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2024 – 2025�CAASPP�Garretson Site Training

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Smarter Balanced for ELA and Math

Administered in grades 3-6
Consists of two Test Formats:

Computer Adaptive (CAT)
Performance Task (PT)

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California Science Test

Administered in grades five
Consists of six segments, divided into two sections:

Discrete items (stand alone)
Performance tasks (group of test items)

Student Survey
CAST Organization Chart

As a district, we will be administering the CAST in grade 11. Any 12^th grade student who has not taken the CAST during their high school career, will be required to test. This will be automatically assigned.�

Students complete discrete items and four PTs with at least one PT covering each science domain—Earth and Space Sciences, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences. Each PT includes a constructed response question that requires students to use their own words to answer it.

The test is divided into two sections, one with discrete (stand-alone) test items and the other with performance tasks (a group of test items developed for a single science concept or phenomenon). Segments within a section are presented in random order. • Segments 1 and 2 contain discrete test items. • Segment 3 contains either discrete test items or a performance task. • Segments 4, 5, and 6 are performance tasks, with four to six test items included in each. Students will receive at least one performance task from each of the three science domains: Earth and Space Sciences, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences

The last portion of the CAST is a brief student survey that will assist with improving the test. Students in grades five and eight will be required to answer three questions, and high school students will answer four.

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Smarter Balanced for ELA and Math

Adjusted test blueprints

The use of the adjusted test blueprints will continue.

Aggregate claim results for groups of 30 or more students will be shown on the public reporting website.

Claim level data will be continue to be unavailable for individual students.

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Testing Times

Approximated testing times, each test is untimed

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Scripts for Administration

Provide instructions for Test Administrators to read to students during test administration

PDF scripts available for

*Will update once 24-25 scripts available

For the general assessments for CAASPP, the scripts are all a test administrator needs to administer the test. The scripts contain logon instructions for the test administrator and the student. It also contains the SAY instructions, which are read to the student. Once students start the test, the test administrator just needs to monitor testing and help students with questions unrelated to the content of the test.

Smarter Balanced and the CAST share the same script, but the script includes placeholders where the test administrator can replace the assessment name with the one the test administrator is administering and the grade level.

The CSA uses a Spanish script.

In addition to the current process of referring to the “Administer an Online Test Session” section of the manual for instructions on how to start a test session, for student logon instructions, and scripts, there is also a PDF “CAASPP Online Administration Instructions” document available for printing and using during testing.

Scripts are nonsecure documents because all the secure content is already within the test delivery system for the student. These can be found within the CAASPP Online Test Administration Manual.

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Participation Rates

LEAs required to test at least 95% of all students and student groups in ELA, Math, and Science.

If the participation rate is less than 95%, the number of students needed to bring the rate up to 95% are added to the average Distance from Standard calculation in the form of a LOSS.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires all states to test at least 95 percent of all students and student groups in English language arts/literacy (ELA), mathematics, and science. It also requires states to factor the participation rate into their accountability systems, which, for California, is the Academic Indicator.

The Academic Indicator currently does not report on Science

For any local educational agency (LEA), school, or student group with less than 95 percent of students tested, the ESSA requires a penalty to be applied to the Academic Indicator. To meet this federal requirement, beginning with the 2022 Dashboard, California will assign the Lowest Obtainable Scale Score (LOSS) to each student needed to bring the participation rate of the school, district, and/or student group to 95 percent. The LOSS assigned to each of these students who did not test will be used in calculating the Distance from Standard (DFS).

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CAASPP—Indicating Condition Codes

Condition codes are used to identify students who will not complete CAASPP testing during the administration window. There are two types:

Parent/Guardian Exemption (PGE)

Will negatively impact participation rate
Letter from parent is required and must include the following:

Student name and ID
Test name opting out from must be specific (ex. SBAC ELA and Math)
Date
Wet signature from parent

Not Tested Medical Emergency (NTE)

Will not impact participation rate
Doctor’s note required

Check RESI website for helpful resource documents

2 minutes: Running time 50 minutes

Condition codes are used to identify students who will not complete CAASPP testing during the administration window. There are two condition codes that should be entered into TOMS when appropriate:

Parent/Guardian exemption (PGE)—Used to document parent requests for exemption for CAASPP testing. This is not available for ELPAC testing.

Note from parent required- Must include name of student, exact test opting out from, sign and date.
Will negatively impact participation rate

Not tested medical emergency (NTE)—Used to document cases where a student has a medical emergency and is not able to complete testing during the window.

Doctor’s note required
Will not impact participation rate

It is important to set the condition code prior to testing:

The PGE or NTE cannot be entered if the student has submitted all parts of a test. Any fully completed tests will be scored and included in reporting.

