What is the AIMS? AIMS stands for Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards. It's a test that's designed to measure each student’s progress in school on the Arizona Academic Standards, which basically define what students should know at various stages of their education. Every student in Arizona takes the AIMS test in their 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th grade years in public school.

In 2006, it was determined that all high school students must score high enough to meet the AIMS standards for reading, mathematics, and writing in order to receive a diploma. If a student does not meet the standards, then they must retake the test(s) until they have met or exceeded them. Each student has five opportunities to take the AIMS before graduation beginning in their sophomore year.

The AIMS scores are set into four performance levels. According to how the student does on the test, they will fall in to one of the following: Falls Far Below the Standard, Approaches the Standard, Meets the Standard, or Exceeds the Standard. The performance level indications tell how well the student demonstrated their knowledge and skills of the standards on the AIMS test.

Teachers use the AIMS for their instructional planning and school and district administrators use the data to tell how well their curriculum aligns with the state standards and No Child Left Behind, the federally mandated program that required all states to establish standards and assess students on those standards periodically throughout their education. The parent report for the students’ who take the AIMS, has the scale score information and the performance level indicators. All of this information can be used to determine what knowledge and skills the student currently has and demonstrates, as well as what the student needs to know in order to progress to the next level.