Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS)

The alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS)was an assessment that some states used to evaluate the performance of a small group of students with disabilities whose progress in response to appropriate instruction made it unlikely that they would achieve grade-level proficiency within the school year covered by the Individualized Education Program (IEP).

This assessment option is no longer allowed. Final regulations that formally ended the use of the AA-MAS were issued in the Federal Register on August 21, 2015 PDF . The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in December 2015 confirmed that an AA-MAS could not be used as a Title I assessment, nor could it be used for Title I accountability.

For additional information about the AA-MAS see Policy History