Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS)

General Information

The Standards-based Tests in Spanish are multiple-choice tests that are required for Spanish-speaking English learners in grades two through eleven. Students who take the STS are required to also take the CSTs and/or CMA appropriate to their grade level.

STS items are developed by bilingual, biliterate California educators and test developers and are written specifically to assess students' achievement of California's content standards for English–language arts and mathematics.

Visit the STAR STS Blueprints page on the CDE Web site to see the STS blueprints.

• Are receiving instruction in Spanish regardless of the length of time they have been enrolled in school in the United States or one of its territories; or
• Will have been enrolled in a school in the United States or one of its territories less than 12 cumulative (not consecutive) months on the first day of testing.

At the option of the school district, schools may also test Spanish-speaking English learners who will have been in school in the United States or one of its territories 12 cumulative (not consecutive) months or more who are not receiving instruction in Spanish.

Students who are eligible to take the STS must take both the STS for RLA and the STS for Mathematics.

With the State Board of Education's (SBE) recent approval of the California Department of Education's (CDE) recommendation regarding Assembly Bill 1521, the STS is available to school districts and independently testing charter schools for students who are enrolled in a dual-language immersion program and who are either nonlimited English proficient or have been redesignated fluent English proficient.

See the STS for Non-EL Dual-immersion Students materials or contact your STAR TAC representative for information about ordering STS for Non-ELs in Dual-immersion Programs materials.

2013 Test Materials

Further Information

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document