Assessment Spotlight, Issue 383

Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (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.

Complete the 1.0 Percent Threshold and Justification Survey

If you have not done so already, please complete the CAASPP 2026–27 California Alternate Assessments 1.0 Percent Threshold and Justification Survey by October 31, 2026.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, local educational agencies (LEAs) are required to notify the California Department of Education if they expect to exceed 1.0 percent of their total assessed student population taking the California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) in English language arts/literacy, mathematics, and science for the CAASPP.

All LEAs are required to report the percentage of students anticipated to take the CAAs for the 2026–27 school year, whether the LEA anticipates exceeding the 1.0 percent cap, not exceeding the 1.0 percent cap, or has no students expected to take alternate assessments.

As part of this reporting process, all LEAs must annually certify that students identified for alternate assessments meet the criteria in Title 34 Code of Federal Regulations Section 200.6, including 1) demonstrated the most significant cognitive disabilities, 2) need for extensive, individualized instruction and support, and 3) eligibility is not based solely on low academic performance or accommodation needs.

October’s Featured Tools for Teacher Resource

Show students how a graph can tell a story with this month’s featured Tools for Teachers resource Pictograph Fun: Asking and Answering Questions About a Graph (account required). This first-grade math lesson combines practical strategies and engaging activities in a ready-to-use resource focused on making learning meaningful for students.

During the 20-minute inquiry-based activity, students explore a pictograph using a slow-reveal graph, provided as a slide deck for teachers to use. As the graph gradually reveals new visual information, students use Notice/Wonder and Think-Pair-Share formative assessment strategies to ask questions, make observations, and compare categories. Along the way, students practice using words such as “more than,” “fewer than,” and “the same as” to describe data. These activities help students analyze and interpret data as they build understanding of what the graph is telling them.

Want to find more English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics lesson plans for kindergarten, first, and second grade? Check out the collection of more than 140 resources for K–2 now available in Tools for Teachers, each with standards-aligned lesson plans and professional learning resources to explore. To find the Tools for Teachers resources, LEA staff need a Tools for Teachers account, which is free of charge and can be obtained either through self-registration, described in the flyer How to Self-Register for Tools for Teachers (PDF), or by contacting their testing coordinator.

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 California Department of Education Assessment Spotlight web page to find previous issues.