DATE:
Thursday, August 7, 2025
TO:
Middle and High School Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
Fall 2025 Assessment Updates
There are several assessment updates of which middle and high school administrators should be aware:
RISE ELA and Writing Scores, School Report Card, and TSI/ATSI/CSI Designation Delays
The RISE ELA assessment was updated to match the new ELA core recently approved by the USBE. Whenever an assessment is changed, it must go through a standard setting process. USBE is currently conducting that standard setting process, which will delay the release of RISE ELA and writing scores until sometime in September or October. The delayed score release will also delay the release of school report cards and new TSI/ATSI/CSI designations and exits until January 2026.
Currently designated TSI/ATSI/CSI schools should continue implementing their school improvement plans for the duration of the 2025-26 school year.
Grades 9-10 Summative Assessment
SB 39 was passed in the 2025 legislative session, which mandates the transition back to a standards assessment for grades 9-10. This means that the Utah Aspire Plus will be administered for the last time in the spring of 2026 and then will be retired.
Cambium Assessment (CAI), the current RISE grades 3-8 vendor, won the RFP for the new standards assessment for grades 9-10, which means middle and high schools will now participate in a grades 3-10 RISE summative assessment using a single testing platform. Student participation on the RISE assessment will be based on course enrollment rather than grade, similar to the way it was done when we had SAGE. Actual tested courses in 9th and 10th grades are still being determined.
Grades 9-10 RISE summative testing will begin in the spring of 2027. RISE Benchmarks and Interims for grades 9-10 will also be developed but will likely not be available during the 2026-27 school year.
Civics Exam Graduation Requirement
With the passing of HB 381, which took effect on July 1, 2025, students no longer have to take and pass a civics exam to graduate from high school. Instead, students will need to take and pass a US government and citizenship course. While the removal of the requirement to take a civics exam goes into effect beginning with the 2025-26 school year, the required government and citizenship course applies to the freshman class of 2026-27 to give USBE time to develop course standards and schools time to hire personnel. Thus, the classes of 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 do not have to pass the civics exam nor take the government and citizenship class to graduate. The new government and citizenship course requirement will apply first to the class of 2030.
USBE is still working on this issue; thus, more updates will be released as they become available.
RISE ELA and Writing Benchmarks
The RISE ELA and writing benchmarks based on the new ELA core for grades 3-8 will be available beginning November 4, 2025, except for the 7th grade informational writing benchmark, which will not be available for the 2025-26 school year. The 7th grade informational writing benchmark pilot did not receive enough responses to validate its usage.
RISE math and science benchmarks are currently available.
New DLI Assessment
The state’s contract with LTI and its AAPPL assessment for DLI classes ended with the 2024-25 school year. Avant’s STAMP assessment won the new contract and will be implemented beginning with the 2025-26 school year. Assessment, Research & Accountability will release additional updates as we receive them from USBE.
Please note that AAPPL for world language testing in the spring will continue as in years past.
For questions or concerns about any of these changes, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.
