Science California Science Test (CAST)

Understanding California Science Test (CAST) Summary Reports

California Science Test Noteworthy Information

All High School Grade—The grade All High School includes results for all tested high school grade levels (that is, grades ten, eleven, and twelve) from one administration year.
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 assessment was completed in grade ten, eleven, or twelve.

Test Results Definitions

Number Enrolled—This is a count of students in the selected entity (that is, state, county, district, school, or student group) who were eligible to take the CAST in grade five, grade eight, and high school (grades ten, eleven, and twelve).

Number Tested—This is a count of students in the selected entity (that is, 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 because of a significant medical emergency, and students who were assigned to take the assessment, but did not test.

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

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

CAST Reporting Achievement Level Descriptors

CAST overall ALDs for grades five and eight and high school (2025–26 and Forward)

CAST overall ALDs for grades five and eight and high school (2025–26 and Forward)
Grades	Advanced (Level 4)	Proficient (Level 3)	Developing (Level 2)	Minimal (Level 1)
Grades five, eight, and once in high school (in either grades ten, eleven, or twelve)	The student demonstrates advanced grade-level knowledge and skills and shows a sophisticated understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.	The student demonstrates proficient grade-level knowledge and skills and shows a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.	The student demonstrates developing grade-level knowledge and skills and shows an initial understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.	The student demonstrates minimal grade-level knowledge and skills and shows a limited understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.

CAST overall ALDs for grades five and eight and high school (2024–25 and Previous)
Grades	Standard Exceeded (Level 4)	Standard Met (Level 3)	Standard Nearly Met (Level 2)	Standard Not Met (Level 1)
5, 8 and high school (i.e., 10, 11, or 12)	The student at this level demonstrates a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.	The student at this level demonstrates an adequate understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.	The student at this level demonstrates a partial understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.	The student at this level demonstrates a minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the performance expectations of the California Next Generation Science Standards.

CAST Reporting Domain Descriptors

The above, at or near, and below proficient categories were identified by using the distance a student's performance on the questions related to that science domain is from the Level 3 "Proficient" 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 "Proficient" achievement level on the overall CAST, the achievement category for the science domain is "Above Proficient."
If the scale score of a science domain is at or near the "Proficient" achievement level on the overall CAST, the achievement category for the science domain is "At or Near Proficient."
If the scale score of a science domain is below the "Proficient" achievement level on the overall CAST, the achievement category for the science domain is "Below Proficient."

CAST Science Domain-Specific ALDs (2025–26 and Forward)

CAST Science Domain-Specific ALDs (2025–26 and Forward)
Science Domain	Above Proficient	At or Near Proficient	Below Proficient
Life Sciences	The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Life Sciences, which focus on structures and processes in living things, ecosystems, heredity, and biological evolution.	The student demonstrates some understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Life Sciences, which focus on structures and processes in living things, ecosystems, heredity, and biological evolution.	The student demonstrates minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Life Sciences, which focus on structures and processes in living things, ecosystems, heredity, and biological evolution.
Physical Sciences	The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Physical Sciences, which focus on matter and its interactions, motion and stability, energy, and waves and their applications.	The student demonstrates some understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Physical Sciences, which focus on matter and its interactions, motion and stability, energy, and waves and their applications.	The student demonstrates minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in Physical Sciences, which focus on matter and its interactions, motion and stability, energy, and waves and their applications.
Earth and Space Sciences	The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Earth and Spaces Sciences, which focus on Earth's place in the universe, Earth's systems, and Earth and human activity.	The student demonstrates some understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Earth and Space Sciences, which focus on Earth's place in the universe, Earth's systems, and Earth and human activity.	The student demonstrates minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in Earth and Spaces Sciences, which focus on Earth's place in the universe, Earth's systems, and Earth and human activity.

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."

CAST Science Domain-Specific ALDs (2024–25 and Previous)

CAST Science Domain-Specific ALDs (2024–25 and Previous)
Science Domain	Above Standard	Near Standard	Below Standard
Life Sciences	The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Life Sciences, which focus on structures and processes in living things, ecosystems, heredity, and biological evolution.	The student demonstrates some understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Life Sciences, which focus on structures and processes in living things, ecosystems, heredity, and biological evolution.	The student demonstrates minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Life Sciences, which focus on structures and processes in living things, ecosystems, heredity, and biological evolution.
Physical Sciences	The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Physical Sciences, which focus on matter and its interactions, motion and stability, energy, and waves and their applications.	The student demonstrates some understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Physical Sciences, which focus on matter and its interactions, motion and stability, energy, and waves and their applications.	The student demonstrates minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in Physical Sciences, which focus on matter and its interactions, motion and stability, energy, and waves and their applications.
Earth and Space Sciences	The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Earth and Spaces Sciences, which focus on Earth's place in the universe, Earth's systems, and Earth and human activity.	The student demonstrates some understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in the Earth and Space Sciences, which focus on Earth's place in the universe, Earth's systems, and Earth and human activity.	The student demonstrates minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills associated with the core ideas, concepts, and practices in Earth and Spaces Sciences, which focus on Earth's place in the universe, Earth's systems, and Earth and human activity.