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Student Exemptions - �English Learners (ELs)

An EL student enrolled in a US school for less than 12 months is eligible for an exemption of the CAASPP ELA

Enrolled after April 15 of the previous school year
Will not impact participation rate
Note: Students will still have �access to take the SBAC ELA

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Test Security

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Test Security: General Rules

Secure Materials must be collected daily & locked between test sessions!

Scripts for Administration
Student login cards
Scratch paper- considered secure and must be collected

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Security – Room Management

Classroom Management During Testing

In Person – Walk around
Remote Testing – Watch students; Pause testing if you are unable to see.

No computer access or smart watches after completing test.
Finish Exams Early

1 minute

Presenter says:

We also want to cover some other security items that are common questions during testing.
Can other students be in the classroom during testing?

No. The test security agreements state that no one who is not actively part of the assessment should be in the room while testing occurs.

What about students who finish testing early can they remain in the room?

Yes. Students who are part of the assessment can remain in the room.
The key here is that the TE should have a pre–planned direction for students that finish early, such as quietly reading a book.

Regardless of the test administration method used, test administrators and examiners should do their best to ensure that appropriate testing conditions are in place.

Those responsible for testing should do the following:

Organize testing into smaller group sizes where possible, depending on the test administration method used in the LEA. These smaller groups reduce testing anxiety and facilitate monitoring and control for test administration.

For one-on-one testing, ensure the student is in a quiet place and away from distractions as much as possible.

Remove or cover displayed information that students could use to answer questions.

Post an “Unauthorized Electronic Devices May Not Be Used at Any Time During the Testing Session” sign where it is clearly visible to all students.

Place a “Testing—Do Not Disturb” sign on the door.

Provide clear instructions for acceptable activities once the assessment is completed. This could look like a book or writing assignment.

Ensure cell phones and other devices are turned off and put away during testing.

It is also important the test administrator or test examiner is actively monitoring the students while they are taking the assessments, whether in person or remotely.

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Item Security and Information Bar

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The Security and Test Administration Incident Reporting System (STAIRS)

If you suspect a testing incident notify test site coordinator right away.

All incidents must be reported within 24 hours.

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Monitoring Testing�Test Administrators

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New CAASPP & ELPAC Combined Website�https://www.caaspp-elpac.org/�

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Launching a Test - �Test Administrator Interface (1)

If logging in for the first time, you must log in to TOMS to sign the Test Security Affidavit.

If already signed, log in directly to Administer a Test Session and then the Test Administrator Interface.

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Select Start an In-person Session

Launching a Test - �Test Administrator Interface (2)

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Launching a Test - �Test Administrator Interface (3)

Select the test you are administering from the list.

It is important to make sure you are making the correct test and grade selections!

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Launching a Test - �Test Administrator Interface (4)

Students Should be provided with the Operational Session ID in order for them the access the testing session.

The Test Administrator Interface is where test administrators and examiners start, monitor, and stop a test session for students taking any of the CAASPP or ELPAC.

This interface provides the following useful information:

The test session ID number is available near the top of the Test Administrator Interface window and available in a full-screen “screensaver” view for display during the in-person testing session logon process.

The progress bar shows the percentage of a test that a student has completed. Each time a student answers a test item, the progress percentage will increase.

The Test Status column shows a student’s current test status:

“Started,” “Paused,” and “Completed” are the three test statuses that will appear in the Test Status field.

The Test Status field contains a button titled [more info] when a student, test administrator, or test examiner has paused a test or when a test has a potential issue.

The Actions column allows test administrators and examiners to pause a student’s test.

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Launching a Test - �Test Administrator Interface (5)

Test administrators must approve students for testing. Before approving students, select the “eye” icon to review students’ assigned test settings

Students must not be approved for testing if their test settings are not correct.

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Students can access the Secure Browser by selecting the Apps icon located at the bottom of the screen on their Chromebooks (before signing in).

Launching a Test – Student (1)

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Remind students to review and confirm their information is correct before selecting “Yes” to continue.

Launching a Test – Student (2)

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Starting and Stopping a Test Session Video

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Toolstrips for Text-to-Speech and American Sign Language

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Pause and Expirations Rules

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CAASPP—Expiration Rules

Smarter Balanced PT

15-Day Availability

45-Day Availability

Smarter Balanced CAT
CAST
CAAs
CSA

All test expiration timelines refer to calendar days, not school days. The clock starts when a student logs on to a test for the first time.

PTs for the Smarter Balanced Assessments for ELA and mathematics, including the interim assessments, have an expiration timeline of 15 days.
We still encourage all PTs to be completed in three days, as this will allow schools more flexibility in scheduling test sessions for the PTs and should result in fewer Re-open Appeals.
The CAT for the Smarter Balanced Assessments for ELA and mathematics, the CAST, the CAAs, and the CSA all have a 45-calendar-day availability. For the CAA for Science, each embedded PT has its own 45-day expiration.

