AYP Percent Proficient
Cut Scores
Q. What are the cut scores on the California Standards Tests (CSTs) and California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) for proficient in English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics?
A. For AYP and API, the cut scale score for the CSTs in ELA and mathematics is 350 for proficient or above. The Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program scale score ranges for CST and CAPA performance levels are provided on pages 10-12 and 15 in the STAR Program assistance packet “Explaining 2006 Internet Reports to the Public” on the STAR Program Web site.
For AYP, proficient or above in high schools is a scale score of 380 or higher for either the ELA or the mathematics part of the CAHSEE. (The advanced scale score cut point is 403 for the ELA part of the CAHSEE and 422 for the mathematics part of the CAHSEE.)
For API, a scale score of 350 or higher is considered passing for either the ELA or the mathematics part of the CAHSEE.
CAPA 1.0 Percent Cap
Q. AYP requirements include a cap of 1.0 percent on the percentage of students in a local educational agency (LEA) whose CAPA scores can be counted as proficient or above. Is the CAPA 1.0 percent criterion the same for small school districts as well as large school districts?
A. No. Small LEAs have an automatic exemption. A small LEA is defined as either of the following:
- LEAs with ten or fewer valid CAPA scores in a content area
- OR -
- LEAs with five or fewer valid proficient and advanced CAPA scores in a content area
Definition of Proficient
Q. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires that states establish three student achievement levels (basic, proficient, and advanced) in reading/language arts and mathematics for meeting AYP. How does California define these requirements?
A. For elementary and middle schools, results in grades two through eight from the CST in ELA and in mathematics are used to determine the percentage of students scoring at the “proficient” level or above. The State Board of Education (SBE) approved performance levels on the CSTs at their meeting in February 2001. Five performance levels were adopted: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic. Sensitivity to gains at the lower levels was one major concern that prompted the adoption of five performance levels, rather than the minimum of three required by the NCLB Act. A student scoring proficient or advanced on the CST in ELA or the CST in mathematics is counted as proficient in the AYP calculation.
For high schools, California uses grade ten results from the CAHSEE, both the ELA test and the mathematics test, to establish AYP for high schools. The SBE adopted the three achievement levels required under NCLB for the CAHSEE as part of a technical process. A student with a scale score of 380 or more on the ELA or mathematics part of CAHSEE is counted as proficient or above in the AYP calculation.