About the Assessments

All students are required to participate in the CAASPP assessments for which they are eligible with the exception of those for whom a parent/guardian exemption has been submitted to the test site or for whom the not tested due to a medical emergency exemption applies. All students will receive an SSR with few exceptions, but for the best reflection of student performance, the student must answer the minimum number of questions, which varies across assessments.

Refer to the Types of Computer-based Assessments subsection for descriptions of the three types of assessments (computer adaptive testing, fixed-form assessment, and multistage adaptive testing).

Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments

The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics are computer adaptive assessments that were developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, a multistate, state-led consortium. These tests are aligned with the CCSS in ELA and mathematics that accurately measure student progress toward college- and career-readiness.

Consistent with the Smarter Balanced testing plan and California’s educational mission, all students, including students with disabilities, EL students, and EL students with disabilities, should have equal opportunity to participate in assessments administered in California.

Eligibility Requirements

All students enrolled in grades three through eight and grade eleven are required to participate in the Smarter Balanced for ELA and mathematics assessments except for the following:

  • Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who meet the criteria for an alternate assessment aligned with alternate achievement standards (approximately 1 percent or fewer of the student population) will take the CAAs for ELA and mathematics. Students who take the alternate assessment in one content area will take the alternate assessment in all content areas, including the Initial Alternate ELPAC and, if needed, the Summative Alternate ELPAC.
  • EL students who are within their first 12 months of enrollment in a US school after April 15 of the previous school year have a one-time exemption from the Smarter Balanced for ELA assessment (but may opt to take the ELA assessment) and are required to take the Smarter Balanced for Mathematics and, if enrolled in an eligible grade, the CAST. These students must participate in the ELPAC testing. Exempted students are aggregated as enrolled but not tested for ELA.

California Science Test

The CAST is a computer-based, summative assessment aligned with the CA NGSS. All LEAs with eligible students in grades five and eight and in high school (i.e., grade ten, eleven, or twelve) will administer the CAST. High school students have only one opportunity to take the CAST. All students will receive their CAST scores in an SSR after they have tested.

Eligibility Requirements

What follows are additional details about eligibility for the CAST:

  • All students in grade five and eight will be automatically registered to take the CAST.
  • Students must also take the CAST at least once in high school. LEAs can elect to administer the CAST to students in grade ten or eleven. Students who take the CAST in grade ten or eleven have completed their science testing requirement.
  • Students in grade twelve who have not yet taken a science test will automatically be registered to take a science test.
  • Students who are repeating grade twelve are not eligible to test.
  • Students in grade ten or eleven who have been designated with a medical exemption (NTE) or a parent/guardian exemption (PGE), are not eligible to test in future administrations.
  • Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who meet the criteria for the alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (approximately 1 percent or fewer of the student population) will take the CAA for Science. Students who take the alternate assessment in one content area will take the alternate assessment in all content areas.

California Alternate Assessments

The CAAs are for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities whose IEP team has designated the use of an alternate assessment on statewide summative assessments. These computer-based tests, for ELA, mathematics, and science, are administered to eligible students whose disability prevents them from taking the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics and the CAST. Students who are identified for an alternate assessment will take the alternate assessments in all eligible content areas.

The CAAs for ELA, mathematics, and science are delivered one-on-one by a TE and use the same TDS as the other CAASPP computer-based assessments. The CAAs for ELA and mathematics are multistage, adaptive assessments. The CAA for Science is delivered as four embedded PTs per assessed grade level, which are administered one-on-one by a TE and scheduled throughout the year during the course of instruction, shortly after instruction of related science content is complete. The four CAA for Science embedded PTs should not be administered in a single day.

There are two forms of the CAAs for ELA and mathematics and four forms of each set of CAA for Science embedded PTs. Form assignments are posted on the CAAs for ELA and Mathematics Form Assignments and CAA for Science Form Assignments web pages. Secure, form-specific DFAs are available for download from TOMS.

The DFA for each CAA for Science embedded PT and the computer-based assessment became available on September 17, 2024. Use the CAA for Science Administration Planning Guides to plan and schedule testing.

Eligibility Requirements

The CAAs for ELA, mathematics, and science are computer-based, summative, grade-level assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities whose IEP designates the use of an alternate assessment. These students are receiving grade-level instruction using alternate achievement standards in grades three through eight and eleven in ELA and mathematics. In addition, students in grades five, eight, and once in high school will participate in the CAA for Science.

Students who are English learners and within their first 12 months of enrollment in a US school after April 15 of the previous school year have a one-time exemption from the CAA for ELA assessment (but may opt to take the ELA assessment) and are required to take the CAA for Mathematics and, if enrolled in an eligible grade, the CAA for Science. In addition, these students must participate in the Alternate ELPAC testing.

For the CAAs, teachers may provide any resources required by a student’s IEP or Section 504 plan or those that are needed and used by the student during regular classroom instruction.

