Ohio's State Tests

9/30/2025

Fall Grade 3 ELA Test Administration

Fall grade 3 English language arts (ELA) testing takes place Oct. 13-31. Districts and schools must preidentify students who will participate in testing using the Pre-ID File Layout for the 2025-2026 school year. Districts and schools must ensure all participating students have the appropriate subject mode field set to “O” for online or “P” for paper. All students, regardless of test mode, must be preidentified no later than Oct. 31.

Districts and schools should review the Fall 2025 OST Test Administration Manual (TAM) to become familiar with policies and procedures. The “Online Testing Highlights and Script” found in Appendix L of the Fall 2025 OST TAM must be used when administering Ohio's State Tests online. Additional information on paper testing, including the receipt, distribution, and return of the materials and the “Paper Testing Highlights and Script” are available in the Fall 2025 OST Supplemental Instructions for Paper Testing Manual.

Adult Tester Online Administration

The fall adult tester administration window takes place Oct. 20-Nov. 14. All adult testers must present a photo ID at the time of testing. Mathematics, science, and social studies results will be available in the Centralized Reporting System (CRS) immediately after testing. Results for the English Language Arts II test will be available in the CRS on Dec.15. Additional information including policies, procedures, and the online testing script is available in the 2025-2026 Adult Testers Test Administration Manual (ADT-TAM) located on the OST test portal. Test administrators must use the online testing script located in Appendix K of the ADT-TAM when administering tests.

Please contact the Office of Assessment at statetests@education.ohio.gov for all assessment-related questions. Direct Ohio's Adult Diploma Program Options questions to Ashley Kerr of Adult Options, at Ashley.Kerr@education.ohio.gov.

Department Seeks Educators to Participate on OST Committees

The Office of Assessment is accepting applications for participants to serve on Content Advisory, Rubric Validation, and Fairness and Sensitivity committees for Ohio’s State Tests in all grades and subjects. Ohio’s educators, content specialists, and other stakeholders play a vital role in creating valid and reliable assessments by serving on these committees. For detailed descriptions of the different committees and their tasks, visit the Assessment Committees webpage.
 
Each Ohio’s state test (e.g., Ohio’s State Test in Grade 3 ELA or Algebra I End-of-Course Test) has its own committee. Committees meet in person in the Columbus area on an ongoing basis to review new test questions and materials as they are developed, typically once or twice a year. Please note the following:

• For committee members who are not under contractual obligations for the dates of the meeting, a monetary stipend of $75 will be provided for each day of attendance.
• The cost of substitute teachers will be directly reimbursed to school districts for all eligible meeting participants. Participants will receive reimbursement guidelines and paperwork to give to their districts at the meeting.
• Meetings are held 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. with a break for lunch.
• Participants will receive a certificate of contact hours from the Office of Assessment.

 Applications must be submitted by 11 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2025. Selected applicants will receive an acceptance email by Dec. 12, which will contain detailed information about summer 2026 meetings and logistics. We hope you will consider participating in this very important work. Your experience and expertise can serve a crucial role in the development of the OST. Direct questions to statetests@education.ohio.gov.