AzMERIT (Arizona's Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching) is Arizona's new statewide achievement test.  Arizona is partnering with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to develop tests which are unique to Arizona

Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) tested the old standards.  Spring 2014 was 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.

Performance labels for AzMERIT are Highly Proficient, Proficient, Partially Proficient and Minimally Proficient.  Cut-off scores for each performance label were determined based on what students at each grade level should know, not by the percentage of questions students answered correctly.

Students who took AzMERIT may be less proficient than they were on AIMS.  AzMERIT is not comparable to AIMS.  This decrease is not a reflection of students' learning or the quality of their education.  With new standards and a new assessment, we need to redefine our expectations.  AzMERIT scores are expected to increase over time, and more rigorous standards mean our students will be better prepared than ever to enter into an increasingly competitive world upon graduation.