Assessment Spotlight, Issue 193

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 .

New Alternate ELPAC Notification Letters Now Available!

The new sample Alternate ELPAC Initial and Annual Notification letters are posted on the California Department of Education (CDE) Identification & Parent Notification Requirements web page!

These sample letters are made available to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) that use funds under Title I or Title III to provide a language instruction educational program as determined under Title III. Each of those LEAs must inform parents or guardians when their English learner student is identified for participation or is participating in such a program. This must be done no later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year.

LEAs can use the new sample letters as follows:

• Initial Alternate ELPAC Notification letter (DOCX)—LEAs can use this sample letter to inform parents or guardians of their child's identification as an English learner or an initially fluent English proficient student upon entering a California school for the first time and to provide them with all the required information to meet the requirements of federal Title I or Title III.
• Annual Alternate ELPAC Parent Notification letter (DOCX)—LEAs can use this sample letter to inform parents or guardians of their child’s continued identification as an English learner in a California school and to provide them with all the required information to meet federal Title I or Title III requirements.

LEAs may time the distribution of the Summative Alternate ELPAC Annual Notification letter with the distribution of the 2021–22 Summative Alternate ELPAC Student Score Reports, which will be available in early August.

If the test results are received from the test contractor after the last day of instruction for the school year, the LEA shall notify each pupil's parent or guardian of the pupil’s results within 15 working days of the start of the next school year (California Code of Regulations Section 11518.15).

Downtime This Weekend for CAASPP and ELPAC Systems

The following CAASPP and ELPAC systems will be unavailable from Friday, July 1, 2022, at 5p.m. to Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at 8 a.m. for a scheduled downtime:

• Completion Status System
• Data Entry Interface
• Initial ELPAC Teacher Hand Scoring System
• Test Administrator Interface
• Test Operations Management System

Visit the 2022–23 CAASPP Planned System Downtime and 2022–23 ELPAC Planned System Downtime web pages for more information.

Please share this email with any educators in your LEA who would be interested in or benefit from this information. To join the email list, send a blank email message to subscribe-caaspp@mlist.cde.ca.gov. Are you a new subscriber? Visit the CDE Assessment Spotlight web page to find previous issues.