Understanding California Science Test (CAST) Summary Reports
California Science Test Noteworthy Information
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2019–20 results are not available due to the suspension of testing as a result of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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Aggregate overall achievement and domain 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.
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All High School Grade—for Science, all tested high school grades (i.e., 10, 11, and 12) from one administration year.
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High School Class of [Year] Grade—HS Class of [Year] reports scores for all students in grade twelve who took the CAST in high school, regardless of whether the test was completed in grade ten, eleven, or twelve.
California Science Test (CAST) Results Definitions
Number Enrolled—A count of students in the selected entity (i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group)
who were eligible to take the CAST in grades 5, 8, and HS (grades 10, 11, and 12).
Number Tested—A count of students in the selected entity (i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group)
who were administered the CAST. 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—The number of valid scores includes students in the selected entity
(i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group) who were enrolled during the active testing window and
responded to enough questions on the test to generate a score.
Mean Scale Score—The sum of scale scores for students with valid scores in the selected entity
(i.e., state, county, district, school, or student group) and grade, divided by the Number of Tests with Valid Scores.
For more information, please visit the Scale Score Ranges page.
Definitions of Language Fluency Groups
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 English Learner services.
Reclassified fluent English proficient (RFEP)—A student in kindergarten through grade
twelve who, upon entering public school in California, is identified as an English learner (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 English language proficiency.
Adult English learner (ADEL)—A student aged 22 years or older enrolled in grades Kindergarten through 12 who has been identified
by a local educational agency as an English learner (EL) through a local process (e.g., Home Language Survey, and/or another local assessment)
because the student is not eligible to take the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC).
Adult English learners are not considered English learners for purposes of federal Title III funding or state-level accountability,
and are not aggregated to any other English learner 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 English learner (EL) at any
point during their enrollment in a U.S. school.
For more information, please visit the Understanding English Learner Achievement in California (PDF) document.
CAST Reporting Achievement Level Descriptors
CAST Reporting Domain Descriptors
Area (Science Domain) Descriptors
The above, near, and below standard categories were identified by using the distance a student's performance
on the questions related to that science domain is from the Level 3 "Standard Met" achievement level criterion.
The science domain achievement category indicates the score on a science domain as follows:
- If the scale score of a science domain is above the "Standard Met" achievement level on the overall CAST, the achievement category for the science domain is "Above Standard."
- If the scale score of a science domain is at or near the "Standard Met" achievement level on the overall CAST, the achievement category for the science domain is "Near Standard."
- If the scale score of a science domain is below the "Standard Met" achievement level on the overall CAST, the achievement category for the science domain is "Below Standard."