Alternate English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics California Alternate Assessments (CAAs)

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Understanding California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics Summary Reports

California Alternate Assessments Noteworthy Information

2019–20 results are not available due to the suspension of testing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aggregate overall achievement and area achievement results, beginning in 2020–21, will be reported for tested groups of 11 or more with enrolled counts displayed for groups of 4 or more.

California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) Results Definitions

Number Enrolled—A count of students in the selected entity (i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group) who are eligible to take the CAAs for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics in grades 3–8, and grade 11.

Number Tested—A count of students in the selected entity (i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group) who were administered the CAAs in ELA and mathematics. This number excludes students not tested by parent/guardian request, students not tested due to a significant medical emergency, and students who were assigned to take the test, but did not test.

Number of Tests with Valid Scores—A count of students tested in the selected entity (i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group) and responded to enough questions on the test to generate a valid score. Scores that are invalidated are not included in this aggregation.

Mean Scale Score—The sum of scale scores for students in the selected entity (i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group) with valid scores divided by the Number of Tests with Valid Scores. For more information, please visit the Scale Score Ranges page.

Note: The percent of students in the selected entity (i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group) at a particular performance level is the sum of the number of students at a particular performance level divided by the total number of students across all performance levels for that entity.

CAASPP Reporting Calculations

For CAASPP public reporting purposes, the exemption date for recently arrived English learners (ELs) is calculated as follows:

Any recently arrived EL whose first date of entry into a U.S. school, as shown in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), is after April 15 of the year prior to the assessment, did not need to take the ELA assessment and will not be included in any aggregate CAASPP reporting unless they completed the assessment. However, ELs with an enrollment date that is after April 15 of the year prior to the assessment who chose to participate in the ELA test will be included only in the percent of students tested calculations.

Reporting Performance Level Descriptors

English Language Arts/Literacy General Performance Level Descriptors

English Language Arts/Literacy General Performance Level Descriptors
Grade	Understanding (Level 3)	Foundational Understanding (Level 2)	Limited Understanding (Level 1)
Grades 3–8, and Grade 11	Students at this level demonstrate understanding of core subject matter in the content area. They are actively working with adapted grade-level content that focuses on the essential knowledge and skills and may need occasional prompts and assistance to complete tasks and activities.	Students at this level demonstrate foundational understanding of core subject matter in the content area when provided with frequent prompts and supports. They are actively working with adapted grade-level content that focuses on the essential knowledge and skills and may frequently need supports to complete tasks and activities.	Students at this level demonstrate limited understanding of adapted grade level content that focuses on much of the basic knowledge and skills, even with extensive supports.

For information on the English Language Arts grade- and content-specific Performance Level Descriptors, which are descriptors of what students at each achievement level know and can do, by grade and content area, please visit the CAA Performance Level Descriptors for English Language Arts (PDF) document.

Mathematics General Performance Level Descriptors

Mathematics General Performance Level Descriptors
Grade	Understanding (Level 3)	Foundational Understanding (Level 2)	Limited Understanding (Level 1)
Grades 3–8, and Grade 11	Students at this level demonstrate understanding of core subject matter in the content area. They are actively working with adapted grade-level content that focuses on the essential knowledge and skills and may need occasional prompts and assistance to complete tasks and activities.	Students at this level demonstrate foundational understanding of core subject matter in the content area when provided with frequent prompts and supports. They are actively working with adapted grade-level content that focuses on the essential knowledge and skills and may frequently need supports to complete tasks and activities.	Students at this level demonstrate limited understanding of adapted grade level content that focuses on much of the basic knowledge and skills, even with extensive supports.

For information on the Mathematics grade- and content-specific Performance Level Descriptors, which are descriptors of what students at each achievement level know and can do, by grade and content area, please visit the CAA Performance Level Descriptors for Mathematics (PDF) document.