ACAP Testing Information

Each spring, Alabama public school students take the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP), the state's standards-based assessment system. ACAP results give parents, teachers, and school leaders a consistent way to see how a student is performing against Alabama's academic standards and how that performance compares across the state.

There are two versions of the ACAP, and which one a student takes depends on their individual learning needs:

ACAP Summative is the assessment nearly all students take. It measures English Language Arts and math in grades 2–8, and science in grades 4, 6, and 8, based on the Alabama Course of Study standards.

ACAP Alternate is administered to students with certain disabilities who qualify for participation as determined by their IEP team. It measures English Language Arts and math in grades 2–8, 10, and 11, and science in grades 4, 6, 8, and 11, based on the Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards — a version of the standards designed for this student population.

Both assessments are administered each spring, and both produce an Individual Student Report (ISR) for families after testing. The ISR shows a student's performance level, scale score, and (for ELA and math, when applicable) a growth score comparing the student's academic growth to peers across the state with similar starting scores.

The two guides below walk through how to read your child's ISR, whichever version applies to them.