CAASPP Communication: April 2024

Email Update, April 1, 2024

This communication includes information and updates about the CAASPP.

Urgent Reminders

Prepare for SSR Electronic Distribution

Collaborate with technology personnel to ensure connections between the local student information system (SIS) and the Test Operations Management System (TOMS) are active, which will result in Student Score Reports (SSRs) populating for the correct students in a timely manner, as outlined in the Options for Distributing SSRs section in the CAASPP Scoring and Reporting Guide . Ensure the reports are properly displayed, parents/guardians can access the report, and parents/guardians can only access scores for their own children. The SIS vendor credentials have a 365-day expiration rule. If needed, regenerate credentials for the SIS to securely connect to TOMS.

Please refer to the Score Reporting web page on the CAASPP website for the estimated SSR release dates.

Upcoming Trainings

To register or locate additional details about upcoming, including dates, times, or content, visit the CAASPP Upcoming Training Opportunities web page.

April 9: Coffee Session, 2–3 p.m.

These virtual monthly Coffee Sessions, hosted by the California Department of Education and ETS, offer opportunities for LEA staff to ask questions and get answers about assessments, trainings, resources, and more. If you are not already registered, you can register for one or more upcoming sessions of the 2023–24 Coffee Session Series.

April 25: New Coordinator Webinar #5

Registration is open for the New Coordinator Webinar #5, which will be held on April 25 from 3 to 4 p.m. This webinar will provide information regarding preparing for summative assessment results and end with a question and answer session with experienced coordinators.

Educator Meeting Opportunities

There are still openings for the California Spanish Assessment (CSA) Data Review Meeting taking place July 31 and August 1. Educators who teach Spanish are encouraged to apply to participate. The application window closes April 12, 2024.

Details for upcoming meetings can be found on the CAASPP Opportunities to Get Involved web page on the CAASPP website. Opportunities for the 2024–25 test administration year will be available in late May.

To apply for educator meetings, go to the Educator Opportunities Portal. Those without an Educator Opportunities Portal account can create an account via the Educator Opportunities Portal Account Creation Form in the Educator Opportunities Database. For any questions, please contact the Educator Opportunities Team by phone at 916-228-2682 or by email at edopportunities@scoe.net.

Available Now

Asynchronous Trainings

• California Educator Reporting System (CERS)—Beyond the Basics for Coordinators and Administrators
• CERS—Beyond the Basics for Teachers

Ongoing Reminders

CSA Available to Administer

The CSA is now available to administer! This year, the CSA has been expanded to field-test both the speaking domain and one full-write item for the writing domain. For spring 2024, the new items of the expanded CSA will be administered as a field test before they become operational for the 2024–25 test administration. To ensure the validity of the new test items, it is important to have substantial student participation. For the 2023–24 test administration, ETS will be scoring the full assessment; LEAs will not be responsible for scoring any part of this test administration. More information can be found on the California Spanish Assessment web page on the CAASPP website.

CAASPP Interim Assessments Available to Administer

CAASPP Interim Assessments are available year-round to administer for the following programs:

• Smarter Balanced for English Language Arts/Literacy
• Smarter Balanced for Mathematics
• California Science Test (CAST) (New for 2023–24)

Educators can access CERS to view interim assessment results and data, including individual and aggregated scores, achievement or performance levels, key/distractor analysis for multiple-choice and multiselect items, depth of knowledge/performance-level descriptors for items, and item content standard alignment. In January 2024, additional item-level information—which is already available for the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments—was added to CERS for the CAST Interim Assessments. For more information, access the CERS Update for LEA Coordinators email sent on January 30, 2024.

The state-provided interim assessments can be administered in a standardized or nonstandardized manner. More information on the CAASPP Interim Assessments and training opportunities is available on the CAASPP Interim Assessment Administration Resources web page.

CAA for Science Administration

The CAA for is currently available for testing. Test examiners (TEs) are encouraged to build their curriculum to allow eligible students to take the four embedded performance tasks throughout the year, following related instruction in each science domain. The four CAA for Science embedded performance tasks can be administered in any order. The Organization of the California Alternate Assessment for Science flyer can be shared with TEs to support their administration of this assessment.

Summative Assessment Scoring Job Opportunities

ETS applications for scorers. This is an excellent opportunity for educators to become more familiar with the California assessments. Scoring schedules are flexible and can include four-, six-, and eight-hour weekday or weekend shifts. California educators interested in applying can find more information on the ETS Online Scoring web page. Questions about the application or hiring process should be directed to etsrater@ets.org. Current scorers can reach out to ratercertify@ets.org for any scoring-related questions.

Previous CAASPP Monthly Communications

Previous CAASPP monthly communications, as well as other email communications, are located on the CAASPP Coordinator Emails web page.

Additional Help

• Direct questions about policies, regulations, and requirements to caaspp@cde.ca.gov.
• Contact your Success Agent for answers to questions about assessment coordination, development, and administration, as well as for technical support.
• Direct questions about Moodle, certification, and calibration to moodlesupport@scoe.net.
• Get Answers from a user-friendly lookup tool available to help LEA coordinators quickly find answers to the most common testing questions. Users can also suggest Additional Questions for the FAQ, which will be reviewed on a regular basis.
• Chat with Anita, your virtual assistant for LEA help, which is available on the CAASPP and ELPAC home pages. Unanswered questions will be routed to your LEA Success Agent.