K-5 ELA Revisions Updates

What you need to know: KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 2ND GRADE STUDENTS WILL RETURN TO PAPER-BASED DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS NEXT YEAR. 3RD-5TH GRADE STUDENTS WILL USE CAASPP INTERIM ASSESSMENTS AS THE MAIN PLATFORM FOR DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS. THERE WILL BE NO REQUIREMENT TO USE WEEKLY OR UNIT WONDERS ASSESSMENTS. ALSO, THERE WILL BE NO MANDATORY ELA PRE-ASSESSMENTS.

K-5 ELA System of Assessment
	*K-2*	*3-5*
Modality	Paper-Pencil	Computer-Based
Main Platform	Renaissance Illuminate	CAASPP Interim Assessments Bilingual: Renaissance Illuminate
Focus	Mastery of essential grade level standards
Format	Shorter assessments focused on essential standards No mandatory pre-assessments to measure what students haven’t learned yet Assessments more frequent than Wonders Unit Assessments, typically 8 – 12 per grade level
Multiple Measures	District-wide assessment is just one of multiple measures that is used to inform the report card. Additional details defining multiple measures to come during the 2025.26 school year.

K-2 Assessments – Return to Paper/Pencil

To meet our goal of measuring progress towards mastery of essential standards we need to eliminate as many barriers to understanding what students know as possible. The most common barrier to assessing what students know identified by our teachers was the use of computer-based assessments for our youngest students. Also, surrounding districts and those with similar student demographics are using paper/pencil assessments for their K-2 students with the exception of their universal screening tools (i.e. FastBridge).

K-2 Assessments Grounded in Renaissance Illuminate Resources

Renaissance Illuminate has pre-built assessments designed to mimic the rigor of the CA content standards and expectations for state assessments. Also, these can be used with any curriculum, whether it be Wonders or future adopted materials. The use of Renaissance Illuminate Inspect assessments means that when a new K-5 ELA adoption of materials takes place (tentatively scheduled for the 2029-30 school year) we will not be required to also change our assessment format.

*Note: When a new curriculum adoption takes place we may choose to also change assessments. The use of Renaissance Illuminate assessments means we will have the choice about whether or not this is the best road to go when new curriculum is adopted.

Any assessments that were used in 2023-24 in Renaissance Illuminate that are aligned to our updated essential standards will be used next school year. Any new essential standards will have an assessment created for them from a combination of Renaissance Illuminate pre-built assessments and item bank and formatted for paper-pencil use.

Creating these assessments is a time-intensive task. Our goal is to have all K-2 trimester 1 assessment questions identified and shared by the end of May. Because of the amount of time needed in this process all new trimester 2 and 3 assessment questions will not be available until next school year begins.

3-5 Assessments Remain Digital, Change Platform

As students master foundational reading and writing skills the use of computer-based assessments becomes more practical and a more reliable source of student knowledge and learning. This, combined with the reality that all students are expected to demonstrate their knowledge on the CAASPP at the end of the third grade, is the reason for a shift from paper-pencil to computer-based assessment beginning in grade 3.

3-5 Assessments Grounded in CAASPP Interim Resources

The combination of the CAASPP blueprint, ELA/ELD framework, and CA standards communicate to us the depth of knowledge students are expected to demonstrate for mastery. This depth of knowledge is best reflected in the CAASPP interim assessments. There is the added benefit that use of CAASPP interim assessments will provide familiarity with the format of end of year state tests, leading to more valid and reliable data for the CAASPP.

There is a strong possibility that in order to have in-depth writing prompts for narrative, informational, and opinion writing a few assessments may live in Renaissance Illuminate instead of CAASPP for 3rd-5th grade. As assessment plans are built more information and clarity will be shared.

