Introducing the Common Core standards last year was challenging. The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) is more difficult than prior assessments because it requires deeper thinking and reasoning. Last year, juniors were required to take the CAASPP on computers. These tests focused on skill-application, not memorization. According to the Daily Breeze, state officials aren’t comparing STAR test scores with the CAASPP results because the new test is much different.

Last year’s tests will count as the starting point for future reference. At HMSA, 124 students were tested in mathematics and English. In the math category, 75 percent of students met or exceeded the standards. In English, 96 percent met or exceeded the standards.

Senior Cara J. commented on the new testing system at HMSA: ¨I liked the idea of administering the test electronically, but only for the English part; math is something I would prefer not to do electronically.¨ She also felt that the new test was ¨long and draining and did not accurately represent [her] abilities [as a student].” While she took the test, she found that most of the test questions were not very understandable. Cara admitted that when she finished the test, she believed she would not get a passing grade and was actually very surprised when her test results were high. Overall, Cara is not sure whether this new testing system is a good way to show students’ potential.

Another senior, Kamera F., agreed with Cara and also believed that the CAASPP was more difficult than the past test. She said, ¨The essay was probably the easiest part, but the math portion was difficult for me. The questions required a lot of thought and were not what I expected.” Like Cara, Kamera also thought she did poorly on the test. To her surprise, she performed extremely well. However, she does feel that the test results accurately represent her abilities because it required her to ¨think out of the box¨ to solve the more challenging questions.

Although there are many different opinions on the CAASPP, the test’s main goal  is to expand on the students’ reasoning and analysis.