About CAASPP and ELPAC
The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System consists
of the following computer-based summative assessments:
The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) System consists of four assessments:
School Type Definitions
Definitions of Language Fluency Groups
Suppression Rules
CAASPP Reporting Student Groups
ELPAC Reporting Student Groups
The CAASPP System
The primary purpose of the CAASPP System is to assist teachers, administrators, students, and families
by promoting high-quality teaching and learning through the use of a variety of assessment approaches
and item types. CAASPP includes the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics, the CAST,
and the optional CSA. Students whose individualized education program (IEP) indicates an alternate
assessment will instead take the California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) for ELA, mathematics, and science.
Visit the California Department of Education (CDE)
California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System web page
or the
CAASPP & ELPAC website
for more information about CAASPP.
The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics are an annual measure
of what students know and can do using the Common Core State Standards for ELA and mathematics.
The purpose of the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments is to assess student knowledge and skills for
ELA and mathematics, as well as how much students have improved since the previous year.
These measures help identify and address gaps in knowledge or skills early so students get the support
they need for success in higher grades and for college and career readiness.
Students in grades three through eight and grade eleven take the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments
unless a student’s active individualized education program (IEP) designates the CAAs.
Visit the CDE
Smarter Balanced Assessment System web page
for more information.
The CAST measures what students know and can do using the California Next Generation Science
Standards (CA NGSS), which focus on understanding the scientific concepts found in the Earth
and Space Sciences, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences. These standards integrate disciplinary
core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts to help students
understand how science works in the natural world.
The purposes of the CAST are to assess student knowledge and skills across the range and depth of the CA NGSS,
to foster science education at every grade level, and to prepare students for college and careers.
Students take the CAST assessment in grades five and eight and one time in high school
(that is, grade ten, eleven, or twelve) unless a student’s active IEP designates the CAAs.
The CDE recommends testing high school students when they are enrolled in their last
science course. High schools have the option to test any or all students in grade
ten or eleven as long as all students have been tested by the end of grade twelve.
Visit the CDE
California Science Test web page
for more information.
Designed for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, the
CAAs for ELA, mathematics, and science measure what students know and can do
using alternate achievement standards. Known as the Core Content Connectors,
these standards are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for ELA
and mathematics, and the CA NGSS for science.
The purpose of the CAAs is to assess student knowledge and skills in ELA, mathematics,
and science while helping to identify and address gaps in knowledge or skills so
students get the support they need.
Students are eligible to take the CAAs only if it is indicated in their active IEP.
The CAAs for ELA and mathematics are administered to all eligible students in grades
three through eight and grade eleven. The CAA for Science is administered to all
eligible students in grade five, grade eight, and once in high school
(that is, grade ten, eleven, or twelve).
Visit the CDE
California Alternate Assessments for ELA and Math web page
or the
California Alternate Assessment for Science web page
for more information.
Using the California Common Core State Standards en Español, the CSA measures students’
skills in grades three through eight and high school for reading, writing, and listening
through Spanish literacy. For students in high school, the CSA also measures students'
speaking skills through Spanish literacy.
The purpose of the CSA is to measure a student’s competency in Spanish reading language arts
to provide student-level data in Spanish competency and to provide high school students with
a measure suitable to be used, in part, for the State Seal of Biliteracy. These measures help
identify and address gaps in knowledge or skills for students working toward biliteracy.
Any students seeking a measure to recognize their Spanish-specific reading language arts skills,
regardless of their current enrollment in Spanish instruction, may take the CSA.
Visit the CDE
California Spanish Assessment web page
for more information.
The ELPAC System
The ELPAC System consists of two separate English language proficiency (ELP) assessments:
one for the initial identification of a student as an English learner (EL), and a second
for the annual summative assessment to measure a student’s progress in learning English
and to identify the student's level of ELP for a student whose primary language is not
English. The ELPAC is aligned with the
2012 California English Language Development Standards (PDF)
and assesses four domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
Students whose individualized education program (IEP) indicates an alternate assessment will
instead take the Initial Alternate ELPAC and the Summative Alternate ELPAC.