IEP teams should refer to the Alternate Assessment Decision-Making Tool for California to confirm decisions on student eligibility to participate in the CAAs and the Alternate ELPAC. Refer also to the CDE Alternate Assessment IEP Team Guidance web page for additional information about participation criteria.

Second Scoring for the CAA for ELA

Critical Element 4.4 of A State’s Guide to the U.S. Department of Education’s Assessment Peer Review Process (Department of Education, 2018) requires that any scoring involving human judgment, including scoring conducted by TEs, must contain evidence that the scoring of these items includes adequate procedures and criteria for ensuring and documenting interrater reliability. The purpose of second scoring is to establish and document standardized scoring procedures, and second scoring is one method of providing scorer reliability evidence.

Some schools will be required each year to conduct second scoring of rubric-scored items for the CAA for ELA. Schools chosen to second-score will be required to have a second qualified TE observe and score the student’s response at the time of testing.

Second scoring is the process of having a second TE score a student’s rubric-scored items simultaneously, yet independently, from the student’s primary TE. The purposes of second scoring are to establish and document standardized scoring procedures. Second scoring is one method of providing scorer reliability evidence.

Results from the second scoring will be used by ETS to conduct interrater reliability analysis on rubric-scored items. The second scores will not be used for official scoring or reporting purposes, although analysis of aggregated second-scoring results will be included in the annual technical report for the CAAs. A student’s completion status and test results are reported whether the second scoring occurs or not.

Who Participates in Second Scoring?

Some schools assigned to Form 2 of the test will be required to participate in second scoring for that year. A school may be selected for second scoring for either one of the CAA for ELA or the Summative Alternate ELPAC, but not both, in the same year. Second-scoring assignments can be found on the CAA for ELA Second Scoring Assignments web page on the CAASPP website.

Qualifications for a Secondary Test Examiner for CAA for ELA Second Scoring

As with the primary TE, the secondary TE must

  1. be credentialed,
  2. receive training on how to administer the CAA for ELA,
  3. sign the Security Affidavit in TOMS, and
  4. be assigned a TOMS account with a test examiner user role.

Ideally, the secondary TE is also a teacher familiar with the student’s individual testing needs. Refer to the Test Examiner Checklist for the roles and responsibilities of the primary and secondary TE.

Second-Scoring Process

Approximately one to three items in the CAA for ELA require TEs to score a student’s live response at the time of testing using a rubric provided in the DFA. Refer to the following resources for information about the step-by-step process for second scoring from a TE’s perspective:

All second scores must be entered into the DEI before the end of the test administration window.

LEA CAASPP coordinators and CAASPP test site coordinators can track the progress of assigned and completed tasks for the second scoring in the LEA and school sites using the CAA Second Scoring Status Report in TOMS. This report includes the following information:

  • Students eligible for alternate testing
  • Students who have tested
  • Students who have received a second score in the DEI

Second-Scoring Responsibilities of an LEA CAASPP Coordinator or Test Site Coordinator

The LEA CAASPP coordinator or test site coordinator should confirm form assignments on the CAAs for ELA and Mathematics Form Assignments web page. If the school is assigned to Form 2 and one of the schools is selected to second-score, the school is required to second-score for that year. Therefore, the LEA CAASPP coordinator or CAASPP test site coordinator will be responsible to take the following actions in support of the second-scoring process:

  1. Review the second-scoring process as outlined in the Form 2 DFA, which is downloaded in the [Resources] navigation tab in TOMS. (Refer to the Secure Materials topic in the CAASPP and ELPAC TOMS User Guide for additional information about how to download secure materials in TOMS, including the CAA DFAs.)
  2. Identify and train the secondary TE on the second-scoring process. It is the LEA CAASPP coordinator’s responsibility to ensure that a secondary TE is available and properly trained.
  3. Ensure the secondary TE has the test examiner user role in TOMS.
  4. Track second-scoring completion rates using the second-scoring report in TOMS.
  5. Ensure all students in the school assigned to Form 2 have second scores submitted into the DEI before the end of the school’s test administration window.
    1. Have the secondary TE enter the student’s second score directly in the DEI as the secondary TE observes the student’s response during test administration. (This requires access to a user device or laptop.) or
    2. Have the secondary TE use a printed answer-recording document provided in the DFA to record second scores during test administration. After testing, the secondary TE or school administrator must enter the student’s score into the DEI before the end of the test administration window.

California Spanish Assessment

The CSA is aligned with the CCSS en Español, which were developed as a joint effort between the San Diego County Office of Education, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the CDE. The CCSS en Español are a translated and linguistically augmented version of the English-language CCSS for English Language Arts & Literacy.

Eligibility Requirements

The CSA is an optional, computer-based, nonadaptive, summative, grade-level assessment for students in grades three through eight and high school who are seeking a measure that evaluates their Spanish reading/language arts—specifically, reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. It includes CR items in the writing and speaking domains.

Since the CSA is an optional assessment, students are not automatically registered to take the CSA. If an LEA wishes to have a student take the CSA, the LEA must register the student to test.