Assessment Spotlight, Issue 275

Focusing on the CAASPP System and English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC)—and including, when timely, updates on California’s other statewide assessments. For questions related to test administration, coordination, and trainings, visit the CAASPP website and the ELPAC website .

Mark Your Calendar: Charter School Assessment Coordinator Meeting

Join us on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 9:30–11 a.m. for the next Charter School Assessment Coordinator Network Meeting. We will discuss strategies for ending the 2023–24 testing season strong, accessing student results data, answering questions, and discussing next steps for assessment coordination at this time of year. The Charter School Assessment Coordination Meeting registration is currently open and free of charge.

Questions? Please contact Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) at caaspp@scoe.net.

Registration Now Open for the 2024–25 Introduction to CERS Training

Registration is now open for the 2024–25 Introduction to the California Educator Reporting System (CERS) online training. This training is designed to assist local educational agency (LEA) staff in becoming familiar with the features and functions of CERS. Attendees will have multiple opportunities throughout the training to explore using various features of CERS. Training sessions will begin in July 2024 and run through October 2024.

Introduction to CERS for Test Coordinators and Administrators—This three-hour online training is designed for staff who have an LEA or site coordinator role in the Test Operations Management System and are responsible for managing access to CERS for other LEA staff.

This training session will be offered on the following dates:

• July 25, 2024, 8:30‒11:30 a.m.
• October 8, 2024, 8:30‒11:30 a.m.

Register for 2024–25 Introduction to CERS for Test Coordinators and Administrators .

Introduction to CERS for Teachers—This two-hour online training is designed for LEA staff who have or will have access to CERS assessment results (i.e., teachers who will have students rostered in the system and other LEA staff who are interested in using CERS).

This training session will be offered on the following dates:

• August 13, 2024, 1‒3 p.m.
• October 8, 2024, 3:30‒5:30 p.m.

Register for the 2024–25 Introduction to CERS for Teachers .

If you have any questions about the 2024–25 Introduction to CERS trainings, please contact Nikki Antonovich from SCOE by email at caaspp@scoe.net.

May’s Featured Resource in Tools for Teachers—Intro to Quadratic Formula

High school math teachers, don’t miss out! This month’s featured Tools for Teachers resource, Intro to Quadratic Formula (account required), offers engaging activities to assess students’ proficiency in using the quadratic formula to identify values for a, b, and c, and solving for real roots.

This lesson integrates various formative assessment strategies, equipped with ready-to-go question prompts that ensure misunderstandings are identified and addressed to support students' as they are learning. Through engaging activities like the Question-Question-Swap, students collaborate with partners to deepen their understanding of quadratic equations and find the values of unknown variables. Following this, they partake in an exciting Quadratic Formula activity in groups, using a card deck to solve equations and check for errors. This resource also offers scaffolding and differentiation adaptations for struggling learners throughout each activity. Check it out today!

This instructional resource is included in two high school math Interim Assessment Connections Playlists—Algebra and Functions II: Quadratic Functions, Equations, and Inequalities; and Solve Equations and Inequalities: Quadratic. Each playlist consists of instructional resources that can be used to teach the content assessed on the corresponding Interim Assessment Block. To view this and other instructional resources, LEA staff need a Tools for Teachers account which can be obtained either through self-registration, described in the How to Self-Register for Tools for Teachers (PDF) flyer, or through their LEA CAASPP or ELPAC coordinator.

To receive future CAASPP updates and notifications, subscribe to the CAASPP mailing list by sending a blank email message to subscribe-caaspp@mlist.cde.ca.gov. Are you a new subscriber? For previous Assessment Spotlight issues, visit the California Department of Education Assessment Spotlight web page.