Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR)

Repository archive entry for the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) in the Programs No Longer Administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) Section of the CDE Web site.

Updated in Programs No Longer Administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) on August 25, 2017.

This information is for historical purposes only and it is possible that information contained here may not be current.

Time Period

1998–99 through 2012–13

Applicable Statutes/Regulations

California Education Code Section 60640(h) ABX4 3, Chapter 3, Statutes of 2009, FY 2009-10 SEC 5(a)(7) 6110-113-0001.

Program Description

The STAR program was the basis of the California Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 (PSAA). The primary objective of the PSAA was to help schools improve the academic achievement of all students.The STAR tests were administered every spring to California public school students. The STAR Program had four components:

California Standards Tests (CSTs), criterion-referenced tests that assessed the California content standards in English-language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and history-social science;
California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), an alternate performance assessment to the CSTs in ELA, mathematics, and science;
California Modified Assessment (CMA), an alternate assessment to the CSTs in ELA, mathematics, and science for eligible pupils who had an IEP and meet the CMA eligibility criteria; and
Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS), criterion-referenced tests aligned to the California content standards for reading/language arts and mathematics.

The STAR program ended on July 1, 2013 and was replaced by the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System.

STAR CST Released Test Questions

The STAR CST Released Test Questions (RTQs) were removed with the rest of the STAR pages. In their place, practice and training tests for all CAASPP tests can be found at the Online Practice and Training Tests Portal

. There are also sample item test questions for the Smarter Balanced ELA and mathematics assessments available on the Smarter Balanced Sample Items Web page

For Researchers

Data Files, Record Layouts, and Technical Reports