CAASPP score report 2026: what Developing and Minimal mean

October 23, 2026

If your child took the CAASPP last spring, this fall’s score report uses words you haven’t seen on it before. “Standard Nearly Met” is gone, and “Developing” has taken its place. The cut scores behind the words have not moved, so the real work is reading the report without overreacting to the new vocabulary.

Four old labels, four new ones

California’s Student Score Report sorts each result into one of four achievement levels. The levels are the same. Starting with the 2025-26 tests, they have new names, according to the CAASPP communication of 7 May 2026:

Level 4: “Standard Exceeded” is now Advanced
Level 3: “Standard Met” is now Proficient
Level 2: “Standard Nearly Met” is now Developing
Level 1: “Standard Not Met” is now Minimal

The same four names apply to English language arts, math and science. The state says the new wording appears on the reports sent to students and families, and in the data files and reporting systems schools use, so your child’s teacher is looking at the same words you are.

My honest first reaction was that “Minimal” sounds harsher than “Standard Not Met”, and “Developing” sounds kinder than “Nearly Met”. Neither impression is the point. The words were changed to describe what a student showed on the test. They were not changed to grade the student differently.

The cut scores did not change, so last year’s report still compares

This is the sentence on the state’s page that I would underline: “The criteria and cut scores for each level have not changed. Overall results can still be compared from year to year.”

A cut score is the scale score where one level ends and the next begins. Since those thresholds are the same, a child who scored in Level 2 last year and Level 2 this year sits in the same band both times, even though the first report said “Standard Nearly Met” and the second says “Developing”.

So pull out last year’s report if you still have it, and compare like with like:

the scale score (the number), which tells you more than the level does;
the level number, 1 to 4, rather than its name;
where the score sits inside the band, because a score just under a threshold and one just over it are much closer than two different labels suggest.

If the level stayed the same but the scale score went up, that is real movement. A new label is not.

What “Developing” says, and what the state says it is not

The state’s Reporting Achievement Level Descriptors, the one-line definitions printed with each level, are worded the same way for all three subjects. Level 2 reads: a student “demonstrates developing grade-level knowledge and skills and shows an initial understanding.” Level 3 reads “proficient” and “a thorough understanding”. Level 1 reads “minimal” and “a limited understanding”.

Notice the phrase they share: grade-level knowledge and skills. The May 2026 communication spells out why. “All items on the assessment measure grade-level standards,” it says, and the new descriptors “address the inaccurate perception that Level 3 represents a grade-level cutoff, and students scoring below Level 3 were ‘below grade level.’”

In plain terms: a Developing score does not mean your child is working on last year’s material. It means that on this year’s material, the test saw a beginning understanding rather than a thorough one. That is a reason to ask questions. It is not a verdict on what grade your child belongs in.

The smaller print: Above, At or Near, and Below Proficient

Under the overall score, the report breaks each subject into areas, for example reading, writing, listening and research in English language arts, or problem solving in math. These areas get three labels, and they changed too:

Above Proficient
At or Near Proficient
Below Proficient

The state says the criteria and cut scores for these area labels have not changed either, so they also compare from year to year.

I find this part of the report more useful than the headline level. An area score rests on fewer questions than the overall score, so it is rougher. But a pattern means something. A child at Developing overall who is At or Near Proficient in three areas and Below in one has a fairly specific gap, and that gap is something a teacher can talk to you about in concrete terms.

Three questions to take to the fall conference

The state publishes a Question Guide for Students and Families alongside the new descriptors, in English and six other languages. You don’t need a script, though. These three questions get to the useful part quickly.

1. “Does this match what you see in class?”

A spring test is one sitting. Your child’s teacher has seen several weeks of work this fall. If the two agree, you have a clear picture. If they don’t, that difference is the most interesting thing you will hear all evening.

2. “Which area would you work on first?”

Ask about the area labels, not the overall level. “Below Proficient in writing” turns into something you can do at home far more easily than “Developing in English language arts”.

3. “What would progress look like by spring?”

This turns a label into a goal and gives you a way to check in at the winter conference without waiting for next year’s report.

What one spring test cannot tell you

For scale: The 74, republishing CalMatters, reported on 20 October 2026 that 49.3% of California students met the standard in English language arts and 38.5% in math. So a child at Developing is in very large company, and statewide that is the band teachers spend much of their year working with.

The score report doesn’t show how your child reads at home, whether they stop at a hard word problem or push through it, or what has changed since April. It reflects one test taken months ago. The teacher’s view and your own, from homework and from reading together, are often more current.

The new labels are clearer than the old ones in one respect: they describe what the test showed instead of measuring the child against a line. Read them that way. Treat Developing as the report’s own word for “on the way”, then go and ask what the next step is.

Frequently asked questions

What does Developing mean on the CAASPP score report?

Developing is the new name for Level 2, which used to be called “Standard Nearly Met”. The state describes it as demonstrating developing grade-level knowledge and skills and showing an initial understanding. The cut score for the level has not changed.

Is a Level 2 CAASPP score below grade level?

Not according to the state. The California Department of Education’s May 2026 communication calls the idea that students below Level 3 are “below grade level” an inaccurate perception, and says every item on the test measures grade-level standards.

Can I compare this year’s CAASPP score with last year’s?

Yes. The state says the criteria and cut scores have not changed, so overall and area results can still be compared from year to year. Compare the scale score and the level number, not the label’s wording.

What did Standard Exceeded become?

Standard Exceeded is now Advanced, Standard Met is now Proficient, Standard Nearly Met is now Developing, and Standard Not Met is now Minimal. The change starts with the 2025-26 tests.