2026-27 Assessment Team Calendar
Join the Assessment Team for timely updates about the 2026-27 Maine Educational Assessments. Topics will include timely information about the Maine Through Year Assessment program with representatives from NWEA, a preview of Maine Science Assessment reporting features in the Kite Reporting Platform, and updates for the MSAA, ACCESS, NAEP, and international assessments.
Register NowAssessment Security
View additional assessment security resources on the Maine DOE's Assessment Security site.
Maine Through Year Assessment in Reading and Math
Contact Krista at krista.averill@maine.gov or (207) 215-6528.
Although spring RIT scores cannot be directly translated into Maine scale scores or achievement levels, data from the Spring 2026 administration show the likelihood that students within each RIT score range will meet Maine's state expectations (i.e., At or Above State Expectations). These likelihoods are based on observed student performance rather than a direct score conversion.
Learn More About the 2025 RIT Score Norms| Individual Student Report Template Translations |
| English | Arabic | Chinese | French | Khmer | Kinyarwanda | Lingala | Portuguese | Somali | Spanish | Vietnamese |
| Optional Supplemental Page, by Grade Level |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | High School |
| Date | Task |
|---|---|
| August 31, 2026 | Acacia management platform opens for pre-administration activities |
| September 14 – October 16, 2026 | Fall 2026 regular administration window |
| October 16, 2026 @ 4:00 PM | Last day to request an assessment reset |
| October 19 - 23, 2026 | Fall 2026 makeup window |
| October 26 - 30, 2026 | SAU data cleanup window |
| December 3, 2026 | Fall 2026 Student Score Data File becomes available |
Separating the regular administration window from the makeup window provides clarity on the timing of the assessment administration at the local level. Specifically, schools must not wait till the last week of the Maine Through Year Assessment window to begin assessing their students.
Historically, reset requests for the Maine Through Year Assessment have not been available during the final week of the administration. As a result, schools have effectively been required to complete the assessment administration before the last week so they can identify and submit any necessary reset requests. Establishing a designated makeup window makes this implicit requirement for resets explicit and supports schools in developing effective local administration schedules.
There will be no change to how students access the assessment during either portion of the overall administration window, and no changes to proctoring procedures. Makeup sessions may be administered at any time during the overall six-week administration window.
Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, all students assigned the Multiplication Chart designated support on the Maine Through Year Math Assessment MUST use the Maine DOE-approved 9x9 Multiplication Chart, linked below. The development of a single, approved Multiplication Chart for the Maine Through Year Assessment improves standardization and consistency across all Maine schools providing the support to their students.
Approved Multiplication Chart for the Maine Through Year AssessmentMaine Science Assessment
Contact Krista at krista.averill@maine.gov or (207) 215-6528.
Data validation is a critical step in ensuring the quality and accuracy of state assessment data. While validation processes and timelines vary by assessment, all assessment data should be considered preliminary until validation is complete. Preliminary (pre-validation) data are not released for the Maine Science Assessment. Validated, final score reports become available in the Kite Reporting Platform on Monday, August 24.
Data Quality and Processing FlowPlease view the Scoring and Reporting Resources for more information on accessing and understanding student score reports.
Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA) and MSAA Science
Contact Mechelle at mechelle.ganglfinger@maine.gov or (207) 242-4244.
The reports will be accessed directly from the MSAA System Dashboard. Users with Test Coordinator roles in the platform will have the ability to download reports.
If you have difficulty with your MSAA Platform login credentials while trying to access reports, please reach out to the MSAA Service Center at MSAAServiceCenter@cognia.org.
WIDA ACCESS, WIDA Alternate ACCESS & WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten
Contact Mechelle at mechelle.ganglfinger@maine.gov or (207) 242-4244.
Accommodations on ACCESS assessments are intended only for students with disabilities as documented in an IEP or Section 504 Plan. Accommodations decisions are made by a student’s educational support team (IEP, 504, or Title II of the ADA). They should never be assigned independently by an individual educator outside of the IEP process.
The 2026-2027 Accessibility and Accommodations Manual is now available on the WIDA Resources/Recursos webpage.
