Math assessment in California is changing. What used to be a compliance exercise or reporting tool is now becoming a strategy to boost student growth.
While the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) still anchors statewide accountability, it doesn’t guide the day-to-day decisions teachers make.
Across California, educators are using diagnostic and formative assessments to spot student strengths, patch up knowledge holes, and adjust lessons to fit each learner. It’s a key shift driven by the state’s new Math Framework, which emphasizes flexible, inclusive, and responsive instruction.
The result is a new vision for California math classrooms where assessment isn’t just about measuring progress, but about how to figure out what’s driving it to reach all learners.
California math assessments are designed to do more than measure achievement.
They help track growth over time. CAASPP, the state’s primary system, gives teachers a benchmark for their students’ progress toward meeting grade-level standards.
Its adaptive format gives educators and policymakers valuable data about long-term trends and overall progress.
Still, its once-a-year schedule makes it less useful for day-to-day teaching decisions. Formative assessment tools become more important. Quick checks, performance tasks, and digital diagnostics provide immediate, actionable feedback.
The California Mathematics Framework reinforces this kind of adaptable approach, encouraging teachers to use assessment as consistent student feedback. That makes assessment a part of learning and how teachers guide, adjust, and deepen students’ math understanding throughout the year.
Unlike traditional end-of-unit or statewide tests, math assessment in California is increasingly designed to help guide teaching in a more flexible way.
Formative assessments are quick, ongoing checks. These can be exit tickets, short quizzes, or mini online exercises that show teachers what students know in the moment.
Diagnostic tools, often used before a new unit, can uncover skill gaps or highlight student misconceptions.
Both create an instructional feedback loop: teachers assess, tweak their approach, and reteach in real time.
Platforms like STEMscopes Math and Math Nation provide digital diagnostics and formative resources that make it easy to create this kind of feedback loop.
Instead of waiting for test results that won’t give the full picture of what students can do, they catch gaps right away while adjusting material so it meets students where they are.
"When assessment becomes an expectation or a “normal” part of that day’s lesson, students begin to feel less pressure."
Here’s an example. In one California classroom, a 6th-grade teacher uses a short diagnostic pre-test before starting a unit on ratios.
The results show which students already understand proportional reasoning and which need to review fractions. By the next afternoon, students are split into small groups.
Some tackle harder challenges, while others brush up on the basics. Each learner starts the unit at the right place.
This kind of real-time assessment reflects a broader shift where teachers are using data not to label students, but to guide them forward and help them grow.
In today’s classrooms, formative assessment is an essential part of differentiated instruction. Teachers look beyond classroom averages to understand how students think, then adjust their approach to address learning needs.
Diagnostic math tools give educators a place to start. A quick pre-assessment might show that some students are ready to explore multi-step ratio problems, while others need to revisit equivalent fractions.
Using that insight, teachers form flexible groups that shift as students progress. Groups can look quite a bit different from unit to unit, as well.
Formative assessments keep the loop going, lesson by lesson. A warm-up quiz or short reflection helps teachers see whether they should reteach a concept or set advanced learners up with an extension task.
Students can track their own growth using self-assessment checklists or ask for support when they need it on exit tickets.
This cycle of assessing, reflecting, and adjusting turns math assessment into a tool for equity in the classroom while giving students a sense of ownership over their learning. From there, students can also become more engaged, which is essential to student success.
What differentiated instruction looks like evolves as students grow, but the goal of assessment as a key part of the approach stays the same. Using assessment data should guide meaningful learning at every stage.
Across all grades, math assessment in California works alongside differentiated instruction to give students continuous feedback and opportunities for reflection to guide progress.
"Students begin to see evaluation as a tool to help them grow instead of something to feel intimidated about, and teachers can make decisions that support them."
Math anxiety or math phobia is a real thing, and high-stakes or timed tests are a big contributor to how students feel about math. Creating a classroom where assessment supports learning is essential to effective differentiated instruction.
Most importantly, formative assessment doesn’t have to be or feel high-stakes. More frequent, low-pressure checks can provide even richer insight into student understanding, without the stress on students.
Here are a few strategies to help build that classroom culture:
When assessment becomes an expectation or a “normal” part of that day’s lesson, students begin to feel less pressure. Assessment that doesn’t feel like an exam is great, too.
On a deeper level, when assessment is directly tied to instruction, it signals a culture of continuous improvement. Students begin to see evaluation as a tool to help them grow instead of something to feel intimidated about, and teachers can make decisions that support them.
Trying out new ways to check student learning, identify math struggles, or adjust lessons might seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. A step-by-step approach allows teachers the room to test ideas, see what works, and then build from there.
Help matters as things move forward. Professional learning and continued coaching are key. Teachers need guidance and time to adapt to data-driven instruction effectively.
Seeing California math assessments in action makes the power of formative assessment and differentiated instruction feel more real. Here are a few examples of how it all fits together from classrooms across the state:
These snapshots show what happens when math assessments are used alongside regular check-ins and lessons that adapt. Students make clear progress, and the classroom becomes a place of adaptable learning that shifts based on needs.
The future of math assessment in California schools isn’t just focused on results. Instead, it’s built around ongoing feedback that keeps learning moving.
Teachers now lean on quick check-ins and smart math tools to personalize their teaching, identify gaps early, and tweak lessons in real-time. This way, assessment becomes a dynamic tool, rather than a single-use case of a student’s abilities that day.
Starting small works best. Try one pre- and post-check per unit, or introduce the idea of exit tickets as quick checks on lesson objectives. These kinds of low-stakes assessments can provide immediate insights without adding to instructional planning time.
Little by little, small steps add up, shaping a classroom where a high level of differentiation feels routine. Students start to engage more deeply, and teaching decisions are backed by evidence.
To help with the shift, Accelerate Learning provides materials along with practical tips that help teachers weave evaluation naturally into daily lessons. You can create a classroom where assessment empowers your students and informs your teaching.