2026-27 Assessment Team Calendar
Assessment Security
All Assessment Coordinators and Proctors/Assessment Administrators must watch the training video appropriate for their role:
- Assessment Security Training Video for Assessment Coordinators
- Assessment Security Training Video for Proctors and Assessment Administrators
After completing the required trainings, all Assessment Coordinators, Proctors, and Assessment Administrators must sign the MEA Security and Data Privacy Agreement found in Appendix A of the Assessment Security Handbook.
View all 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.
| Date | Task |
|---|---|
| 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 |
- District and School Assessment Coordinators: Enroll in the 2026-27 Training Module
- Proctors (also called Assessment Administrators): Required Proctor Training Video
Any schools still missing students in the Acacia platform should contact Krista Averill at Krista.Averill@maine.gov.
- If you are missing fewer than 30 students, in the body of your email provide list of the SSIDs (no bullets, please), the grade level for each student, and the attending school that you expect the student to be rostered to in Acacia.
- If you are missing 30 or more students, please reach out via email to request the roster file template. The school will complete the template provided and return to Maine DOE as a password protected CSV or Excel file for direct upload by the Assessment Team in Acacia. The file password should be provided in a second, separate email.
October Enrollment Collection
The October 1 student enrollment will be available in NEO on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.
All school administrative units (SAU) with students to report are encouraged to have data ready for submission from Connect to NEO as close to October 7 as possible.
The timeframe from October 2 through October 7 should be used to review attending student data for accuracy and completeness.
For more information, please review the Priority Notice: Student Data Availability in NEO.
Please email MEDMS Support at MEDMS.Support@maine.gov or call 207-624-6896 for support.
Maine Through Year Assessment Data Cleanup
The Maine Through Year Assessment data cleanup window for School Administrative Units is open through October 30.
Most cleanup tasks can be started during the administration window. Please see the SAU Data Cleanup Checklist for a list of those tasks.
From October 26 to October 30, schools may reach out to the Maine DOE Assessment Team to:
- Request that students be removed from Acacia due to being an alternate assessment student
- Request manual changes to student demographics that were not accounted for by the daily change files
- Partially homeschooled students
- Students who have exited the SAU and have not been enrolled by a different Maine SAU
Maine Science Assessment
Contact Krista at krista.averill@maine.gov or (207) 215-6528.
Please 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.
WIDA ACCESS, WIDA Alternate ACCESS & WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten
Contact Mechelle at mechelle.ganglfinger@maine.gov or (207) 242-4244.
The SY 26-27 English Language Proficiency (ELP) Assessment Timeline can be found on the English Language Proficiency Assessments | Department of Education webpage.
Important WIDA ACCESS dates and training requirements may also be found on the Maine | WIDA webpage.
For students who require paper-based materials per the IEP or 504 Plan, a Paper Materials Request must be submitted by the SAU. Forms must be submitted between 9/1/26 - 10/23/26.
For students who qualify for participation and reporting of LT4Ds due to a documented exceptionality, a LT4D request must be submitted by the SAU. The instructions and request will be uploaded soon. Requests must be submitted between 11/19/26 - 2/19/27.
| WIDA ACCESS Technology Installations: Part 1 | Tuesday, October 6 at 2:00 p.m. |
| WIDA ACCESS Technology Installations: Part 2 | Thursday, October 8 at 2:00 p.m. |
| WIDA ACCESS Technology Support and Online Preparedness | Tuesday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m. |
On September 1, WIDA launched the WIDA Core Learning Collection, a new hub for professional learning designed to help educators move beyond awareness and into implementation. Building on WIDA's Self-Paced Workshops, the Core Learning Collection offers more flexible, research-based professional learning for educators who support multilingual learners. The collection is available to WIDA Consortium member state educators in the WIDA Secure Portal.
WIDA Core Learning CollectionGive students the opportunity to practice answering the types of questions they will encounter on WIDA ACCESS Online, WIDA ACCESS Paper, WIDA ACCESS Braille and WIDA Alternate ACCESS. Find sample items, suggested sample item scripts and links to other online test preparation resources on the ACCESS Test Practice and Sample Items page and on the Alternate ACCESS Sample Items page.
New for 2026-2027
- ACCESS Online test demos and test practice are once again available in WIDA AMS Public Test Resources. In case you missed it, WIDA made some accessibility updates to WIDA ACCESS Online . Visit the ACCESS Test Practice and Sample Items page (linked in the paragraph above) to view the updated test demo, test practice and sample items.
- Starting this year, students taking ACCESS Online will control the start of the audio on each screen. Students can now select the Play button on each screen that contains audio when they’re ready to listen. Because the audio will no longer play automatically, make sure to schedule time to let students practice this so they’re ready to go on test day.
Annual WIDA ACCESS certification/recertification for Test Administrators is now required. Annual recertification helps ensure that Test Administrators are following current procedures and maintaining consistency, security, and scoring reliability when administering this assessment. It also ensures Test Administrators are aware of any updates to WIDA assessment materials and procedures from year to year.
District ACCESS Test Coordinators ensure that all educators administering ACCESS in SY2026-2027 complete the appropriate training courses in the WIDA Secure Portal as well as the certification quiz with a score of 80% or greater.
2026-2027 Required Training for WIDA ACCESS Screeners (As Applicable)
WIDA Screener Online
- WIDA Screener Online: Administration
- Speaking for Grades 1-5 (and/or 6-12): Scoring WIDA Screener and ACCESS Braille
- Writing for Grades 1-5 (and/or 6-12): Scoring WIDA Screener
- WIDA Screener Paper: Administration
- Speaking for Grades 1-5 (and/or 6-12): Scoring WIDA Screener and ACCESS Braille
- Writing for Grades 1-5 (and/or 6-12): Scoring WIDA Screener
- WIDA Screener for Kindergarten: Administration and Scoring
2026-2027 Required Training for WIDA ACCESS Test Administrators (As Applicable)
WIDA ACCESS Online
- WIDA ACCESS Online: Administration
- ACCESS 4th grade Writing Domain (paper booklet) - Maine DOE specific
- WIDA ACCESS Paper: Administration
- Speaking for Grades 1-5 (and/or 6-12): Scoring WIDA ACCESS Paper
- WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten: Administration and Scoring
- WIDA Alternate ACCESS: Administration and Scoring
- WIDA ACCESS Braille: Administration
- Speaking for Grades 1-5 (and/or 6-12): Scoring WIDA Screener and ACCESS Braille
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Contact Dr. Lewis at regina.lewis@maine.gov or (207) 530-1355.
Results from the NAEP 2026 assessment are tentatively scheduled for release in late January 2027. As a reminder, the 2026 NAEP mathematics and reading assessments were based on updated frameworks. Information about the changes to the frameworks will be provided as we approach the public release of the NAEP results.
Nation's Report CardThe NAEP 2027 assessment program includes a pilot grade 8 science assessment aligned with an updated science framework. The pilot assessment will be administered on both NAEP provided and school owned devices to collect important data as a continuation of the transition to a device agnostic assessment. NAEP plans to continue the transition to include MacOS and iOS devices during the 2027 pilot testing, with a goal of adding iOS devices for the administration of NAEP 2028.
