Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments in Grades Three Through Eight and Grade Eleven

Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments in Grades Three Through Eight and Grade Eleven
Feature	Description
Purpose	To show a student’s achievement on CAASPP System assessments to parents/‌guardians, students, and teachers.
Format	The CAASPP SSR for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics consists of two two-sided pages: Page 1 Student’s achievement levels and scale scores for the current year Descriptions of the CAASPP System and score meaning Student information Page 2: A graph showing the content-area summary in ELA Page 3: A graph showing the content-area summary in mathematics Page 4: Score history for previous year(s) and the current year on the content area assessments Additional resources for parents/guardians
Action	Pursuant to 5 CCR Section 863, LEAs must notify parents/guardians and make SSRs available within 20 working days of their delivery to the LEA in TOMS. If the LEA receives the SSRs after the last day of instruction for the school year, the LEA shall make the SSR available to the parent/‌guardian no later than the first 20 working days of the next school year.
Focus	Individual student’s results for ELA and mathematics

Data displayed on the samples in this guide are for demonstration purposes only and may not reflect valid data. Sample SSRs may include minor variances from actual SSRs.

Description

SSRs for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics provides parents/guardians and teachers with the student’s results.

Data presented for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics taken includes the following:

Scale scores
Achievement levels:
- Standard Exceeded
- Standard Met
- Standard Nearly Met
- Standard Not Met
Scale scores and achievement levels for two previous years’ assessments (if available)

Example SSR

CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSRs feature colored bar graphs representing the four achievement levels are in the following order from top to bottom:

Standard Exceeded (Level 4) (blue)
Standard Met (Level 3) (green)
Standard Nearly Met (Level 2) (yellow)
Standard Not Met (Level 1) (orange)

Because each assessment is aligned with a specific set of academic standards, scores cannot be compared between assessments for different content areas (for example, between the ELA and mathematics assessments) or between the CAASPP and tests administered previously in California (such as for the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program).

Score ranges for each achievement level are different for each grade level, and the standards for the next grade level are more challenging than for the previous grade level. As a result, an increase in the overall scale score may not mean a higher achievement level for the current year.

Under certain circumstances, such as when a test was invalidated or when results are associated with a condition code, a message will appear on the SSR. Possible messages, their associated condition codes, and the applicable content area assessment—either ELA or both ELA and mathematics—are presented in table 1. Refer to the Condition Code Descriptions section in Interpreting Results for information about when a condition code applies.

Table 1. CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR Condition Code Messages
Content Area	Condition Code	Message
Both	LOSS	If a LOSS condition code is applied to a student’s result, the LOSS is accompanied by a footnote: [Student’s name]’s scores should be used with caution as the test was administered under conditions that may not represent [Student’s name]’s achievement.”
ELA	NEL	[Student’s name] was exempt from taking the English language arts/literacy assessment during this school year.
Both	NS	[Student’s name] did not complete the [content area] assessment. For additional information, please contact [Student’s name]’s teacher(s) or school.
Both	NT	[Student’s name] did not take the [content area] assessment. For additional information, please contact [Student’s name]’s teacher(s) or school.
Both	NTE	[Student’s name] did not complete the [content area] assessment because of a medical emergency.
Both	PGE	[Student’s name] did not complete the [content area] assessment because of a parent/guardian exemption.

Page 1 of 4, Top: Student Information

Top of the first page of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR, with callouts pointing to the student name, student information, and information about statewide assessments

Figure 1. Student information on page one of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR

Table 2. The SSR for Smarter Balanced for ELA and Mathematics: Student Information Descriptions
#	Feature	Description
1	Student’s mailing address	This area shows the student’s residential address as listed in CALPADS.
2	Student and school information	This area shows information about the student and the school and LEA name, as well as the county/district/‌school code. Note that the grade noted indicates the grade level in which the student was enrolled at the start of testing.
3	CAASPP results overview	This paragraph provides an overview of the purpose of CAASPP results.

