About the test:

Every year, we ask our families to take part in our internal online assessment for math and language arts called Star 360. The assessment data collected is critical to Pacific Coast Academy as a required part of the WASC accreditation and the charter renewal process.

The fall assessment provides a snapshot of where your student is starting the school year based on the California State Standards for your child’s grade level. In the spring when they take it again, you can see the progress they made over the school year.

Helpful Tips for Taking the Assessments:

• STAR tests are designed to be as efficient as possible. On average, students will complete each assessment in about 20 minutes. Some students may require more time.

• If your child needs to take a break or more time for a question they can pause the test by selecting Stop Test​ in the upper-right corner of the screen> then Resume Later. When the student logs back in and starts to take a test, it asks you for a monitor password which is admin. A paused test will automatically be erased if not completed within 8 days.

• Select a day when your child is well rested and does not feel rushed. It is important for you to encourage your child to try to do his or her best on the assessment. Advise your student(s) they may come across questions they don’t know and that is okay.

• Due to the nature of this style of testing, it is important for your student to take this on their own without any help or coaching. If you are sitting with them and know they are just guessing and don’t know the answer, it is better to mark the wrong answer. That way the program will not escalate the difficulty of questions.

Logging In

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Results

After completing the assessments, I will supply you with the student score reports that will give you an idea of what concepts your student is ready to learn next. It is completely fine if you choose not to use the results, but we encourage and appreciate your participation for the continued support of Pacific Coast Academy. Watch this short video so you can see how you can use the test results to drive your instruction.

CAASPP State Testing

All students in grades 3-8 and 11 participate in the SBAC Summative Assessments for Math and ELA. State testing is very important for PCA. All eligible students are expected to take this exam in the spring. We need 95% participation to ensure that our charter is safe from closure.

CAST (California Science Test)

All students in grades 5 and 8 participate in the CAST. High school students take the CAST one time during the year of their last science course.

Please note that there are no opt-outs for PFT. The state requires all students in grades 5, 7, and 9 to participate. PCA makes the PFT fun and stress-free for everyone!

Here is more information about this test (to see videos, click on the links below and then click again on the gray box that appears).

The Physical Fitness Test (PFT) has 3 main activity components. Below are descriptions of the activities that students are asked to participate in on the day of their PFT. Please note that some of the activities require students to remove their shoes. Please click on the underlined text for more info.

1. Aerobic Capacity (video): Students will be timed on their completion of a mile. Students may choose for themselves if they prefer to run, jog, or walk the mile. Time will be recorded on the student data sheet. To read more about the PFT Aerobic Capacity portion please see the CDE’s website info page here.

2. Body Composition (video): This portion of the PFT will measure the student's height and weight. Our staff will be sensitive and discreet when individually measuring and recording this student data. For measuring height, the student will be asked to remove their shoes and to stand tall with their heels against the wall. One of our teachers will then use a ruler or other flat object to accurately measure the student’s height. For measuring weight, the students will be taken a distance away from the group and asked to stand on a scale with both hands at their side while a teacher privately records their weight.

3. Muscle Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility:

• Curl-Up (video): Students will be asked to lie on their backs with their knees bent and to place their arms at their sides facing palm down. A teacher will call the number of curl-ups out while making sure each student’s arms and hands are sliding at their sides halfway to their knees. When students are no longer able to curl up, the teacher will record the student’s completed number of curl-ups. The teacher will continue counting at the rate of one number every 3 seconds until all the students being tested have finished or the maximum of 75 has been reached.

• Trunk Lift (video): Students will be asked to lie on their stomachs with their arms placed palms up at their sides. The students will then be asked to lift their head/chest off the floor as high as they can, up to twelve inches, and to hold it in that position as a teacher measures from the ground to the student’s chin.

• Push-Up (video): Students will be asked to lie face down, back straight, with hands placed under their shoulders, legs straight and toes tucked under. The back should be kept straight and elbows should form a 90-degree angle as the student completes a series of push-ups. Push-ups will be called by the teacher at a rate of 1 every 3 seconds for as many as the student can complete up to a maximum of 75.

• Shoulder Stretch (video): Students will be asked to touch the fingertips together behind the back with one hand reaching over the shoulder and the other under the elbow. Both shoulders are tested and each is recorded separately.