Assessment Spotlight, Issue 250

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 .

California Assessment System

The list of all tests that are part of the California Assessment System has been updated for the current school year. Formerly existing as a web document, it is now a web page, which will allow for timely updates. This web page lists all tests for the California Assessment System for students in kindergarten through grade twelve. You can access the new web page by visiting the California Department of Education (CDE) California Assessment System web page.

Assessment and Accountability Information Meeting Recordings

The recorded presentations, slides, and notetaking guides for the Assessment and Accountability Information Meetings have been posted on the CAASPP website and ELPAC website under Asynchronous Training Opportunities. These 2-hour meeting sessions provided coordinators with the latest information and updates on California's assessment and accountability systems. These meetings took place in August and the specific topics by date were:

• August 3: General assessment updates, national and international tests, Physical Fitness Test, high school equivalency, English language arts/literacy and mathematics summative assessments, and the California Spanish Assessment
• August 10: Interim and formative assessments, ELPAC, and the California Science Test
• August 17: Accountability

October’s Featured Resource in Tools for Teachers—Who Has the Right to VOTE? Examining Historical Sources to Support Research

This month’s featured Tools for Teachers instructional resource is Who Has the Right to VOTE? Examining Historical Sources to Support Research (account required). This featured resource is designed to actively engage grade five students in extracting evidence from multiple primary resources to facilitate analysis, reflection, and research. During the lesson activities, students learn these important skills while reading excerpts from multiple primary source documents about the history of voting rights in the United States.

The lesson uses the I Do, We Do, You Do structure. It begins with the teacher introducing the learning goal, then modeling how to read a primary source document, using a graphic organizer to record evidence and reflect on their analysis. Throughout the lesson, students engage with questions that guide their own analysis and provide evidence to support their decisions. The step-by-step directions include embedded formative assessment strategies, accessibility strategies, and other instructional recommendations—including a teacher Think Aloud, an Exit Ticket for student reflection, and a variety of extension activities.

This lesson is included in three English language arts Interim Assessment Connections Playlists for grade five: Performance Task; Research; and Research: Analyze Information. Each playlist contains instructional resources designed to teach the content assessed on the corresponding Interim Assessment Block. To view this and other instructional resources, local educational agency (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 CDE Assessment Spotlight web page.