Local Assessments
Students engage in local assessments each school year. These assessments consist of:
- Reading Lexile assessment (Achieve and Smarty Ants LevelSet) in English and/or Spanish in the fall, winter, and spring. This reading assessment is a critical piece of an ongoing process for monitoring and improving student reading ability.
- Math assessment (i-Ready Diagnostic) in either English or Spanish in the fall, winter, and spring. This math assessment is a critical piece of an ongoing process for monitoring and improving student mathematic ability.
In addition, school sites use the following types of assessment throughout the year to give a more complete picture of student performance:
- Topic Assessments
- Benchmark Assessments
- Performance Assessments
- Student Projects
- Portfolios
- Student Observation / Communication
State Assessments
Every year, California students take several statewide tests. When combined with other measures such as grades, class work, and teacher observations, these tests give families and teachers a more complete picture of their child's learning. You can use the results to identify where your child is doing well and where they might need more support.
Near the end of each school year, students in third grade and higher take summative assessments. The umbrella term we use to discuss the summative assessments our students take is CAASPP, which stands for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.
The CAASPP system has three main parts:
- SBAC: Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Math*
* Students with significant cognitive disabilities, as designated in their active Individualized Education Program (IEP), are eligible to take the CAASPP California Alternate Assessments (CAA) for English Language Arts, Math, and Science.
- CAST: California Science Test (grade 5, 8, and once in high school)
- CSA: California Spanish Assessment (for CVESD Dual Language Spanish Immersion Programs)
Common Core State Standards
CAASPP Resources for Families