PCI students take part in a variety of testing and assessment in support of their learning while gauging their learning progress. Below are some the tests in which students participate throughout the school year.

CAASPP testing occurs annually during the spring semester and follows CDE’s annual guidelines.  Currently, these include:

  • Smarter Balanced (SBAC) testing for students in grades 3-8 and grade 11.
  • California Alternate Assessment (CAA)
  • California Science Test (CAST) field testing for students in grades 5, 8, and high school.

We encourage all students taking the Smarter Balanced tests to get familiar with the practice tests. They are available on the following link: Smarter Balanced Practice & Training Tests.  For the best user experience, it is highly recommended to download and use CAASPP’s Secure Browser. Please download the secure browser for the correct operating system by clicking on the link above.

For help understanding your child’s CAASPP’s score, watch this video.

California Science Tests (CAST)

All students enrolled in grades five, eight will be administered the CAST field test. High school students will be selected by grade to participate once (i.e., grade ten, eleven, or twelve). This new assessment is aligned with the California Next Generation Science Standards.

More information on the CAST test is available on the California Department of Education’s website.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/caasppscience.asp

The ELPAC is the current required state test for English language proficiency that must be given to students whose primary language is other than English.  The ELPAC is the successor to the California English Language Development Test (CELDT).

The ELPAC practice tests give students, parents and families, teachers, administrators, and others the opportunity to become familiar with the types of test questions on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC). These practice tests include examples of all of the types of test questions that may appear in the actual Summative Assessment at each grade or grade span. In an actual test setting, an Examiner’s Manual, a Test Book, and/or an Answer Book are used. The test questions in the Practice Test are reproduced from these test materials.  Click here to locate your grade level ELPAC Practice Test!

Physical Fitness Test (PFT)

Each year public schools in California are required to assess all 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students in physical fitness. As an independent study (non-site based) school, this puts us in a unique situation for testing our students. We must rely on families, teachers, and administration staff to work together to complete this task.
At Pacific Charter Institute, students may complete testing at a resource center, in a small group with their homeroom teacher, or with parent oversight.
Families completing testing on their own will have guidance from their child’s homeroom teacher.