The student assessment system in California is currently in flux. As of January 2015 many old tests have been replaced or are scheduled to be replaced.  Assessments for the spring 2015 include:

California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP)

• Understanding Your Child’s Student Score Report One-page PDF guides to help parents and guardians understand the student score reports are now available on the CAASPP website in 10 languages. (June 2016)
• Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment in English/Language arts (ELA) and math in grades 3-8 and 11.  (The Smarter Balanced Assessment System also includes optional interim and formative assessments for local use).
• Alternate Assessments for ELA and mathematics in grades 3-8 and 11 which are being field tested in spring 2015. The California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) for ELA and mathematics has been eliminated.
• Science Assessments in grades 5, 8 and 10 currently follow the old testing system using the California Standards Tests (CST), the California Modified Assessment (CMA) or the CAPA Science test. New tests based on the recently adopted Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are being developed and will be field tested in 2017-18.
• Standards-based Tests in Spanish for reading/language arts in grades 2-11 (optional)

California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)

• All high school students must still take and pass the CAHSEE to earn a high school diploma despite the fact that it is no longer aligned to the current California standards.  Continuation of CAHSEE is currently under discussion.

• A required state test for English language proficiency for students whose primary language is other than English. CELDT addresses the 2012 English Language Development Standards. It is administered within 30 days of enrollment for the first time in a California public school and annually until students are re-designated as fully English proficient (RFEP).

• The FITNESSGRAM test of physical fitness is administered in grades 5, 7 and 9.

Additional exams may be administered

• California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE)
• High School Equivalency Tests (HSET) for students 18 and older 
• Grade Two Diagnostic Assessments
• National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), administered in grades 4, 8 and 12 in subjects such as reading, writing, mathematics and science for national comparison

Common Core Standards

In August 2010, California adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and in June 2011 joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), a multi-state consortium charged with developing assessments aligned to the CCSS in ELA and math. The SBAC assessments are a significant departure from the paper and pencil, multiple choice tests that comprised the former system. Instead, the SBAC tests include selected response; short constructed response, extended constructed response, performance tasks; technology-enabled and technology-enhanced items. These response types more accurately assess critical thinking and problem solving skills. SBAC tests in ELA and math were field tested in 2014 and the 2015 exam will become the baseline for the new scoring system.

Resources

• SBAC Results and Community Reactions: Talking Points for Board Members
• CDE Smarter Balanced Assessment System Video (6/15)
• CSBA Board of Directors Meeting – CDE presentation: Smarter Balanced Assessments Update (3/15)
• CDE 2014-15 California Assessment System chart
• CDE Smarter Balanced Practice Tests
• CDE Smarter Balanced Resources (including Spanish)
• CDE Recommendations for Transitioning California to a Future Assessment System (1/13)
• CDE Next Generation Science Standards Systems Implementation Plan for California (11/14)
• PACE: How Next Generation Standards and Assessments Can Foster Success for California’s English Learners (9/12)
• PACE: Formative Assessment in the Classroom, the Curriculum, and the Culture of Schools (1/15)