CAASPP Tech Structure

By Helena Li

The CAASPP state test that our 11th and 12th grade students are taking is much more technologically-advanced than the traditional multiple-choice test that we are used to. This test has a much greater variety of questions that require digital literacy in order to complete tasks such as short answer, drag and drop, completing a table, drawing a graph, and more.

Types of Questions

Multiple choice

The good old classic multiple choice question.

Short Answer - ELA

Type out answer in the box.

Short answer - Math

Click the keys on the calculator to input answer.

Drag and Drop - ELA

Click the answer choices and drop them into the correct places.

Drag and Drop - Math

Click the answer and drag into the appropriate box.

Complete a Table - ELA

Click the empty boxes to place checks for your answers.

Complete a table - math

Click the empty boxes to create a table.

Graphing

Click the region to shade it in and complete the graph.

Select Evidence

Click the sentence (or multiple sentences, according to instructions) to highlight it as the chosen answer.

Listen to Audio

Click the play button to listen to the audio and then choose from the multiple choice answers.

Tools on the test

universal tools

Universal tools are buttons that are available on each test. We'll look at these more closely.

Line Reader tool

The line reader tool on the top right will allow you to highlight a line when you click on the line. You can use it to mark your place while reading or help you read line by line, as shown in this screenshot.

Tutorial Tool

The tutorial tool will show you a video of how the question is supposed to be answered, such as how to draw a graph or how to drag and drop. The tutorials change depending on the question.

Mark for Review Tool

Students have to answer every question before going to the next page, so they can use this button to flag any questions they are unsure about or want to return to. They will see the list of questions they flagged at the end of the test.

Notepad Tool

Students can write notes here, which will be saved for only this question or a multi-part question set.