Q & A Sessions

Next week Stephen Theall, Director of Professional Learning & Curriculum, will hold to 2 virtual Q & A sessions on these updates. Dates, times, and links below:

Tuesday, May 20
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Join the meeting now

Wednesday May 21
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Join the meeting now

Resources

April 24, 2025 Update

April 24, 2025 Update

What you need to know: K-5 ELA Revision teams have given feedback on new essential standards that can be found here:

ELA G0 G5 ESSENTIAL STANDARDS SUMMARY

These standards are what our assessments will predominantly focus on and report cards will share with families. We will continue using the Wonders Scope and Sequence for our units and pacing. We are currently reviewing options for ELA assessment for use starting in August.

At the end of trimester 1 a survey was sent to all K-5 teachers asking about implementation of the Wonders Scope and Sequence, curriculum, and assessments. In this survey many concerns were shared, notably surrounding the use of Wonders weekly and unit assessments. To create a system of TUSD-wide assessment that gives information to teachers, schools, and Tracy Unified as a whole about student performance and growth work must be done beyond just what our tests look like. A complete review of standards, units, assessments, and grade reporting is needed.

Essential Standards

Our revision teams began by reviewing ELA standards using four criteria: Readiness, Endurance, Assessment, and Leverage

Readiness: knowledge and skills needed for success in the next grade
Endurance: knowledge and skills that last beyond a single unit
Assessment: knowledge and skills assessed on state tests
Leverage: knowledge and skills that apply across many subjects and domains of learning

A combination of this review of CA ELA standards, state priorities from the CAASPP blueprint, the CA ELA/ELD Framework, and Achieve the Core Priority Instructional Content led to the creation of a new essential standards list. Our new essential standards list can be viewed here:

ELA G0 G5 Essential Standards Summary

For these new essential standards to be meaningful we need to have a common understanding of what “essential” truly means. Focusing first on what is essential doesn't mean that supporting standards get cut! Our definition of an essential standard is as follows:

A promise, a guarantee to the kids in your room, the families they go home to, and the teacher down the hall that each of my students will learn this to grade-level mastery by the end of the year; no matter what it takes or how long it takes.

Units, Scope, and Sequence

After deciding on essential standards our team next considered what our units, scope, and sequence should look like. There were two general choices: continue with the Wonders Scope and Sequence or develop new units around our new essential standards. Overall consensus was to continue with the Wonders Scope and Sequence for K-5 ELA.

Choose Your Grade Level Folder for Scope and Sequence

Assessments

With a new list of essential standards we have an opportunity to be more focused with our assessments. In short, we can assess a more targeted list of standards with less assessments. Our ELA Revision Team is currently learning more about and considering options for a Tracy Unified assessment platform. There are three platforms for consideration:

Wonders
Renaissance Inspect
CAASPP Interims (3^rd-5^th Grade Only)

Within each platform there are options for shorter assessments, longer benchmark assessments, and writing tasks. Additional feedback will be received on each of these platforms at the end of the month with a decision made shortly thereafter.

In general, the sequence of decisions to be made for assessment is as follows:

Determine assessment platform to use
Determine types of assessment to use within the platform
Determine what role technology will play in assessments

A major point of discussion has been what role digital assessment should play for our students. There are a lot of ideas, but admittedly not many clear answers yet. Students are expected to complete testing online by the end of 3^rd grade, so whatever decisions are made need to (a) provide teachers reliable information about what their students know and are able to do now and (b) progressively prepare students for online assessments that take place beginning in 3^rd grade.

We anticipate a decision being made about which assessment platform to use and a digital progression for assessment in May.

Q & A Info Sessions

Next week Stephen Theall, Director of Professional Learning & Curriculum, will hold two live virtual Q & A sessions for K-2 reading difficulty risk screener and K-5 ELA revisions. You can drop in anytime during either session to listen in, ask for information, and discuss these upcoming changes. Link are below for each session:

Thursday, April 24
2:30 – 3:30 PM
Join the meeting now

Friday, April 25
2:30 – 3:30 PM
Join the meeting now

Resources