Visit the CDE
English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) web page
or the
CAASPP & ELPAC website
for more information about the ELPAC.
The Initial ELPAC is administered to students in kindergarten through grade twelve
whose primary language is a language other than English as indicated on their home language survey.
The purpose of the Initial ELPAC is to identify students as being either an EL
or fluent English proficient. It is administered only once during a student’s initial enrollment in
a California public school. The Initial ELPAC is scored locally, and the results are considered the official score.
For more information, visit the CDE
Initial ELPAC Participation and Scoring (PDF)
designed to provide testing scenarios that indicate when a student is counted
toward participation and receives a Student Score Report.
In California, when a student’s active IEP or Section 504 plan specifies that the student
has a disability that precludes assessment of the student, for which there are no
appropriate accommodations in one or more of the four domains, the student will be
assessed in the remaining domain(s) in which it is possible to assess the student pursuant to 34
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 200.6(h)(4)(ii).
For more information, visit the
Domain Exemptions subsection of the ELPAC Information Guide
.
Potential EL students with the most significant cognitive disabilities as determined by
the student’s IEP team or Section 504 plan will need to be administered the Initial Alternate ELPAC.
The Summative ELPAC is administered only to students who have previously been identified as an
EL on the basis of the results of the Initial ELPAC. The Summative ELPAC measures how well
EL students are progressing toward ELP.
For more information, visit the CDE
Summative ELPAC Participation and Scoring (PDF)
designed to provide testing scenarios that indicate when a student is
counted toward participation and receives a Student Score Report.
In California, when a student’s active IEP or Section 504 plan specifies that the student
has a disability that precludes assessment of the student, for which there are no
appropriate accommodations in one or more of the four domains, the student will be
assessed in the remaining domain(s) in which it is possible to assess the student
pursuant to 34 CFR Section 200.6(h)(4)(ii). For more information, visit the
Domain Exemptions subsection of the ELPAC Information Guide
.
The Initial Alternate ELPAC is administered to students in kindergarten through grade twelve whose primary language is a
language other than English as indicated on their home language survey, who have been identified as having the
most significant cognitive disabilities, who have been found eligible for alternate assessments by their
IEP team, and who must have the assessment identified in their active IEP.
The purpose of the Initial Alternate ELPAC is to identify students as being either an EL or fluent English proficient.
The assessment is administered only once during a student’s initial enrollment in a California public school.
The Initial Alternate ELPAC has a subset of items that are scored by the test examiner in the moment,
and the results are considered the official score. Visit the CDE
Alternate ELPAC Participation and Scoring (PDF)
designed to provide testing scenarios that indicate when a student is counted toward participation and receives a Student Score Report.
Note: Domain exemptions are not applicable to the Alternate ELPAC, as the assessment
assesses the domains in an integrated manner and is administered one-on-one with the student by a
test examiner who is most familiar with the student. Items are made available to students who may
respond using their preferred communication modes
(that is, eye gaze, pointing, augmentative and alternative communication [AAC] device).
The Summative Alternate ELPAC is intended only for EL students who have the most
significant cognitive disabilities, whose IEP team has decided that the student
should take alternate assessments, and who must have the assessment identified
in their active IEP. The Alternate ELPAC operational field test in 2021–22 was
a census field test, meaning all students who would be eligible were required
to participate in the administration.
The purpose of the Summative Alternate ELPAC is to provide information on annual
student progress toward ELP and support decisions on student reclassification as
fluent English proficient (RFEP). Visit the CDE
Alternate ELPAC Participation and Scoring (PDF)
for more information.
Note: Domain exemptions are not allowable for the Alternate ELPAC, as this assessment
uses integrated domains and is administered one-on-one by a test examiner who
is familiar with the student. Receptive (Listening and Reading) items and expressive (Speaking and Writing)
items are made available to students who may respond using their preferred communication modes
(that is, eye gaze, pointing, AAC device).
The "All Schools" school type includes all charters, both direct-funded and locally-funded, and all non-charters.
