Section 60603.

As used in this chapter:

(a) "Achievement test" means any standardized test that measures the level of performance that a pupil has achieved in the core curriculum areas.

(b) "Assessment of applied academic skills" means a form of assessment that requires pupils to demonstrate their knowledge of, and ability to apply, academic knowledge and skills in order to solve problems and communicate. It may include, but is not limited to, writing an essay response to a question, conducting an experiment, or constructing a diagram or model. An assessment of applied academic skills may not include assessments of personal behavioral standards or skills, including, but not limited to, honesty, sociability, ethics, or self-esteem.

(c) "Basic academic skills" means those skills in the subject areas of reading, spelling, written expression, and mathematics that provide the necessary foundation for mastery of more complex intellectual abilities, including the synthesis and application of knowledge.

(d) "Content standards" means the specific academic knowledge, skills, and abilities that all public schools in this state are expected to teach and all pupils expected to learn in each of the core curriculum areas, at each grade level tested.

(e) "Core curriculum areas" means the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, history-social science, and science.

(f) "Diagnostic assessment" means interim assessments of the current level of achievement of a pupil that serves both of the following purposes:

(1) The identification of particular academic standards or skills a pupil has or has not yet achieved.

(2) The identification of possible reasons that a pupil has not yet achieved particular academic standards or skills.

(g) "Direct writing assessment" means an assessment of applied academic skills that requires pupils to use written expression to demonstrate writing skills, including writing mechanics, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

(h) "End of course exam" means a comprehensive and challenging assessment of pupil achievement in a particular subject area or discipline.

(i) "Formative assessment" means assessment tools and processes that are embedded in instruction and are used by teachers and pupils to provide timely feedback for purposes of adjusting instruction to improve learning.

(j) "High-quality assessment" means an assessment designed to measure a pupil's knowledge of, understanding of, and ability to apply critical concepts through the use of a variety of item types and formats, including, but not limited to, items that allow for open-ended responses and items that require the completion of performance-based tasks. A high-quality assessment should have the following characteristics:

(1) Enable measurement of pupil achievement and pupil growth.

(2) Be of high technical quality by being valid, reliable, fair, and aligned to standards.

(3) Incorporate technology where appropriate.

(4) Include the assessment of pupils with disabilities and English learners.

(5) Use, to the extent feasible, universal design principles, as defined in Section 3 of the federal Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 3002) in its development and administration.

(k) "Interim assessment" means an assessment that is given at regular and specified intervals throughout the school year, is designed to evaluate a pupil's knowledge and skills relative to a specific set of academic standards, and produces results that can be aggregated by course, grade level, school, or local educational agency in order to inform teachers and administrators at the pupil, classroom, school, and local educational agency levels.

(l) "Performance standards" are standards that define various levels of competence at each grade level in each of the curriculum areas for which content standards are established. Performance standards gauge the degree to which a pupil has met the content standards and the degree to which a school or school district has met the content standards.

(m) "Publisher" means a commercial publisher or any other public or private entity, other than the department, which is able to provide tests or test items that meet the requirements of this chapter.

(n) "Statewide pupil assessment program" means the systematic achievement testing of pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, pursuant to the standardized testing and reporting program under Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) and the assessment of basic academic skills and applied academic skills, administered to pupils in grade levels specified in subdivision (c) of Section 60605, required by this chapter in all schools within each school district by means of tests designated by the state board.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 608, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2012. Inoperative July 1, 2014. Repealed as of January 1, 2015, pursuant to Section 60601.)