The students of California schools are always asking the question: what is CAASPP testing? CAASPP stands for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, a statewide testing program in California, designed to gauge student achievement in various subjects. It replaced the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program in 2014 and aligns with the Common Core State Standards. CAASPP encompasses assessments like the Smarter Balanced Assessments for English language arts/literacy and mathematics. The program aims to provide educators, and parents with valuable insights into student progress and educational effectiveness while supporting efforts to improve teaching and learning statewide. These are then spread out between 3 weeks as each subject gets a whole week of testing.
To better understand how CAASPP testing works we went around the Buena Park campus to get opinions from students and administrators to see how this test is viewed. We first interviewed student Loren Holguin and asked him if he thought the CAASPP test is important he stated “It is important but most people don’t think it is because it has no meaning.” Loren is commenting on the idea that the CAASPP test does not affect students’ grades or college status. We also asked him if he was going to study for the test and he said “No I don’t need to.” Commenting once again on the importance of the test. We then interviewed student Jordan Vazquez and asked him how he felt about CAASPP testing. He gave a simple answer “It’s pretty easy but it’s stressful at times.” Given the circumstances of the test, it is very common for students to be pressured and to feel anxious. We then asked student Robbie Wheeler what he thought if the school should get rid of the CAASPP test or keep it. Robbie claimed, “I don’t think we should get rid of the test, instead I think the school should do high school placement tests.” To an extent, Robbie does have a point because since the CAASPP test doesn’t affect the student, adding in a placement test will give students an incentive to do well on the test. To round out the students’ feedback we asked one last question to Myah Barnes and this was if she thought CAASPP testing would be useful to her. She stated, “I don’t know because I don’t even know if the test is going to help me later on in life.” Myah isn’t necessarily wrong here as the CAASPP test doesn’t have an impact on students but it is a good idea to at least put some effort into it.
To get an alternative perspective on CAASPP testing we asked administrators Brian Cuevas and Mark Kailiponi. We asked them the same questions, the first being if they thought CAASPP testing is important as Mr. Kailiponi stated “Yes it is because that’s the data we use to see how well we are teaching our students.” Kailiponi justifies it by claiming that the data used on the test aids in helping the students to where they are at and this is very important. Along with this Mr. Cuevas states “This data helps us support our students.” Meaning that this test doesn’t only help them but it also helps the students learn more effectively as well. Another important area is how the CAASPP test has changed over the years and Mr. Kailiponi says “Back then we used cantons and booklets and it was much harder compared to the digital tests now.” Since the test has changed so much over the years, the technology of the world makes it much easier to track the data of the tests and just take the test itself, which in turn helps the students and the teachers. To add to this Mr. Cuevas claims “Back then it was sometimes scary because kids would either get the wrong test or lose it.” With the addition of digital tests, these problems cease to exist giving the teachers and students a better overall testing experience. For the final question, we asked if the school will ever get rid of testing and they both stated “No because the state needs a measurement.” Since the test is based on the state, likely, this test will never go away and even with the importance of it students will have to test no matter what.
The CAASPP test has been around since 2014 and seems that it will never go away. With this hybrid consensus around this test from students is that it’s not that important mainly because there are no implications when it comes to taking it. It’s a matter of whether you care enough to help the school with its data. As the better the scores the better the school looks but that is up to the students and most of the time the students have little to no care for it as they won’t study for it and just brush it aside. On the other hand, the administrators care deeply about the test as it helps them look better and it also helps the students to see where they are at as well. Giving them a good indicator for most students. Even with this, the CAASPP test will probably always be around and it will just be another test for most students.
