English Language Arts and Mathematics Indicators

The English Language Arts and Mathematics Indicators, reported on the California School Dashboard, apply to LEAs and schools with students in grades 3–8 and 11.

What are these Indicators?

The English Language Arts (ELA) Indicator and Mathematics (Math) Indicator represent two of several state indicators that the California Department of Education (CDE) reports on the California School Dashboard (Dashboard) and reflect how well students demonstrate proficient grade-level skills by reporting the average distance from proficient (DFP).

These indicators are reported on the Dashboard for any local educational agency (LEA) and school who test students on the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments and California Alternative Assessments (CAA) in grades three through eight and grade eleven.

LEAs and schools are required to test at least 95 percent of all students and student groups in ELA and mathematics. If a LEA, school, or student group does not meet the 95 percent participation rate, the number of students needed to meet the participation rate must be factored into the results. See the Resources section on this page for more information.

New for 2026 Dashboard

Accountability Windows

At the State Board of Education (SBE) on March 11, 2026, the SBE took action that modified the way that Accountability Windows operate for the 2026 Dashboard. The Accountability testing window for the ELA, and Math Indicators begins when the first student logs on to the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments or the California Alternate Assessments for ELA, and Math. The Accountability testing window ends with the end of the LEA testing window.

Distance from Proficiency

At the May 2025 SBE meeting, the SBE approved a revision to the reporting achievement level descriptors (ALD) and labels for the California Science Test (CAST) and the CAASPP Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and Math. The table below shows the prior ALD labels and the newly adopted ALD labels by achievement level.

Achievement Level	Prior ADL Labels	Newly Adopted ADL Labels
Level 1	Standard Not Met	Minimal
Level 2	Standard Nearly Met	Developing
Level 3	Standard Met	Proficient
Level 4	Standard Exceeded	Advanced

To provide continuity between the Dashboard and the new ALDs, the SBE approved an update of the term “Distance from Standard” (DFS) for the ELA and Math Indicators on the California School Dashboard to “Distance from Proficiency” (DFP) at their May 2026 meeting.

CAASPP Trend Display on the Dashboard

At the May 2026 SBE meeting, SBE members approved the display of trends in student performance at all performance levels for ELA and Mathematics on the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment and California Alternate Assessment, and a link to the local educational agency/school’s California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress web page.

Additional Reports

Designed for educators, the School Dashboard Additional Reports web page offers information and data beyond what is reported on the Dashboard, including summarized views across all state indicators. Several reports specific to this indicator are the:

Five-by-Five English Language Arts Placement Report (Included in the Supplemental Dashboard Release on December 15, 2026)
Five-by-Five Mathematics Placement Report (Included in the Supplemental Dashboard Release on December 15, 2026)
ELA and Math Indciators Participation Rate Report (Included in the Supplemental Dashboard Release on December 15, 2026)

Resources

General Information about the Indicator

ELA and Math Indicators flyer (PDF)

Technical Information about the Indicator

Dashboard Technical Guide - The technical guide is the key to unlocking how state indicators are calculated on the Dashboard. The technical guide is broken up into multiple "mini-guides" for ease of access and provides explanations on the calculation formulas and business rules.
Information on the Participation Rate - Access this flyer to learn how the federal participation rate requirement impacts the ELA, Math, and Science Academic Indicators by visiting the Flyers for Educators tab on the Dashboard Communications Toolkit web page.
- Translated versions of the Participation Rate Flyer can be found on the Translation web page.
District of Special Education Accountability Rule for Students with Disabilities - The District of Special Education Accountability rule for students with disabilities is applied to all state indicators. Download the this flyer from the Flyers for Educators section on the Dashboard Communications Toolkit web page to learn more.
Crosswalk Between the California School Dashboard and DataQuest(DOCX) -This document provides a short overview of the differences in the way that data are produced for the Dashboard and DataQuest.
Downloadable Data Files: ELA and Math Indicators - Access statewide LEA, school, and student group data for the Dashboard ELA and Math Indicators as well as the participation rate results data.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The ELA and Math Indicators FAQs web page addresses the common questions received on this state indicator.

Additional Information about the Dashboard

The Dashboard Communication Toolkit web page provides a variety of informational materials that help explain the data reported on the California School Dashboard.|
The Dashboard Resources web page provides an extensive selection of resources relating to the California School Dashboard for parents, educators, and community partners.
- Connect to the Dashboard Measures section on the Dashboard Resources web page to learn about other state indicators reported on the Dashboard.
The Dashboard Performance Levels and Categories web page provides the Status cut scores, Change cut scores, and Performance Levels (or colors) for all state indicators excluding growth-based indicators which report Performance Categories.