Assessment Spotlight, Issue 259

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 .

2023–24 CAASPP Summative Assessment Window Opens

As of January 9, 2024, the CAASPP Smarter Balanced for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics; the California Science Test (CAST); the California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) for ELA and mathematics; and California Spanish Assessment are available for administration in the secure test delivery system. The CAA for Science became available on September 19, 2023.

Students will have access to the summative CAASPP within the local educational agency (LEA) selected testing window, determined by the LEA CAASPP coordinator, after 66 percent of the instructional year for the LEA has passed.

The following resources provide key information to assist educators in preparing for administration of the summative CAASPP:

• CAASPP Test Administrator Tutorial
• CAASPP Videos and Quick Reference Guides
• CAASPP Online Test Administration Manual (includes Directions for Administration of general CAASPP assessments)

For more information about CAASPP Summative Assessments, visit the Test Administrator Resources for Summative Assessments web page and the California Alternate Assessments web page.

Interim Assessment Video Series Now Available!

Looking for a quick way to get familiar with the state-offered interim assessments—including the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments and the new CAST and ELPAC interim assessments? Look no further—The CAASPP and ELPAC Interim Assessment Video Series is now available! The video series consists of six modules which cover the following topics:

• Module 1: Introduction to the Interim Assessments—The videos in this module provide information on the uses of the interim assessments, the organization of assessments, security considerations, and more.
• Module 2: Interim Assessment Viewing System—This video provides information on how to log into and navigate the Interim Assessment Viewing System, which allows educators to view the interim assessments in a similar environment to the student testing interface.
• Module 3: How to Administer the CAASPP Interim Assessments—This video provides information on how to administer the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments for ELA and mathematics as well as the CAST Interim Assessments. It includes information on how to use the Test Administrator Interface to initiate a test session, check student accessibility resources, and approve students for testing.
• Module 4: How to Administer the ELPAC Interim Assessments—This module provides the information described above for Module 3, but for the ELPAC Interim Assessments. Additional videos are included in this module which cover specific domains and grade spans to cover the different requirements of those tests.
• Module 5: How to Score the Interim Assessments—The videos in this module provide information about how to score student responses to interim assessment questions that require local hand scoring, including using the Teacher Hand Scoring System and the Data Entry Interface.
• Module 6: California Educator Reporting System (CERS)—The videos in this module introduce key features of CERS as well as instructions for creating student groups in CERS.

Check out the new video series available now through the caaspp website and the elpac website . The direct links to the video are as follows:

• CAASPP Interim Assessment Video Series
• ELPAC Interim Assessment Video Series

High School Equivalency—Paper-Based Testing Centers

Please see below for the return instructions for 2023 HiSET Paper-Based Testing (PBT) Booklets:

• 2023 PBT Materials—Please see the step-by-step instructions document for returning your 2023 Materials (PDF). All 2023 HiSET Test Booklets should be returned by January 30, 2024.
• 2024 PBT Materials—Only 2024 HiSET Test Booklets should be administered in 2024. Please note that any exams administered in 2024 using 2023 or prior booklets will not be scored, and the test taker will have to retake the exam.

January’s Featured Resource in Tools for Teachers—Making Sentences Zing!

Students will learn how to add “zing” to their sentences with this month’s featured Tools for Teachers instructional resource—Making Sentences Zing! (account required). This robust high school ELA resource includes mentor texts, teacher modeling, and the revision process. The activities help students use precise words and phrases and provide details and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of experiences, events, settings, and/or characters.

This resource is included in two ELA Interim Assessment Connections Playlists: Write and Revise Narratives and Revision. 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 flyer How to Self-Register for Tools for Teachers (PDF), or through their LEA CAASPP 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. For previous Assessment Spotlight issues, visit the California Department of Education Assessment Spotlight web page.