Direct-funded charters are aggregated to themselves in this school type, meaning that a direct-funded charter
school is aggregated to a district with the same name as the school.
The "Charter Schools" school type includes only charter schools, both direct-funded and locally-funded.
Direct-funded charters are aggregated to their authorizing district in this school type.
The "Non-charter Schools" school type includes only non-charter schools.
Fluent English proficient and English only (IFEP, RFEP, and EO)—An aggregation
of students who have an English language acquisition status of initial fluent English proficient,
reclassified fluent English proficient, or English only.
Initial fluent English proficient (IFEP)—A student whose score on the
Initial ELPAC determines fluent English proficiency and places the student in mainstream classes.
This student does not require EL services.
Reclassified fluent English proficient (RFEP)—A student in kindergarten
through grade twelve who, upon entering public school in California, was identified as an
EL and is subsequently reclassified in California as proficient in English.
English learner (EL)—A student in kindergarten through grade twelve
whose primary language is a language other than English as indicated on their home language survey
and who, upon initial assessment in California, is determined to be eligible for support with
English language development based on the results of their initial assessment of ELP.
This group does not include RFEP students.
Adult English learner (ADEL)—A student aged 22 years or older enrolled
in kindergarten through grade twelve who has been identified by a local educational agency as
an EL through a local process (for example, home language survey, or another local assessment)
because the student is not eligible to take the Initial ELPAC. ADEL students are not considered
EL students for purposes of federal Title III funding or state-level accountability and are
not aggregated to any other EL groups.
English only (EO)—A student in kindergarten through grade twelve
for whom English is reported as the primary language on their home language survey.
Ever-EL—A student who has been designated an EL at any point
during their enrollment in a US school.
Long-Term English learner (LTEL)—As defined in Education Code Section 313.1,
a "long-term English learner" means an EL to which all of the following apply:
-
Is enrolled in any of grades six through twelve, inclusive
-
Has been enrolled in schools in the United States for six years or more
-
Has remained at the same ELP level for two or more consecutive prior years,
or has regressed to a lower ELP level, as determined by the English language
development test identified or developed pursuant to Section 60810, or a
score determined by the superintendent on any successor test
-
For a pupil in any of grades six through nine, inclusive, has scored far below basic or below basic
on the prior year’s English language arts standards-based achievement test administered
pursuant to Section 60640, or a score determined by the superintendent on any successor test
A student for which the required testing results are not available for either C or D shall not
have those criteria applied and shall not be excluded on the basis of those criteria.
Please note that the definition of LTEL in assessment reporting differs from the definition used
in reporting for the California School Dashboard. For more information regarding the criteria
used to determine an EL student as an LTEL for the Dashboard, DataQuest, and assessment reporting,
please visit the CDE Long-Term English Learner (LTEL) Students web page
.
At-Risk of becoming LTEL (AR–LTEL)—As defined in Education Code Section 313.1,
an "English learner at risk of becoming a long-term English learner" means an EL to which all of the following apply:
-
Is enrolled in any of grades three through twelve, inclusive
-
Has been enrolled in schools in the United States for four to five years
-
Has scored at the intermediate level or below on the prior year’s English language development
test identified or developed pursuant to Section 60810, or a score determined by the superintendent
on any successor test
-
For a pupil in any of grades three through nine, inclusive, has scored in the fourth or fifth year at the below basic
or far below basic level on the prior year’s English language arts standards-based achievement test
administered pursuant to Section 60640, or a score determined by the superintendent on any successor test.
A student for which the required testing results are not available for either C or D shall not have
those criteria applied and shall not be excluded on the basis of those criteria.
Never–EL—An aggregation of students who have an English language acquisition status
of IFEP, EO, and to be determined.
To be determined (TBD)—A student in kindergarten through grade twelve for whom
there is a report of a primary language other than English on the home language survey and
for whom the district has not yet administered the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC.
The assessment process must be completed within 30 calendar days of initial enrollment in a
California public school.
For more information, please visit the Understanding English Learner Achievement in California (PDF).