This year’s updates include two new accommodations: Assistive Technology (AT) and Speech-to-Text (STT). These new accommodations apply to WIDA ACCESS Online and WIDA Screener Online.
Updates for existing accommodations include:
- Manual Control of Item Audio (MC) will now apply to WIDA ACCESS Paper, WIDA ACCESS Braille and WIDA Screener Paper only. All students taking WIDA ACCESS Online or WIDA Screener Online have access to the Play button and must manually select it to begin the screen audio.
- WIDA Screener Paper and WIDA Screener for Kindergarten are now available in large print format in the WIDA Store. The Large Print (LP) accommodation section of the Accessibility and Accommodations Manual now includes these assessments.
WIDA Accommodations Checklists have been updated for 2026-2027. These checklists can be used to track the accommodations a student receives for WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Screener.
For additional information on this year’s accessibility updates, read WIDA’s article about accessibility updates for 2026-2027 on the WIDA website.
2026-2027 Accessibility and Accommodations Manual
Does the student use an accommodation regularly in the classroom?
If not, consider carefully whether an accommodation is truly needed for assessment. Accommodations should not be provided for the first time in an assessment situation. Students should be given opportunities to practice the accommodation prior to the assessment.
Does the accommodation address the student’s need?
Accommodations do not reduce expectations or compensate for a lack of knowledge, skills, or prior instruction. The sole purpose of an accommodation is to ensure that a disability does not prevent a demonstration of English language proficiency. Providing unnecessary accommodations can negatively impact student performance.
Is the accommodation appropriate for ELP assessment?
Some accommodations that are typically available to MLs taking a content assessment are not acceptable supports on an ELP assessment. Student support teams must never offer an accommodation that would invalidate the ELP assessment.
The 2026-2027 WIDA Screener Online administration opened in WIDA AMS on June 26. Use the following resources to help you get ready for the upcoming school year.
- Prepare to administer WIDA Screener. The 2026-2027 WIDA Screener training courses and test administration materials are now available in the WIDA Secure Portal.
- The WIDA Screener Online Writing Prompts are no longer available in the WIDA Secure Portal. Find these resources in the Screener Scoring application in WIDA AMS.
- Check out updated WIDA Screener Online test demos and test practice. Access these resources on the WIDA AMS login page or by logging in to WIDA AMS and selecting Public Test Resources at the bottom of the landing page. (In case you missed it, WIDA ACCESS Online test practice and test demos are currently unavailable, but they’ll be back in September 2026.)
Updated:
- Documents Page of WIDA AMS: Technology documentation including the DRC INSIGHT Technology User Guide, Site Technology Readiness Checklist for Deploying WIDA Online Assessments, and the WIDA AMS User Guide.
New this year:
- Configuring Online Assistive Technologies for WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Screener: Steps for setting up testing for students using the new Assistive Technology or Speech-to-Text accommodations.
- DRC INSIGHT Supported Operating System Versions: Supported system requirements. You may also select My Applications > General Information > Technology Downloads in WIDA AMS to access this resource.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Contact Dr. Lewis at regina.lewis@maine.gov or (207) 530-1355.
The National Assessment Governing Board announced the release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend (LTT) results for 9- and 13-year-old students on June 10, 2026. More information is available at www.nationsreportcard.gov.
The LTT assessment provides a national, age-based snapshot of student performance in mathematics and reading, allowing comparisons of student achievement across generations dating back to the 1970s. State-level results are not reported for the NAEP LTT.
Results from the NAEP 2026 assessment are tentatively scheduled for release in late January 2027. This delayed reporting will allow for additional studies to be conducted on the transition to administration using school devices.
The NAEP 2027 assessment program includes a pilot grade 8 science assessment aligned with an updated science framework. The pilot assessment is designed to collect important data as NAEP transitions to the updated framework.
The pilot assessment will be administered on both NAEP-provided devices and school-owned devices, including a small number of MacOS devices. NAEP plans to continue the transition to include MacOS and iOS devices for the administration of NAEP 2028.
Maine schools have not been selected to participate in this small 2027 preparatory study.
