Arizona Sample Questions

Arizona is a part of the Race to the Top initiative and hence will be taking a new, online assessment this year.  After years of multiple choice, "fill in the bubble" assessments, the digital test will seem like a whole new venture.

 The standards are different (AzCCR), the format is different (online), and the way to answer is completely different!  Although there is likely to be some multiple choice, there is more drag-and-drop, sliders, online calculators, etc.

Because the assessment is so novel, ADE has released sample test questions.  The sample questions are available in multiple formats.

The first format is "student version".  Students may click on the "assessments" to practice and to get a feel for the format and features, such as drag-and-drop.  Teachers may wish to do this whole class, especially with a mimio.  Teachers may also like to "assign" the assessment to students.  Either way, allowing students to see the new assessment would help them get over the shock factor.

This picture shows a drag-and-drop question.  The text on the left is longer than the screen size.  The student may scroll using the slider in the middle.  Note that the question is asking about Caribou, Moose, and Both.  To reference the Moose passage, students need to click on the tab at the bottom. 

This screenshot shows a task requiring a student to compare two texts.  Again, you can see that the student can toggle back and forth between texts by using the tab at the bottom.  The students can also access the rubric.  The instructions state that students should take notes before selecting "Go on". 

This is a screenshot of the very next page.  For students familiar with typing online, this should not be earth-shattering.  However, for students who rarely type, this might be intimidating. 

Some students may be asked to highlight directly in the text.  Notice the prompt on Part B of this question from 11th grade. 

Another format is "teacher version".  The teacher version is much like the student version, however it has tabs on the top.  When you initially open the assessment, you are defaulted to the "Question" tab.  Teachers may then click on the "Rationale" tab and see the correct answers.  The standards tab is self-explanatory.  The most interesting tab is the "Metadata" tab.  Here is an example from 3rd Grade ELA:

You can see that questions are worth a variety of point values.  In fact, on the Math assessments, students may score points for correct rationale, but incorrect answers. 

How to View Your Sample Assessment

Go to Arizona's new page devoted to the new assessment: http://www.azed.gov/assessment/new/

Scroll down and click on the tab for Arizona Sample Items.

You will see a list of available sample assessments.  ADE is creating more assessments to be updated as soon as they become available.  Even if you do not see your grade level represented here, it would be beneficial to see what is required of other grades.