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CAASPP: CAASPP and ELPAC Interim Assessments

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CAASPP and ELPAC Interim Assessments

Interim assessments are optional, locally administered tools that use the same item types, blueprints, and accessibility resources as the summative tests. They are not reported to the CDE for accountability and cannot substitute for a summative test.

Two formats for ELA and mathematics

  • Interim Comprehensive Assessment (ICA): mirrors the summative blueprint, includes a performance task, and reports scores on the same scale as the summative, which makes it useful for a mid-year check on likely performance.
  • Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs): short blocks focused on a set of claims or targets, reporting scores and item-level information but no summative scale score or achievement level.
  • Focused IABs: even briefer, covering a small set of standards for use in the flow of instruction.

Grades follow the summative: ELA 3–8 and 11; mathematics 3–8 and 11, with high school math IABs organized by course (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Integrated I–III). Interim options also exist for the ELPAC across K–12 and for the CAST.

Administration

Tests are delivered through the same test delivery system and secure browser, with results in CERS: machine-scored items are available immediately, and constructed responses are hand-scored using the scoring guides and training materials. LEAs set their own schedule; there is no annual state window. Interim items remain secure and may not be copied into worksheets or posted online.

Worked example

In January, a principal proposes using a grade 5 ELA ICA to satisfy the summative requirement for the year. Reasoning: an ICA cannot serve that purpose. Summative results must come from the Smarter Balanced summative test administered in the LEA window within the last 12 weeks of the school year, and only those results feed state and federal reporting. The ICA is a legitimate readiness check, and its scale score can inform instruction, but it produces no summative record.

Traps that cost marks

  • Substituting an ICA for the summative test.
  • Expecting achievement levels from an IAB; IABs report scores without summative achievement levels.
  • Waiting for a state testing window; interims run on the LEA calendar.
  • Copying interim items into classroom materials.