AZ SB1321

State Board of Education must adopt a menu of locally-procured achievement assessments to measure student achievement of state academic standards starting in the 2017-2018 school year.

Beginning in 2017-2018, local education agencies with grades 9-12 can select an alternative assessment from the menu instead of the state-adopted test; this expands to grades 3-8 beginning in 2018-2019.

Local education agencies with a letter grade of D or F cannot choose from the menu and must continue using the statewide assessment adopted by the State Board of Education.

Assessment providers must submit evidence of high quality, alignment with state standards, ability to equate scores for state accountability programs, and a third-party evaluation before consideration for the menu.

State Board of Education must submit a report by December 15, 2017 to the Governor and legislative leadership on implementation progress for grades 3-8.