Assessments & Testing

District Benchmark Assessments

While annual state assessments provide a general indicator of how students are doing relative to annual learning standards and other assessments are embedded in ongoing classroom instruction to inform immediate teaching and learning goals, district benchmark assessments fall in between. They are part of the district curriculum plan to help us measure student growth. The results are aggregated at the classroom, grade, school, and district levels to provide an indication of how well students are learning and determine what actions are needed to progress toward annual goals. 

  • Given 3 times per year (approximately beginning, middle and end of the school year)

  • Grades 2-8 take NWEA’s MAP Growth testing, an industry-leading interim assessment in math, reading, and language-usage. Grades K-1 also complete MAP Math.

  • Grades K-1 complete Amplify's mCLASS testing to measure phonemic and reading skills. 

State Testing Windows

TEST

GRADES

DATES

CAASPP & CAA - CAST

Gr 5 & 8 - Science

4/22/24-5/24/24

CAASPP & CAA - SBAC

Gr 3-8 - ELA & Math

4/22/24-5/24/24

ELPAC Initial Identification

Gr K - 8

7/27/23 - 8/25/23 & Ongoing throughout the year for new students to US or CA

ELPAC Summative Assessment

Gr K - 8

2/1/24 - 4/28/24

Physical Fitness Testing

Gr 5 & 7

2/1/24 - 5/31/2024

CAASPP STUDENT SCORE REPORT INFORMATION

Students in grades three through eight participate in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP).

Your child will take the following test(s), depending on their grade level:

  • Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics in grades three through eight OR the California Alternate Assessment (CAA)

  • California Science Test (CAST) in grades five and eight

Each year's scores for students will be available at the beginning of the following school year.  Based on grade level, score reports will be distributed in the following ways:

  • Score Reports can be viewed in the Aeries. Choose Test Scores

    → State Test Score Reports

  • Score Reports for grade 8 students are now available in the LUHSD parent portal.

These reports show scores for ELA and mathematics. They include an overall score for each subject and information about how well your child did in different areas. 

To learn more about your child’s scores, go to the new parent web page called Starting Smarter, available at https://ca.startingsmarter.org/

This site includes:

  • resources to help understand results on the student score reports

  • access to sample test questions and practice tests

  • no-cost resources to support learning

  • a guide for parent-teacher conferences

In our district, the test results are just one way to look at how well our students are doing. We use the results to find areas where students are doing well and areas in which they need help.

Note: If your child took the CAST, results will be provided to you in the late fall.

If you have questions or concerns, please call your child’s school office.