The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments

The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments are part of the CAASPP System that are given each spring to students in grades three through eight and grade eleven. They are based on California’s challenging content standards for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics.

• CAASPP Key Messages – Address questions and concerns about the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments that schools and districts may receive from parents, students, and community members.
• Frequently Asked Questions about the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments
   
• Creating a Computer Adaptive Test (English)  (PDF)
• Creating a Computer Adaptive Test (Spanish)  (PDF) 
  This document describes the two criteria for creating an online, adaptive test and how the adaptive software works for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments. 

Parent Communication Resources About the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments

Several resources have been developed to help schools and districts better communicate with parents about the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments. These resources were developed based on parent focus groups and can be customized by districts and schools.

• Letter to Parents – A letter that explains to parents that their child will be participating in the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment. The letter is customizable and addresses some key questions that many parents will have about the assessments.

• Parent Guides to the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments 
• CAASPP Starting Smarter - The Starting Smarter websites help parents understand student scores and reports, view sample questions, and provide additional free resources to support your child's learning.

Videos

Brief student videos gives key information about the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments and how to get additional information about testing in the State of California. 

• What are Smarter Balanced Assessments? (English)  (Video; 3:32)
• What are Smarter Balanced Assessments? (Spanish)  (Video; 4:00)
• Smarter Balanced: A Complete Assessment System (English)  (Video; 1:39)
• Smarter Balanced: A Complete Assessment System (Spanish)  (Video; 1:40)
• 2015–16: Understanding Your Child’s Score Report (English)  (Video; 5:14)
  Explains the new CAASPP Student Score Report

General Information

Parent Guide to Understanding (PDF) – This guide provide parents with answers to key questions about the what, why, who, how, and when. They are available for each assessment program.

Information about Student Scores

ELPAC Starting Smarter - The Starting Smarter websites help parents understand student scores and reports, view sample test questions, and provide additional free resources to support your child's learning.

Understanding Your Child's Student Score Report, Initial ELPAC (PDF)
Entendiendo el informe de puntaje estudiantil de su hijo, ELPAC Inicial (PDF) 
Other translations of the Understanding Your Child's Student Score Report, Initial ELPAC

ORAL LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT(OLA) TESTERS

Area of Focus:  The Oral Language Acquisition tester assesses students on how well they understand English when it is not their primary language. The tests used are interactive and adapt to the abilities of the student to identify what support is needed for a student to learn English, to measure skill levels of identified English Learners, and to identify the language abilities of a student who speaks a second language.

CAA SCIENCE

The California Alternate Assessment (CAA) for Science is a part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress System. The purpose of the CAA for Science is to measure what students know and can do. These measures help identify and address gaps in knowledge or skills early so students can receive the support they need.

Only eligible students may participate in the administration of the CAA for Science. Any student identified for alternate testing takes the alternate version of all assessments. The CAA for Science is administered to students in grades five, eight, and once in high school (i.e., grade ten, eleven, or twelve). Individualized education program (IEP) teams “shall determine when a child with the most significant cognitive disability shall participate in an alternate assessment aligned with the alternate academic achievement standards.” (Title 1, Part A, Subpart 1, Sec. 1111(b)(2)(D)(ii)(I)—Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015)

The CAAs are aligned with alternate achievement standards—called the Science Core Content Connectors—and are linked to the performance expectations from the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS).

The CAAs are aligned with alternate achievement standards—called the Science Core Content Connectors—and are linked to the performance expectations from the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS).

Our district currently has assessments in place for oral reading (1st-6th) , writing (K-8th), and math (TK-8th). Assessments for English Language Arts are currently being piloted by individual school sites, who might require other grade level assessments, as well.  

Click on the links for current information on the testing windows for required TK-8 district-wide assessments.

All District and State Assessments:

District Writing Prompts 

Tutorials

  Click on logo for tutorials on NWEA

Here are some screen shot tutorials on navigating School City

Entering scores for KSEP, Unassisted Writing or Oral Reading?  Here is the way to do that.

 

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.

• For more information about the PFT, contact your local school district.
• The PFT - CalEdFacts page provides a more detailed overview of the test.
• The information below was developed to provide assistance to various groups that are directly involved with, or have an interest in, the PFT.

PFT Fact Sheet (PDF)
Answers questions about the what, why, who, how, and when for the PFT.

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 operational test. The CAST operational test uses the current California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) test delivery system and will be administered online only.

Who takes the CAST operational test? The CAST is administered in grades five and eight and once to each student while that student is in high school. All students must take the CAST by the end of grade twelve, but have the option of testing in grade ten or grade eleven. Only eligible students may participate in the administration of the CAST. Students assigned to take an alternate assessment should take the California Alternate Assessment for Science.

SCIENCE IS TOO COOL