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tests in history–social science and science for grades nine through eleven were added
in 2001. Writing tests for grades four and seven, requiring students to write an essay in
response to an assigned task, were also added in 2001. In spring 2003, the grade nine
history-social science CST was replaced with a grade eight history–social science CST.
A grade five science CST was added to the program in spring 2004. A grade eight
science CST and a life science CST administered to all grade ten students were added
to the program in spring 2006.
The SBE approved five performance levels for reporting results of the CSTs: advanced,
proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic. Performance levels describe student
achievement on the California content standards. Individual student and group results
for all CSTs are reported using scaled scores and performance levels.
All students in grades three and seven, including English learners and students in
special education programs, must also take the CAT/6 Survey in English. Students in
these grades are tested in reading, language, spelling, and mathematics. The CAT/6
Survey provides comparisons of the performance of California students to the
performance of students throughout the United States.
The California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) was added to the STAR
Program during spring 2003. CAPA is an individually administered assessment for
students with significant cognitive disabilities. It is an alternate assessment of the CSTs
in mathematics, English–language arts, and science and has alternate achievement
standards.
In fall 2005, the SBE designated the Aprenda 3 for use with students whose primary
language is Spanish. It replaces the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second
Edition (SABE/2). The Aprenda 3 is a norm-referenced achievement test in Spanish that
is used to measure English learners’ achievement of basic academic skills in reading,
language, spelling, and mathematics.
Two new tests are currently under development for grades two through eleven. The
Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS) will be criterion-referenced multiple-choice
tests in Spanish aligned to California content standards for reading/language arts and
mathematics. STS was field tested in grades two, three, and four in fall 2006;
operational testing for grades two, three, and four will begin in spring 2007. As each
grade-level STS is ready to administer as an operational test, it will replace the
Aprenda 3. The California Modified Assessment (CMA) is being developed in response
to new federal guidelines for assessing students with disabilities in grades two through
eleven. The CMA will have modified achievement standards and is an alternate test to
the CSTs. It will fit within the continuum between CAPA and the CSTs. The purpose of
the CMA is to provide greater access to the assessment of the state-adopted content
standards for students with disabilities. It is anticipated that field testing will occur in fall
2007, and operational testing will occur in spring 2008 for grades two through four.
School, district, county, and state-level reports, disaggregated by students’ Englishlanguage
fluency, gender, economic status, and disability status, must be distributed to
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