From Superintendent Max McGee’s Letter of April 11, 2015:
In the upcoming days and weeks, your child will be joining all Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) students and
all children throughout California as they participate in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) program. These assessments in the CAASPP System provide information to you, your child, and their teachers about the student’s progress and readiness for college and career. All Palo Alto Unified sites have notified families of their site specific testing schedules.
For questions about your child’s testing dates, we invite you to contact your local school.
As you and your child get ready for spring testing time, we wanted to share with you a couple of suggestions on ways to support your
child from home–keep to your regular routine as young students take comfort in regular bedtime and meal rituals; help your child
prepare for testing with a good night’s sleep, a nutritious breakfast, and a positive attitude; encourage your child to do his and her
best; and make sure your child is in attendance and on time on test days.
In grades 3-8, most students will participate in the Smarter Balanced online assessments for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and
mathematics. However, students who have a significant cognitive disability (as designated in their individualized education program)
are eligible to take the California Alternate Assessments (CAAs). In addition, students in grades 5 and 8 will participate in one of the
following assessments for science:
• California Standards Test (CST) for Science
• California Modified Assessment (CMA) for Science
• California Alternate Performance Assessments (CAPA) for Science
Smarter Balanced Assessments
The smarter balanced online assessments are based on the new California Content Standards, also known as the Common Core
State Standards (CCSS), for mathematics and ELA. While last year’s assessment results provided parents with baseline information
on how their children were performing in ELA and mathematics, in 2016 parents of students in grades 4-8 will be able to compare
results across two school years (2014–15 and 2015–16) and determine their children’s progress in meeting California’s rigorous
academic standards. Only one year of data will be reported for students in grades 3 as this is the first time they will be participating.
5th and 8th Grade Assessments for Science
California has adopted new science standards and is currently developing assessments that are aligned with these standards. During the transition to new science assessments, students in grades 5 and 8 will take the CST, CMA, or CAPA as identified above.
PAUSD’s Assessment Webpage for Additional Resources
(http://www.pausd.org/teaching-learning/assessment-information)
PAUSD’s assessment webpage provides links to information from the California Department of Education (CDE) about the CAASPP
assessment system including parent guides, practice tests, and more. In addition, parents should note that Education Code section
60615 states that parents/guardians may annually submit a written request to the principal of their student’s school to excuse their
child from any or all parts of the CAASPP for the school year. We encourage parents to contact their child’s principal with any
questions they may have about the assessments.