Assessment Spotlight, Issue 325

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 and ELPAC website .

Upcoming Systems Downtime

From Monday, June 30, at 5 p.m. to Monday, July 7, at 8 a.m., the following CAASPP and ELPAC systems will be unavailable for a scheduled downtime:

• Completion Status System
• Data Entry Interface
• Student Interface
• Test Delivery System, including Test Administrator Interface
• Teacher Hand Scoring System
• Test Operations Management System (TOMS)

After this downtime, only local educational agency (LEA) staff who have been assigned TOMS user roles for the 2025–26 test administration will be able to access these systems, and certain data and reports from previous test administrations will not be available.

The CAASPP-ELPAC System Downtime Schedule web page provides a calendar of scheduled downtimes through June 2026.

June’s Featured Resource in Tools for Teachers—Shake it Up!

Looking for a “cool” science lesson? In Shake It Up! (account required), a grade 6 Physical Sciences Tools for Teachers resource, students work with ice to investigate how energy is transferred to or from an object. This phenomenon-based lesson aligns with the California Next Generation Science Standards, specifically the Science and Engineering Practice: Engaging in Argument from Evidence. 

In this lesson, students gather their own evidence by shaking containers filled with ice for different amounts of time. They observe the relationship between the kinetic energy they are introducing to the system with their shaking, and the effect on the melting ice. Teams of students share their data to create a class data chart. Then students select a claim, use evidence and reasoning to support the claim, and write an argument with evidence. Formative assessment and accessibility strategies are embedded in the step-by-step directions to support learning, such as Sentence Frames , Anchor Chart , and Illustration Glossaries . 

To view this and other instructional resources, 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 or ELPAC coordinator.

Register Now! August 2025 - Equivalency and Proficiency Summer Convenings

Registration is now open for the free, half-day, in-person, 2025 Summer Convenings. These convenings are designed to provide timely updates and collect feedback from attendees regarding the GED and HiSET exams. The California Department of Education (CDE) invites chief examiners, test site administrators, school counselors, and others with a connection to the high school equivalency and proficiency programs to join us.

Register here for one of the 2025 Summer Convenings happening near you!

• Sacramento ‒ Tuesday, August 12
• Alameda ‒ Wednesday, August 13
• Monterey ‒ Thursday, August 14
• Fresno ‒ Friday, August 15
• Orange ‒ Tuesday, August 19
• Los Angeles ‒ Wednesday, August 20
• Jurupa ‒ Thursday, August 21
• San Diego ‒ Friday, August 22

Dates and locations are also available in this information flyer (PDF) that can be shared with others.

To receive future CAASPP and ELPAC updates and notifications, subscribe to the CAASPP mailing list by sending a blank email message to subscribe-caaspp@mlist.cde.ca.gov. Are you a new subscriber? For previous Assessment Spotlight issues, visit the California Department of Education Assessment Spotlight web page.