As teachers spend more time focusing on the content outlined in the new standards and students gain more practice with the skills, scores are expected to improve over time.

You can use the test results to guide a discussion with your child's teachers about additional support or challenges that may be needed in class, as well as ways to support your child at home. Your child's performance is broken down into categories in each subject. Therefore, you can also use this information to locate activities online that were designed specifically for each category at every grade level.

Comparing student performance on AzMERIT with other English Language Arts and/or math assessments or course work can help determine whether poor performance on AzMERIT is due to not trying or due to not understanding. A student who did not try on the AzMERIT would likely show better performance on other tests or course work.

They focus on measuring real-world skills. For example, students were asked to read complex passages, analyze them, and write thoughtful responses, which is different from previous tests. This was also the first time a statewide test included a writing section at every grade level.

AzMERIT does not lend itself to teaching to the test. By moving away from simple fill in the bubble tests, the temptation to teach to the test was eliminated. The new tests emphasize applying skills over memorization. Strong teaching coupled with engaged learning throughout the year is the best way to prepare for this test. Since the standards ensure students are learning what they need to know, and the new tests are aligned to the standards, schools can now focus on what is most important, instead of test prep.

AzMERIT includes a number of different types of questions, including performance tasks that are multi-step assignments that ask students to apply their knowledge and skills to address real-world problems. In English, students have to apply their research and writing skills, and in math, they solve complex problems and then describe and defend their reasoning. The test also includes traditional multiple choice questions, as well as interactive questions that require students to drag and drop their answers into a box, create equations, and fill in the answer.

The new tests are only one of several measures that are used to determine your child's academic performance. Report card grades include multiple sources of information - participation, work habits, group projects, and homework - all of which are important in determining a child's academic achievement. These sources are not reflected on the test, so there may be some differences. To further explore your child's academic achievement, talk with his or her teacher.

Scores will be used to better tailor instruction to individual student needs and give us a tool to see how students and schools across the state are doing.

This AzMERIT score report helps you understand your child's academic achievement. You can see how your child is performing in comparison to peers in the same grade level, school and district. In addition to giving you an overall score, the report also breaks down each subject into categories to provide you with a better understanding of how your child performed in different areas of math and English Language Arts.

Students are not required to pass the assessment for graduation. All students will need to pass a civics test for graduation. The civics test is administered in the fall and spring for students who have not yet passed.

The state assessment measures how well your child is performing in English Language Arts and math. AzMERIT scores are just one of several measures, including report card grades, classroom performance and feedback from teachers that can be used to measure your child’s academic progress.

Score reports are sent home. Within the report, parents will find information on their child's test performance and specific skills that need improvement.