By Chris Moggia on Thursday, 25 April 2019
Category: What's New

Assessment Spotlight April 25, 2019

Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System and English Language Proficiency Assessments of California (ELPAC)—and including, when timely, updates on California's other statewide assessments.

New for CAASPP and ELPAC: "Get Involved" Web Pages!

Are you interested in getting involved in the continuing development of the CAASPP and the ELPAC? We need input from California educators, and it is now much easier for you to find out about the activities the California Department of Education (CDE) has scheduled and to let us know which ones hold your interest! To learn about upcoming activities, visit our new Get Involved web pages:


In addition, these pages include qualification information, application instructions, and links to create an account and submit your application.

Educational Testing Service, in partnership with the Sacramento County Office of Education, developed the Get Involved web pages to facilitate educators' participation in upcoming workshops for 2019–20 and beyond. These web pages will be updated throughout the coming months, so please check back often for the latest developments. Remember, your participation and input provide important support in the development of our state assessments!

If you have questions about how to get involved in these educator opportunities, please contact the CAASPP and ELPAC Project Team by phone at 916-228-2682 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Focus on Test Security—Pause Rules and Grace Period Extensions

This week, in our focus on test security, we look at the pause rules and grace period extensions. If a test is paused for more than 20 minutes during the Smarter Balanced computer adaptive test (CAT) portion or during the CAST discrete item blocks, the following will apply:

Any highlighted text will be saved regardless of how long the test is paused; notes entered on the digital notepad, however, will not be saved. For a performance task (PT), no pause restrictions apply. If a PT is paused for more than 20 minutes, the student can return to the section and continue entering responses.

Grace period extension (GPE) appeals are only for situations in which one of the following occurs during a Smarter Balanced CAT portion or the CAST:

A GPE appeal for a CAT portion allows the student to review previously answered questions upon logging back on to the assessment after the expiration of the pause rule. Note that for a PT, having the test administrator open a new testing session may be all that is needed to continue testing.

To review the rules that govern pausing during testing, refer to Appendix E: CAT Pause Rules Scenarios in the Online Test Administration Manual.

New Video––ELPAC Accessibility Resources


The new video "ELPAC Accessibility Resources" demonstrates how the CDE supports accessibility resources (i.e., universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations) for the ELPAC. A useful resource for anyone interested in learning about how to match student needs to the appropriate resources, this video is especially helpful for teachers and parents/guardians.

Please be sure to view this video, approximately 19 minutes in length, to learn more about the process for identifying the appropriate resources to assist students in fully accessing the ELPAC.

Reminder: Registration Is Open for 2019 Summer Institute!


Registration is open for the 2019 Summer Institute, "Analyzing Student Work and Using the Interim and Digital Library Systems to Inform Teaching and Learning." Offered at eight locations throughout California in July and early August, this two-day, in-person professional development opportunity is for classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and teachers on special assignment. Administrators also may find this training useful. The goals of this training are for participants to understand the following:

Visit the CAASPP 2019 Summer Institute registration website for online registration, details about the workshop, and a workshop flyer. Questions about this training should be directed to the California Technical Assistance Center by phone at 800-955-2954 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

All About Accessibility


Spanish stacked translation is an embedded designated support that provides the student with the full translation of each test item. The translation appears above the original item. This designated support is available for students whose primary language is not English and who use dual language supports in the classroom. Caution is advised when considering this resource for students who are not fluent in Spanish. The following questions can help guide the decision:

·Are the student's skills in speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish appropriate for this resource?

·Has the student had an opportunity to try the practice test with the Spanish stacked translation?

·Has the student or parent/guardian provided input on the use of this support?

·If the student does not have strong reading skills in Spanish but still needs translation, should read aloud in Spanish be assigned?

More information on the use of Spanish stacked translation can be found in Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines, available on the Smarter Balanced website, and the Accessibility Guide for CAASPP Online Testing, available on the CAASPP Portal. In addition, short video tutorials are available on the CAASPP Portal. Find them on the Embedded Universal Tools, Designated Supports, and Accommodations Video Tutorials web page.

Please share this email with any educators in your local educational agency who would be interested in or benefit from this information. To join the email list, send a blank email message to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Are you a new subscriber? Visit the CDE Assessment Spotlight web page to find previous issues.

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