Standardized Testing And Reporting
The tests in the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program are an important part of the state assessment system. Developed exclusively for California’s public schools, the tests provide information that can be used to determine how well students are achieving state content standards. These standards describe the knowledge and skills that students should learn in each grade.
All students in grades two through eleven in California’s public schools participate in the STAR Program each spring. This includes students with disabilities and students who are English learners. STAR includes the following tests:
The California Standards Tests (CSTs) measure students’ achievement of California’s content standards. These achievement tests target English/Language Arts and Mathematics in grades two through eleven. In addition, tests in Science and History/Social Science are given in selected grades.
The California Modified Assessment (CMA) measures students’ achievement of California’s content standards for English/Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. This assessment is given to students with disabilities who meet the CMA eligibility criteria approved by the State Board of Education.
The California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) measures students’ achievement of California’s content standards for English/Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. This alternate assessment is given to students in grades two through eleven who have significant cognitive disabilities and are unable to take the CSTs or CMA with accommodations or the CSTs with modifications.
California High School Exit Exam
State law, enacted in 1999, authorized the development of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). All California public school students must satisfy the CAHSEE requirement, as well as all other state and local requirements, in order to receive a high school diploma. The CAHSEE is intended to ensure that pupils who graduate from California high schools can demonstrate grade level competency in reading, writing, and mathematics.
All students are required to take the CAHSEE for the first time in grade ten. Students who do not pass one or both parts of the exam in grade ten have opportunities in grade eleven and twelve to retake the part(s) of the exam not yet passed.
The CAHSEE has two parts - English/Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics:
The ELA part of the exam, which addresses state ELA content standards through grade ten, has a reading section and a writing section. The reading section covers vocabulary, informational reading, and literary reading. This section includes approximately 50 percent literary texts and 50 percent informational texts. The writing section covers writing strategies, applications, and conventions. The ELA part of the exam consists of 79 multiple-choice questions as well as a writing task (essay) in which students are asked to respond to a specific topic or a literary or informational passage.
The mathematics part of the CAHSEE addresses state mathematics content standards in grades six and seven and the first part of Algebra. It includes statistics, data analysis and probability, number sense, measurement and geometry, algebra and functions, mathematical reasoning, and Algebra I. Students must demonstrate computational skills and a foundation in arithmetic, including working with decimals, fractions, and percentages. The math part of the exam is composed of 92 multiple-choice questions.
CA English Language Development Test
State and federal law require that school districts administer a test of English language proficiency to newly enrolled students whose primary language is not English and to students who are English learners as an annual assessment. For California public school students, this test is the California English Language Development Test (CELDT).
The CELDT has three purposes:
- To identify students who are limited English proficient
- To determine the level of English language proficiency of students who are limited English proficient
- To assess the progress of limited English proficient students in acquiring the skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing in English
CELDT assesses students in grades kindergarten through twelve and is aligned to the English Language Development (ELD) standards. The CELDT test components are: