The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, CAASPP, is a stepping stone in the education of children in California. However, understanding which test is ideal for your kid and the structure of the test is sometimes a bit complicated. That is why we want to offer you a quick summary of the test and show you what to expect on the test day.
What is the CAASPP System?
The CAASPP system was introduced in 2014 to replace the California STAR test. It is an umbrella term for a series of assessments that California uses to evaluate students’ academic achievements and readiness future academics. Promote high-quality teaching and learning is also a stated goal of this system.
The tests that are included in the CAASPP are :
- The Smarter Balanced Assessment System (SBAS)
- The California Science Test (CAST)
- The California Alternate Assessments (CAA)
- The California Spanish Assessment (CSA) optional
- The Grade Two Diagnostic Assessments (GTDA) optional
Not every student needs to take all of the assessments as some are optional and some target a specific group of students.
Which CAASPP Test Should My Children Take?
Most students will follow the Smarter Balanced Assessment System unless their parents opt them out (check how to opt out of CAASPP ). The System contains two parts: an English language arts/literacy (ELA) section and a mathematics section. These tests are administered in grades 3-8 and also in 11th grade. Children who have recently moved to the state and do not have more than 1 year of studies in a United States school are excepted. In their case, the ELA portion of the test is optional.
Students can take alternate assessments (CAA), exempting them from the Smart Balanced stream. These tests are reserved for students who have a cognitive disability that prevents them from participation in the SBAS, as required by their individualized education programs (IEPs).
On the other hand, the CAST must be taken only three times: once in 5th grade, once in 8th grade, and once during high school. If a student hasn’t taken the test by 11th grade, then they will be automatically enrolled to take the CAST in 12th grade.
The CSA is still under development and it is optional. It allows Spanish speaking students to test their Spanish language literacy and evaluates the implementation of Spanish language arts programs in California.
Likewise, GTDA is an optional test for students in grade two. This test is still being implemented in some schools, but its use is not mandatory in California.
Before jumping into the specifics of some of these tests, let’s talk about why they are important.
Why are the CAASPP’s Tests Important?
Even though it may seem like the tests in CAASPP only generate statistics for the California Department of Education, taking the test benefits your school and your children in more than one way.
Many post-secondary institutions in California use the CAASPP test to evaluate new students’ readiness level. This means that not having taken any CAASPP evaluations or performing poorly on them could lead to colleges and universities requiring remedial classes. The extra expense of remedial classes is often avoidable, especially if CAASPP assessments aren’t taken seriously in K-12 education. Check the CAASPP’s results here.
Moreover, CAASPP tests help determine students’ gaps and level of understanding on crucial subjects. This allows schools to redirect students to the correct resources and programs to improve their academic standing. Also, the results of this test help parents see a school’s performance and make more informed decisions.
How do the CAASPP Test Work?
All of the tests are computer based, and online and are administrated mostly in schools by teachers. However, there are several differences in the tests.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment System
The smarter Balanced Assessment system adapts the test’s difficulty based on the student’s responses. That is the balance part of the test. If a student responses are mostly correct, the test system will increase the difficulty of the test. If a students fails a questions the system will reduce the difficulty. This helps student’s perform better as the questions adapt to each students academic level.
Nevertheless, there is a non-balanced part of the test. Usually this is referred as a Performance Task. In the Performance Task students are required to find the solution to a prompt by solving multiple smaller tasks. This prompt is usually a real life application of the concepts learned in the school and challenges students showing them how the concepts they have learned can be used in real life.
The type of questions are a bit different than in a paper test. Taking advantage of the computer based system, the test introduces dynamic questions like drag and drop questions, but more classic questions like multiple choice and short answer questions are also present.
The California Science Test
During the CAST students will be assigned different questions in six segments. In most of the segments questions will be isolated, that is each question is independent of another. However, there are also Performance Tasks that will consist of several mini questions that will test students ability to solve big problems by breaking it into smaller ones. This test contains question about three science domains. Earth and Space Sciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences.
How can I Prepare My Children for the CAASPP?
The California Department of Education offers several practice tests to help children and parents get familiar with the test. However, the best way to make sure kids are ready for the test is by checking how students do during their formative tests and addressing gaps on time.
If your kids are not performing well in their formative tests, talk with the school and ask them about extra resources that t he teacher or yourself could use to improve their grades. Another option is to hire a private tutor that could work individually with your kids to help them catch up with their concepts in school and prepare for the test. SchoolTutoring.com, offers one-on-one tutoring that can help your kids perform well in the CAASPP tests and even better do better in school. Check our program for California Students and learn more about our programs and prices.
