California Proficiency Program
About the Test
The California Proficiency Program (CPP) will replace the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) established by California Education Code Section 48412. The CPP utilizes the State Board of Education approved GED® or HiSET® subtests for language arts and mathematics to measure proficiency.
The California Department of Education (CDE) is working with High School Equivalency (HSE) vendors to begin testing in the fall of 2023. Once we begin testing, the CDE will update this webpage with details on how to register for the exam. Please continue to check back for updates. For the new CPP, students will have the option of taking the exam at a testing site with paper and pencil, or on the computer. The second option is that students may take the CPP at home, online, with live proctoring. The new CPP will also be offered in English and Spanish. Students that are interested in taking a proficiency test this fall may go to either HSE vendor's webpage and utilize their prep materials to study for the mathematics and language arts subtests. Each vendor provides a list of testing accommodations, test specifications, and test proctoring guidelines.
After passing the language arts and mathematics subtests of the proficiency program, the student will earn a State Board of Education issued Certificate of Proficiency which is the legal equivalent to a high school diploma issued by the state of California. After passing the CPP, the student may choose to remain in high school or exit with parent or guardian’s permission to begin attending higher education or their career.
Once an individual has taken the CPP, passed both language arts and mathematics subtests, and exited high school, they may choose to take the remaining HSE subtests to earn their HSE Certificate, opening even more doors than the Certificate of Proficiency alone. The CPP is referred to as a program because it acts as a stepping stone for individuals that may choose to earn their HSE Certificate.
Eligibility
The CPP tests will serve the same population as the previous CHSPE. Eligible students may be either excelling or struggling in high school and need to take the CPP tests in order to exit high school to begin attending higher education or start their career.
A person is eligible to take a CPP test if they are currently enrolled in high school and either:
- 16 years of age or older, or
- They have completed one year of enrollment in grade ten, or
- They will have completed one year of enrollment in grade ten at the end of the semester during which the next exam is administered.
Transcript Requests and Verifications
If you would like to request transcripts for the CHSPE, please complete and mail the CHSPE Transcript Request Form (PDF) to:
California Department of Education
Attn. CHSPE Office
1430 N Street Suite 4409
Sacramento, CA 95814
Stay Up-To-Date
If you would like to receive email updates about the CPP, send a blank email to join-cpp-updates@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
The Assessment Spotlight web page contains archives of all previous Assessment Spotlight emails. Send a blank email to subscribe-caaspp@mlist.cde.ca.gov to receive regular updates on the latest information about the statewide assessment system.
