Quick Reference and Glossary

Question:   What am I trying to find out?

Evidence:   What will actually tell me?

Notice: What does it say before I decide what it means?

Diagnose: What is causing it?

Respond: What is the smallest effective response?

Check: Did it work?

CAASPP: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. The state testing system.

ELPAC: English Language Proficiency Assessments for California.

Smarter Balanced: The organization that develops the ELA and mathematics summative and interim assessments, plus Tools for Teachers and CERS.

Summative assessment: The spring test. Measures a full year of learning. Results arrive months later, reported at the claim level.

Interim assessment: Optional, given any time during the year, results in days. Built from the same item bank and blueprints as the summative.

Formative assessment process: Not a test. The ongoing practice of gathering evidence during instruction and acting on it.

CAST: California Science Test. Grades 5, 8, and once in high school.

CAA: California Alternate Assessments. For students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, when specified in the IEP.

CSA: California Spanish Assessment.

ICA: Interim Comprehensive Assessment. Mirrors the summative in scope and format. The full range of targets, roughly 35 to 45 items.

IAB: Interim Assessment Block. One skill area, 1 to 8 targets, roughly 10 to 18 items.

FIAB: Focused IAB. The most precise option. 1 to 3 targets, roughly 10 to 15 items. 121 exist: 63 ELA, 58 mathematics.

Standardized administration: Students test independently under conditions like the summative. A clean read on what students can do alone.

Nonstandardized administration: Project an item, discuss it, let students talk, use it as a lesson. Permitted, and underused.

Hand scoring: Teacher scoring of constructed response items in THSS. Required, or the report is incomplete.

Reporting categories: How interim results are classified: Above Proficient, At or Near Proficient, Below Proficient. The older Standard labels were retired.

TOMS: Test Operations Management System. User roles, student test settings, secure materials. Your coordinator works here.

CERS: California Educator Reporting System. Where results live for interim and summative tests.

CERS Sandbox: The same reporting system with fictitious students. No username or password required.

Test Administrator Interface: Where you create a test session and get the session code.

THSS: Teacher Hand Scoring System. Where you score constructed responses.

Interim Assessment Viewing System: View a whole interim as a student would see it, for planning or nonstandardized use.

Interim Assessment Item Portal: Browse and print individual items with claim, target, standard, DOK, difficulty, and answer key.

Completion Status: Who has finished and who has not.

Secure Browser: The required testing browser for all CAASPP and ELPAC assessments.

Tools for Teachers: Smarter Balanced site with lesson resources, Connections Playlists, and the Item Portal.

Connections Playlist: Instructional resources in Tools for Teachers tied to a specific target.

SmART: Smarter Annotated Response Tool. Scored student writing with rubrics and rationales.

Content Explorer: Browse every IAB and FIAB by grade, subject, claim, and target.

ISAAP Tool: Individual Student Assessment Accessibility Profile Tool. Matches resources to student needs. No logon required.

Claim: A broad skill area. Mathematics has four, ELA has four. Too big to act on instructionally.

Target: A specific skill within a claim. The grain size you can actually teach to.

Content standard: The CA standard an item is written to.

DOK: Depth of Knowledge. The level of thinking a task demands. Rises as the task withholds scaffolding.

Blueprint: The specification for how many items from which claims and targets appear on a test.

Item specifications: The evidence an item must elicit, allowable stimulus, vocabulary, and how distractors are built.

CAT: Computer Adaptive Test. Item difficulty adjusts to student responses.

Performance task: An extended, multi-step task. Usually hand scored.

Constructed response: A written answer rather than a selection. Requires hand scoring.

Distractor: A wrong answer choice. Well built ones reveal a specific misconception.

Universal Tools: Available to all students. Highlighter, zoom, scratch paper. No IEP or 504 required.

Designated Supports: Based on educator or team decision. Color contrast, masking, read aloud for mathematics. No IEP or 504 required.

Accommodations: Documented in an IEP or 504 plan. Braille, speech-to-text, text-to-speech for ELA reading passages.

Embedded: Delivered inside the testing system.

Nonembedded: Provided outside the testing system.

Unlisted resource: A support not on the approved matrix. Requires a request and CDE approval.

Test Session ID: The code the Test Administrator creates that students use to log in. Generated the day of testing.

SSID: Statewide Student Identifier. Students use it to sign in.

DFA: Directions for Administration. The required script and procedures.

Pause Rule: How long a test can be paused before a student is locked out of items.

Test Security: Keeping test content confidential and following all administration rules.

Irregularity: An unusual event during testing that does not invalidate the test but must be reported.

Breach: A serious violation of test security that may invalidate a test.

LEA: Local Educational Agency. Your district.

Site CAASPP/ELPAC Coordinator: Leads testing at the school site. Schedules testing, trains staff, ensures security, supports Test Administrators.

School Administrator: Principal or designee. Ensures testing compliance and supports site coordination.

Test Administrator (TA): Administers CAASPP assessments, follows standardized procedures, maintains test security.

ELPAC Test Examiner: Administers ELPAC assessments, especially Speaking, using required scripts and protocols.

Alternate Assessment Test Examiner: Administers California Alternate Assessments and Alternate ELPAC for eligible students.

Test Proctor: Assists the TA by monitoring students. Does not administer tests independently.

Technology Coordinator: Ensures devices, networks, and testing software work. Assists with technical issues.