By Carlos Machado, CSBA Legislative Advocate
The California State Board of Education (SBE) is currently accepting feedback on significant updates to the Student Score Report (SSR) that may impact how a student and their parents interpret the student’s results on state standardized tests.
At its November meeting, the SBE delayed action on these changes, partially in response to concerns that the changes could be too vague and confusing. The SBE also wanted the California Department of Education (CDE) to do more outreach to teachers, parents, students and stakeholders.
The SBE may act on the proposed changes at its next meeting on Jan. 15-16, 2025.
Proposed changes
There are concerns that the changes will lead to confusion and make some of the information conveyed on the SSR less useful to parents and students.
The SSR is used to describe and report student test results from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), also known as Smarter Balanced assessments. Currently, a student’s scores on the Smarter Balanced tests in English language arts and math and on the California Science Test fall within one of four achievement levels that provide context on how the student performed on the tests. Below are the labels currently used in the reports and those being considered by the SBE.
Achievement Labels
| Level | Current | Proposed |
| 4 (Highest attainable scores) | Standard Exceeded | Advanced |
| 3 | Standard Met | Proficient |
| 2 | Standard Nearly Met | Foundational |
| 1 (Lowest scores) | Standard Not Met | Inconsistent |
The use of the terms “foundational” and “inconsistent” for levels 2 and 1 by themselves will be unfamiliar to families and would certainly require further context in order to be useful. Furthermore, a shift in the labels used for these two levels may impact the work that individual local educational agencies have done to help increase the student and their family’s understanding of the information in the report.
At CSBA’s fall Delegate Assembly, held Dec. 3-4 in Anaheim, some Delegates expressed alarm that the fairly direct classification of “standard nearly met” would be converted to “foundational,” a term that does not clearly communicate that the student fell short of the standard. Similarly, the proposed label of “inconsistent” does not indicate the clear deficiency represented by the current terminology of “standard not met.”
The SBE is also considering a change to the descriptions used in the SSR that help families interpret the levels to which the student’s scores fall. Below is an example of the current descriptors used for English language arts in grades 6-8 and how it will change for all grades 3-8 and 11 (those that take the Smarter Balanced tests).
Achievement Level Descriptors
| Level | Current | Proposed |
| 4 | The student has exceeded the achievement standard and demonstrates advanced progress toward mastery of the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in entry-level, credit-bearing college coursework after high school. | The student demonstrates advanced grade-level skills and shows a sophisticated understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in future coursework. |
| 3 | The student has met the achievement standard and demonstrates progress toward mastery of the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in entry-level, credit-bearing college coursework after high school. | The student demonstrates proficient grade-level skills and shows a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in future coursework. |
| 2 | The student has nearly met the achievement standard and may require further development to demonstrate the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in entry-level, credit-bearing college coursework after high school. | The student demonstrates foundational grade-level skills and shows a basic understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in future coursework. |
| 1 | The student has not met the achievement standard and needs substantial improvement to demonstrate the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in entry-level, credit-bearing college coursework after high school. | The student demonstrates inconsistent grade-level skills and shows a minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills in English language arts/literacy needed for likely success in future coursework. |
While the degree of difficulty of the tests and their scoring will not change according to the proposal presented to the SBE, the characterization of the results would.
The SSR plays an important role in how student progress is communicated to families and educators in your district. Please consider sending your thoughts on these changes to the SBE today.
To participate in the state’s survey to collect feedback on the proposed changes, complete the Survey on the Proposed Changes to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Achievement Level Descriptors and Labels. Feedback must be submitted by noon on Dec. 12, 2024.
Alternatively, input may be shared directly with the members of the SBE by sending a message through the SBE Contact Form portal here.
