The California Department of Education (CDE) is committed to establishing innovative achievement and proficiency assessments for students. These assessments include item types that model and promote high-quality teaching and student learning and ensure that all of California students are well prepared for college and careers in today’s competitive global economy.

A. California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP)

Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics (SBAC)

 

Students in grades three through eight and grade eleven will receive full-length summative tests for both English language arts/literacy and mathematics, with approximately seven to eight hours of total testing time for each student. Every device used for testing must have the secure browser installed. Stable, high-speed Internet is required.

 

Visit the California Department of Education (CDE) California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System Web page for additional information about the Smarter Balanced Assessment System.

The California Science Test (CAST) is an online assessment based on the California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). All local educational agencies (LEAs) with eligible students in grades five and eight and in high school will administer the CAST field test. (Additional information about high school grade assignments is forthcoming.) The CAST field test uses the current California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) test delivery system and will be only administered online. Students will not receive scores for the field test; however, student participation data will be collected and reported for accountability.

 

Who takes the CAST field test? Participation in the CAST field test is required for all students in grades five and eight, and high school with the exception of eligible students who will take the second California Alternate Assessment for Science pilot.

 

View the CAST Informational Video (8:19) or download the video to learn more about CAST’s alignment to the California NGSS.

As part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System of assessments, California offers the optional Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS) for Reading/Language Arts, which are multiple-choice tests that allow Spanish-speaking English learners to demonstrate their knowledge of the California content standards.

 

Separately, the California Spanish Assessment (CSA) currently is being developed to replace the optional STS. The CSA will be a computer-based assessment that is aligned to the California Common Core State Standards en Español.

The summative California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) for English language arts/literacy (ELA), mathematics, and science are administered to eligible students. The CAAs are for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and whose individualized education program (IEP) team has designated the use of an alternate assessment on statewide summative assessments.

 

Eligible students are those whose disability prevents them from taking the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics and the California Science Test.

 

 

The CAA for Science Pilot 2 is available in grades five and eight, and one grade in high school (grade ten, eleven, or twelve) as well as students in ungraded programs.

 

The CAA for Science will be administered as an embedded performance task that is part of classroom instruction. View the CAA for Science Informational Video (7:09) or download the video for more information about the design of the embedded performance tasks.

 

Students in kindergarten through grade twelve whose home language is not English are required by law to be assessed in English language proficiency (ELP). In California, the ELP assessment is the CELDT. It is administered each year as an initial assessment (IA) to newly enrolled students whose primary language is not English, as indicated on a home language survey (HLS), and as an annual assessment (AA) to students who have been identified previously as English learners.

 

The California Department of Education (CDE) is transitioning from the CELDT to the ELPAC as the state ELP assessment by 2018. The ELPAC will be aligned with the 2012 California English Language Development Standards. It will be comprised of two separate ELP assessments: one for the initial identification of students as English learners (ELs), and a second for the annual summative assessment to measure a student’s progress in learning English and to identify the student's level of ELP.

 

CELDT to ELPAC Proposed Transition Timeline

 

The physical fitness test (PFT) for students in California schools is the FITNESSGRAM®. The main goal of the test is to help students in starting life-long habits of regular physical activity.

 

Students in grades five, seven, and nine take the fitness test. The test has six parts that show a level of fitness that offer a degree of defense against diseases that come from inactivity. The test results can be used by students, teachers, and parents.

 

The FITNESSGRAM®is composed of the following six fitness areas, with a number of test options provided for most areas:

 

1. Aerobic Capacity

 

2. Abdominal Strength and Endurance

 

3. Upper Body Strength and Endurance

 

4. Body Composition

 

5. Trunk Extensor Strength and Flexibility

 

6. Flexibility