For three decades California students took the same statewide test, called CAP (California Assessment Program). Many districts required additional tests, such as CTBS (California Test of Basic Skills).
In the early 1990s, CAP was replaced by CLAS (California Learning Assessment System), which was discontinued in 1995 because of controversy over portions of the test. For the next few years each school district selected its own commercial tests, until the STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) program began in 1998. In this program almost all students in grades 2 through 11 take the California Standards Test that reflect the state's academic content standards plus a nationally normed, standardized test every year. Each school must report individual students' scores to their parents, and group results are released in mid-August.
All students are supposed to be tested, with a few exceptions. Parents may request in writing to the principal that a student not be tested. The Individual Education Programs (IEPs) of some special education students specify they should not be tested. Other special education students are tested in alternate ways, e.g., in Braille or with extra time, if included in their IEP. English learners, no matter what their proficiency, must take the STAR tests unless excused by their parents or their IEP.