For new coordinators, the key here is to not start a test unless you know that you will be able to complete it prior to test expiration. This means that you should not start anything before spring break, a holiday, or a time the student will not be in school for the next few days.

To request that an expired test be reopened, the LEA coordinator should file a Security and Test Administration Incident Reporting System, or STAIRS, case and associated Appeal as soon as possible. When a test is reopened, the expiration rule is 10 days.

https://www.caaspp.org/rsc/pdfs/CAASPP-ELPAC-Expiration-Rules.pdf

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Timeouts—Beware of Idle Activity

Examples of idle activity:

Moving a mouse

Examples of activity:

Selecting an answer

Using a navigation option in the test

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Pause Rules—More than 20 Minutes

Logs back on
The student returns to the last page containing questions with which the student has not yet interacted with.
Students should complete a page before pausing a test

Cannot go back to previous pages

*Any highlighted text will be saved when a test is paused regardless of how long the test is paused.

*Notes entered on the digital notepad will not be saved.

The following rules apply when a student is paused for more than 20 minutes:

The student must log back on to the test.
Upon resumption, the student starts where the student left off; this means that the student is automatically directed to the first page that has an unanswered item.
The student is not allowed to go back to previous pages and will not be permitted to review or change any previously answered items, even if they are marked for review.

Note: A constructed-response item is considered answered if the student has taken any action within the response area.

There is a common scenario where a student left off on a page that contains multiple questions and there was at least one question that the student did not answer. The student would be able to access and change any previously answered items on that page.

For the CAST, it is recommended that tests are paused at the end of segments only.

https://www.caaspp.org/rsc/pdfs/CAASPP-ELPAC-Pause-Rules.pdf

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Pause Rules—20 Minutes or Less

Logs back on
Starts where the student left off

Is allowed to go back to previous pages

Cannot go back to already submitted segments

Pause Rules for Assessments Document

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Pause Rules Do Not Apply

Allow pauses of any length; there are no �pause “limitations” for the

Smarter Balanced PTs,

Allow the student to go back to previously answered questions within the segment.

Cannot go back to already submitted segments.

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Accessibility Features

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Categories of Accessibility Resources

Unlisted Resources

Universal Tools

Designated Supports

Accommodations

Resources can be categorized in four different ways:

Universal tools are available to all students on the basis of student preference and selection. Students choose which tools to use and when to use them, although some universal tools are only available for selected items. Embedded examples include: highlighter, digital notepad, and spell check. Non-embedded examples include: breaks and scratch paper.

Designated supports are available to all students when determined for use by an educator or team of educators (with parent/guardian and student input, as appropriate) or specified in the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan. That could be an educator or a group of educators, or parents/guardians, etc. Embedded examples include: masking and text-to-speech. Non-embedded examples include: scribes, separate setting, and simplified test directions.

Accommodations must be permitted on CAASPP and ELPAC tests to all eligible students if specified in the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan. Accommodations are identified at an IEP or section 504 meeting by members of the IEP or Section 504 team. Embedded examples include text-to-speech reading passages. Non-embedded examples include: braille, multiplication table, and word prediction.

Unlisted resources are non-embedded and shall be made available if specified in the eligible student’s IEP or Section 504 plan and only on approval by the CDE. The use of an unlisted resource that changes the construct of an assessment will result in the student's assessment being invalidated for accountability purposes.

The type of accessibility resource provided depends on individual student needs.

Using universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations WILL NOT affect a student’s test score or invalidate a student’s test because these resources do not change the construct of what is being tested.

Again, we would like to emphasize that using universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations WILL NOT affect test scores or invalidate test results.

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Embedded or Non-Embedded?

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California Assessment Accessibility Resources Matrix

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Accessibility Resource Demonstration Videos

Demonstration videos can be found here

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Test Settings- General Guidelines for Use

Student must be familiar with the accessibility resource(s).�
Student regularly uses in daily instruction, assessment, or both.

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Garretson Testing Schedule

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Supplies

Manilla Folder

Pencils
Paper (ELA)

Lined
Whiteboard (Optional - desks)

Paper (Math)

Lined
Blank
Graph
Whiteboard (Optional – desks)

Testing Folder

Testing Cards
DFA’S
Used Scratch paper
Testing Door Sign
No Electronics Whiteboard Sign
Roster (to track completed tests)

Pick Up In STEAM LAB

Testing Carrels

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Accommodations:�You will receive a document listing all students in your class who require accommodations. It will be formatted similarly to this.

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ROSTER�A Roster Will Be In Your Folder To Keep Track Of Who Has Completed Tests

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