Meadowview School Student Testing 

MI-Access:  Michigan's Alternate Assessment Program

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that all students with disabilities be assessed at the state level. If the state's general assessment is not appropriate, even with assessment accommodations, the IEP Team must determine how the student will be assessed.

In response to this legislation the Michigan State Board of Education approved the Michigan Educational Assessment System (MEAS). It has three components, Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), MI-Access and ELL-Access. MI-Access is designed for students for whom the IEP Team has determined that the MEAP assessments, even with assessment accommodations, are not appropriate for the student.

MI-Access Program Description

MI-Access is one component of the Michigan Educational Assessment System (MEAS), which was adopted by the State Board of Education in November 2001. Other components of the MEAS include the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), which has been in place for more than thirty years, and ELL-Access (for English Language Learners). The MEAS is designed to provide opportunities for all students-including those with disabilities and limited English language proficiencies-to participate in appropriate and meaningful state assessments. Within the MEAS, MI-Access is thestate's standardized Assessment program designed specifically for students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) Teams have determined that the MEAP is not appropriate for them, even with assessment accommodations.

The purpose of MI-Access is to provide teachers, parents, and other stakeholders with a point-in-time picture of what students know and are able to do. The activities selected for inclusion in the assessment-all of which were designed with input from classroom teachers-are applicable to real world situations, that is, they reflect skills students will need to be successful in school and in adult life roles.

Who Is Tested

All students that are in grades, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ,8, and 11 MUST be assessed at a state level - including students whose IEP Teams have determined they should be administered MI-Access assessments. If a students in NOT assigned to a grade level, but is one of the following ages (9, 10, 11,12, 13, 14, 17 and 18) by December 1 of the assessment year, he or she MUST be assessed.

 For more information on Mi-Access testing click here.