Spotlight on CAASPPBeginning in the spring of 2014, a new testing program replaced our former STAR testing. Known as California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress – or CAASPP, this new testing system will align to the Common Core Standards and include both the new computer-adaptive Smarter Balanced Assessment and the 5th grade CST Science assessment. Visit the
California Department of Education website to learn more about the CAASPP testing system.
- Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)— The Smarter Balanced Assessments are next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards that accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness in math and English language arts/literacy.
- California Standards Tests (CST)— The CST Science Exam is administered is part of the new CAASPP program and administered to students in fifth grade. This test measures students' progress toward achieving California's state-adopted science standards.
KEY FEATURES OF SMARTER BALANCED TESTING
- Measures student achievement and growth in English language arts/literacy and mathematics in grades 3-8 and high school.
- Includes accommodations for students with disabilities and English language learners so that all students can demonstrate what they know.
- Administered online with questions and performance tasks that measure critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Expectations of student performance linked to international benchmarks.
SMARTER BALANCED RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
EXPLORE THE SBAC PRACTICE AND TRAINING TESTS WITH YOUR CHILD!
Follow the directions for "GUEST" User:
To log in to the Practice and Training Tests, simply select [Sign In], then navigate through the login screens.
NEW! SMARTER BALANCED TESTING SCORE REPORTS:
While school test scores will not be published during 2015, parents and schools will receive individual student testing results. Since USD and parents will be receiving scores for these new assessments for the first time in 2015, we can expect to learn, grow and adapt together. We are setting a new baseline and paving the way for an exciting future of a more accurate measure of our students’ proficiency levels. We must remember that along with the new assessments, USD shifted to the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as well, which means that it is going to take a while to adjust to how we measure what our students learn through these new standards.
Achievement Level Descriptors (ADLs)
The Smarter Balanced Achievement level descriptors (ALDs) describe performance on a standardized test in terms of levels or categories of performance. The new ALDs will replace the former STAR reports and communicate the meaning of test scores to teachers, parents, and students. ADL's are formatted as text statements that articulate the knowledge, skills, and abilities represented at different categories of performance on the Smarter Balanced assessments. They describe how students are progressing toward mastery of the Common Core State Standards and provide clear explanations of student performance for policymakers, educators, and parents.
NEW! Update on Smarter Balance Achievement Levels:
- Smarter Balanced Achievement Levels were adopted in November 2014.
- Online input from thousands of educators and community members across the consortium
- In-person panel of 500 teachers, school leaders, higher education faculty, parents, business and community leaders, teachers with English Learners and students with special needs, determined threshold score levels
- There are 4 achievement levels instead of the 5 with CST
- Currently the levels to do not have words attached to them like Advanced, Basic, or Far Below Basic
- Threshold scale scores rise with grade levels
- New content standards set high expectations for students – fewer students that were proficient or above on CSTs are expected to achieve a 3 or 4 on initial test administration
- SBAC results CANNOT be compared to CST results-----rather than comparing apples to oranges, this like comparing apples to toothpicks!
- First year results are a BASELINE. Results are expected to improve over time.
For Further Information about Smarter Balanced Testing, please see the links in the side menu