (Cohort 2023) this spring, 2021. All e-Institute students will be required to take AzM2 English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments.
Marzano-Validated Best Practices for Online PracticeThe Edmentum research team was honored to have Marzano Research peer review a research project that we conducted for our classroom practice and assessment program, Study Island. Through that review, Marzano confirmed our findings about the effectiveness of Study Island, and we also uncovered four best practices to help students get the most out of online practice. The academic gap between non-English home language students and students who speak English at home has persisted over the past five years; however, it is narrowing. Since 2005, the AIMS pass rates for all students have generally increased with the pass rate of Spanish or Navajo home language students rising at a greater rate than English home language students. In 2009, more than half of Spanish home language students passed AIMS in both Reading (54%) and Math (55%), whereas less than half of Navajo home language students passed AIMS in either Reading (43%) or Math (41%).
Of course they have evolved over time, but the purpose of the tests hasn’t changed much. The Arizona Legislature passed the bill, and though Gov. Doug Ducey was out of state, he asked Secretary of State Michele Reagan to sign it. Excite young learners with thousands of AZMerit / AzM2 / AIMS standards-aligned items.
The academic gap between non-English home language students and English home language students has persisted over the past five years; however in most cases, the gap is narrowing. The annual AIMS pass rate of Spanish home language students continues to increase at a higher rate than English home language students. The pass rate of Navajo home language students is also increasing at a higher rate than English home language students in Reading.
Parent and student resources Make sure parents are in know about state assessments by sharing this site designed to support parents and guardians as they help students prepare for the AzM2 and AIMS Science assessments. Educators say the AzMERIT test data, which has a much lower rate of passing than its predecessor, the AIMS test, indicates a higher benchmark for Arizona students. Standardized testing dates in Arizona may vary every year depending on the assessment, however they do tend to fall during the same time of year.