State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Peak of Annual CAASPP Testing
SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that nearly 500,000 California students took California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) tests on Tuesday May 9, the highest number of students testing simultaneously during the 2017 spring testing season.
“We are in the third year of administering these state-of-the-art assessments, and the capacity of our system and our schools to efficiently administer these tests increases every year,” Torlakson said. “Our students and families are the ultimate winners here. The information from these tests will help our schools refine their teaching, improve learning, and better prepare our students for success.”
The CAASPP assessments in English language arts/literacy and mathematics are given each spring to students in grades three through eight and grade eleven. More than two-thirds of the 3.3 million eligible California students have begun testing. As of Wednesday, May 10, more than 2.7 million students statewide have started a summative assessment in English language arts/literacy or mathematics. Participation peaked on May 9 with 495,463 students testing at one time.
The online tests are computer-adaptive, which means the tests change in real time depending on how students are performing. A student doing well will see increasingly challenging and more difficult questions; a struggling test taker will see easier questions in an attempt to more precisely measure the student’s knowledge. The tests are aligned with California’s more rigorous classroom standards and test critical thinking and problem solving skills students will need for college and the 21st century job market.
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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