Glossary of Terms for English learner (EL) Reports
Number of Students (Enrolled, Tested, and Tested with Scores)
To protect student privacy, data is suppressed when a limited number of student results are available. The following information outlines the conditions in which student results will be suppressed. All suppressed values will be denoted with an asterisk (*).
Enrolled counts will always be displayed if the count is greater than 3. If not, it will be suppressed.
If the tested count is zero, zero will be displayed. If the tested count is 1, 2, or 3, the tested count will be suppressed. If the tested count is greater than 3, the tested count will be displayed.
If the tested with scores count is zero, zero will be displayed. If the tested with scores count is 1, 2, or 3, the tested with scores count will be suppressed. If the tested with scores count is greater than 3, the tested with scores count will be displayed.
Performance Level Tables
When the tested with scores count is zero, the Mean Scale Score and Area Performance Level results will be N/A.
When the tested with scores count is suppressed, the Mean Scale Score and Area Performance Levels results will be suppressed.
When the tested with scores count is greater than 3 but less than 11, the Mean Scale Score and Area Performance Level results will be suppressed.
When the tested with scores count is 11 or greater, the Mean Scale Score and Area Performance Levels results will be displayed.
Reports are available for all assessments in the CAASPP System at the state, county, district and
school levels for "All Students" and disaggregated for student groups using the following criteria:
- All Students
- Disability Status*
- Reported disabilities
- No reported disabilities
- Economic Status
- Socioeconomically disadvantaged
- Not socioeconomically disadvantaged
- English-Language Fluency
- IFEP, RFEP, and EO (Fluent English proficient and English only)
- IFEP (Initial fluent English proficient)
- RFEP (Reclassified fluent English proficient)
- ELs enrolled less than 12 months
- ELs enrolled 12 months or more
- EL (English learner, excluding RFEP)
- ADEL (Adult English learner)
- EO (English only)
- Ever–EL
- LTEL (Long-Term English learner)
- AR–LTEL (At-Risk of becoming LTEL)
- Never–EL
- TBD (To be determined)
- Race and Ethnicity
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Filipino
- Hispanic or Latino
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- White
- Two or more races
- Ethnicity for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Filipino
- Hispanic or Latino
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- White
- Two or more races
- Ethnicity for Not Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Filipino
- Hispanic or Latino
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- White
- Two or more races
- Gender
- Migrant
- Migrant education
- Not migrant education
- Parent Education
- Not a high school graduate
- High school graduate
- Some college (includes AA degree)
- College graduate
- Graduate school/Post graduate
- Declined to state
- Military Status
- Armed forces family member
- Not armed forces family member
- Homeless Status
- Foster Status
- Foster youth
- Not foster youth
* Not applicable to CAAs for ELA, mathematics, and science
Reports are available for all assessments in the ELPAC System at the state, county, district, and school
levels for "All Students" and disaggregated for student groups using the following criteria:
- All Students
- Gender
- Primary Language
- Spanish
- Vietnamese
- Mandarin (Putonghua)
- Arabic
- Filipino (Pilipino or Tagalog)
- Cantonese
- Korean
- Hmong
- Punjabi
- Russian
- All remaining languages
- Migrant
- Migrant education
- Not migrant education
- Disability Status
- No reported disabilities
- Reported disabilities
- Tested w/ alternate assessment
- Economic Status
- Socioeconomically disadvantaged
- Not socioeconomically disadvantaged
- Race and Ethnicity
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Filipino
- Hispanic or Latino
- White
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- Two or more races
- English Learners*
- All English learners—(All ELs)
- ELs enrolled less than 12 months
- ELs enrolled 12 months or more
- LTEL (Long-Term English learner)
- AR–LTEL (At-Risk of becoming LTEL)
- English Learners Time in Program*
- EL—less than 1 year in program
- EL—1 year in program
- EL—2 years in program
- EL—3 years in program
- EL—4 years in program
- EL—5 years in program
- EL—6+ years in program
- Military Status
- Armed forces family member
- Not armed forces family member
- Homeless Status
- Foster Status
- Foster youth
- Not foster youth
* Not applicable to Initial ELPAC