Test Structure

All AEPA tests are criterion referenced; that is, they are designed to measure examinees' knowledge in relation to an established standard of competence (a criterion) rather than in relation to the performance of other examinees. The purpose of the tests is to help identify examinees who have the appropriate level of knowledge and skills that have been judged to be important for educators in Arizona public schools.

Each AEPA test is also objective based; that is, it is based on content stated in a set of test objectives for the test field. The AEPA test objectives are available in the study guides at no cost on the AEPA website. The objectives are intended to be public documents clearly describing the content upon which the AEPA tests are based. They are typically used by educator preparation faculty, students, examinees, parents, and interested Arizona citizens.

The AEPA test objectives are explicitly aligned with appropriate Arizona standards documents, as mandated by Arizona legislative and regulatory provisions. The various Arizona standards documents with which the AEPA test objectives are aligned mandate coverage of content-area knowledge and skills for teachers and administrators and professional knowledge and skills for all educators.

Because the content of each test is based on its test objectives, the content of each score report is related to the list of test objectives as well. Total test scores are reported to examinees who have not passed. All examinees are presented a graphic display of their relative subarea performance, reflecting the examinees' level of performance on test items corresponding to groups of test objectives that address broadly similar content areas.

The correspondence between examinees' performance and stated test objectives can be especially helpful to faculty members as they advise candidates who are preparing to retake an AEPA test, because it permits advisors to link specific courses and other campus resources to areas of study in which a candidate may benefit from focused work.