Page 1 of 4, Bottom: Score Overview

Bottom of the first page of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced Student Score Report with callouts pointing to the student's achievement level in ELA and a description of achievement levels

Figure 2. Score overview on page one of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR

Table 3. The SSR for Smarter Balanced for ELA and Mathematics: Score Overview Descriptions
#	Feature	Description
1	Content area achievement level	This box provides the student’s achievement level for a CAASPP Smarter Balanced content area.
2	Achievement levels	This area lists the CAASPP Smarter Balanced achievement levels.
2	College Readiness (Not shown)	Students in grade eleven will be presented with a statement like the following: The CAASPP provides an early indicator of [Student name]’s readiness for college-level English and mathematics courses. For more information on how the CSU uses the results for college placement, go to the CSU Student Success website.

Early Assessment Program for Grade Eleven

The EAP is a joint program of the CDE and CSU. The EAP provides students at the end of grade eleven with an early indication of their readiness for college-level English and mathematics prior to starting their senior year. Refer to the CDE Early Assessment Program web page for additional information about this program.

The note after the progress summary on page one for a grade eleven student provides a brief explanation of the EAP with a web address for the student to use for more information about college steps to take in grade twelve to be ready for college.

The “College Readiness” section on page one and the “Parent/Guardian Resources” section on page four of the grade eleven SSR also include the web address of the CSU Success website.

Pages 2 and 3 of 4, Sample Content Area Section, Top: Content Area Summary

Content area summary at the top of pages two and three of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR with callouts pointing at the student's achievement level, progress summary, and score ranges

Figure 3. Content area section (top) from the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR

Table 4. The SSR for Smarter Balanced for ELA and Mathematics: Content Area Summary of Student Results
#	Feature	Description
1	Score summary	This indicator summarizes the student’s achievement level for the content area. If the student did not test, the achievement level number and label are replaced here with “Not Tested.”
2	Progress summary	This paragraph describes the student’s progress based on the student’s achievement level for the content area. Summaries are listed in the Progress Summary Text subsection.
2	Not tested (Not shown)	If present, additional text will be included in the progress summary section for the content area if the student did not receive a score, either because the student did not take the assessment, because the student was exempt from taking an ELA assessment, or because the student logged on but answered no items.
2	Special condition (Not shown)	A cautionary message also will be included under the progress summary for one of the following reasons: Invalidate Appeal Student did not answer enough questions for scoring so received the LOSS Student had an unlisted resource that changes the construct being measured
3	Score ranges	A chart provides data for the student’s current achievement level and overall scale score.

Progress Summary Text

For students in grades three through eight or grade eleven, possible outcomes include noting that the student exceeded, met, nearly met, did not meet the grade level’s standard; and comparing the current-year’s outcome with a previous year’s outcome and noting whether the student stayed within the previous year’s achievement level.

If a school opted to administer a local assessment in lieu of the Smarter Balanced Assessments for ELA and mathematics in 2020–21, the aggregated results of the local assessment were reported in the School Accountability Report Card, not on the Test Results for California’s Assessments website.

Page 4, Top: Score History for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments, Grades Four Through Eight

Top of the last page of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR, with callouts pointing to the content area and current and previous years' scores for the student

Figure 4. Score history on page four of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR

Table 5. The SSR for Smarter Balanced for ELA and Mathematics: Score History, Grades Four Through Eight
#	Feature	Description
1	Content area	The bar over the historical scores indicates the content area being reported.
2	Previous-year’s score(s) (grades four through eight SSRs only)	The leftmost and middle level numbers corresponding with the accompanying scale score and achievement level label for the grade-level content-area test taken during a previous CAASPP administration.
3	Current-year’s score	The rightmost graph represents the student’s scale score and achievement level for this year.

Page 4, Bottom: Additional Information

Note that this information may also appear at the top of page 4 for all students in grades three and eleven and if there is no historical score information reported for the student. For grade eleven, information about an additional resource for the EAP also is included.

Bottom of the last page of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR, with callouts pointing at the parent/guardian resources information and URL for the Test Results for California's Assessments website

Figure 5. Additional information on page four of the CAASPP Smarter Balanced SSR

Table 6. The SSR for Smarter Balanced for ELA and Mathematics: Parent/Guardian Resources
#	Feature	Description
1	Starting Smarter website information	This section describes the Smarter Balanced Starting Smarter website, which describes SSRs and other information that supports student learning.
2	CAASPP results website information	This section describes the Test Results for California’s Assessment website on which results for schools, districts, and the state are found.
3	CAASPP/‌Early Assessment Program website information	This section describes the CAASPP/Early Assessment Program website on which additional information about the EAP is found.