CAASPP Communication: March 2024

CAASPP email update, Friday, March 1, 2024

This communication includes information and updates about the CAASPP .

Upcoming Trainings

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

March 5: CERS—Beyond the Basics for Teachers

Register now for the California Educator Reporting System (CERS)—Beyond the Basics for Teachers webinar. This 90-minute training will cover intermediate and advanced CERS features and is designed for teachers and other educational staff who have or will have access to CERS assessment results. It is highly recommended that participants have a basic understanding of CERS before attending.

This webinar will be held on March 5, 2024, from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

March 5 and 14: CERS—Beyond the Basics for Coordinators and Administrators

Register now for the CERS—Beyond the Basics for Coordinators and Administrators webinar. This two-hour training will cover intermediate and advanced CERS features, including making custom reports, completing advanced rostering, and learning tips for providing local CERS training. This training is designed for staff members who manage access to CERS, roster students to teachers in CERS, or train staff on using CERS.

This webinar will be held on March 5, 2024, from 9 to 11 a.m. and March 14, 2024, from 1 to 3 p.m. Both sessions are identical, and participants can choose to attend either session.

March 12: 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 .

Educator Meeting Opportunities

For science teachers, opportunities are available for the California Science Test (CAST) Data Review Meeting taking place June 17, 18, and 20, 2024. The application window closes at the end of the day today, March 1, 2024.

Opportunities for special education teachers include the California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) for English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA), Mathematics, and Science Data Review Meeting from June 25 through 27, 2024. The application window closes March 8, 2024.

Educators who are bilingual and biliterate in Spanish are invited to apply to participate in the California Spanish Assessment (CSA) Data Review Meeting taking place this summer. 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.

To apply for these meetings and for other opportunities, 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

Manuals, Instructions, and Quick Reference Guides

Ongoing Reminders

CSA Available to Administer

The CSA is now available to administer! This year, the CSA has been expanded to field test 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 ELA
Smarter Balanced for Mathematics
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.

Sincerely,

California Outreach Team

CAASPP website