BILL NUMBER: SB 233 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 722
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2001
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 10, 2001
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 23, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 19, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alpert
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
An act to amend Sections 60601, 60605, 60607, 60630, 60641, 60642,
60642.5, 60643, 60643.5, and 60650 of, to add Sections 60605.6 and
60653 to, and to repeal Sections 60609 and 60640.1 of, the Education
Code, relating to pupil testing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 233, Alpert. Pupil testing.
(1) Existing law repeals the provisions of the Leroy Greene
California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act which consists in
part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program on
January 1, 2002.
This bill would extend the repeal date to January 1, 2005. The
bill would delete obsolete provisions regarding the assessment of
applied academic skills that is no longer a part of the Leroy Greene
California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act.
(2) Existing law, the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program,
requires each school district, charter school, and county office of
education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11,
inclusive, a designated achievement test and a standards-based
achievement test. Existing law requires the State Board of Education
to ensure that the achievement test for grades 9 to 11, inclusive,
contain core curriculum areas consisting of reading, writing,
mathematics, history/social science, and science.
This bill would instead require the achievement test to contain
English and language arts, mathematics, and science and would also
make other conforming changes. The bill would require the board to
minimize the amount of testing time for content areas for which there
already exists a standards-based examination, as specified.
(3) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, with approval of the State Board of Education, to
provide for the development of an assessment instrument that measures
the degree to which pupils are achieving the academically rigorous
content standards and performance standards, to the extent standards
have been adopted by the State Board of Education. Existing law
requires the standards-based achievement test to include, at a
minimum, a direct writing assessment once in elementary school and
once in middle or junior high school and other items of applied
academic skills if deemed valid and reliable.
This bill would name the standards-based achievement test the
California Standards Tests and would require them to also include an
assessment in history/social science in at least one elementary or
middle school grade level selected by the State Board of Education
and in science in at least one elementary or middle school grade
level selected by the State Board of Education.
(4) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to prepare and submit to the Legislature, the State Board of
Education, and each school district in the state an annual report
containing an analysis, on a school-by-school basis, of the results
and test scores of the assessment of applied academic skills and the
achievement test.
This bill would delete the requirements that the report be
submitted to each school district in the state and that the analysis
be prepared on a school-by-school basis.
(5) Existing law established the Golden State Examination Program
to administer the Golden State Examination to measure pupil
achievement under statewide standards of competency in academic
subjects.
This bill would instead require the examination to measure
advanced pupil achievement on the academically rigorous content
standards adopted by the State Board of Education and would require
the examination to be administered in augmentation of standards-based
achievement tests, as specified. The bill would require the State
Department of Education, with approval of the State Board of
Education, to contract for a study of the Golden State Examination to
be completed by December 15, 2003, as specified. The bill would
require a Golden State Examination to consist of some portion of the
California Standards Test and additional Golden State Examination
items in order to reduce testing time and in subjects for which a
California Standards Test and a Golden State Examination exist.
(6) Existing law authorizes a school district to receive
reimbursement for the costs of the STAR Program tests, as specified,
for the 1997-98 fiscal year.
This bill would repeal this provision.
(7) Existing law requires the establishment of a high school exit
examination and requires each pupil to successfully complete the
examination as a condition of receiving a high school diploma.
This bill would require the State Board of Education to consider,
to the extent feasible, the extent to which any exams authorized by
the state can be consolidated, as specified.
(8) This bill would, subject to the availability of funds in the
annual Budget Act for this purpose, require the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, upon approval of the State Board of Education, to
contract for the development and distribution of a workbook to be
distributed to all pupils in the 10th grade that would contain
information on the proficiency levels that must be demonstrated by
pupils on the high school exit examination, and separate workbooks
for each of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, for each pupil in grades 2 to
11, inclusive, who is required to take the STAR Program achievement
tests.
(9) Existing law requires test publishers to agree to meet certain
requirements in order to be eligible for consideration to contract
with the state with regard to the statewide achievement test and the
standards-based achievement test. Existing law requires the costs
associated with test item development to be provided as a separate
amount in the written contract between test publishers and the State
Department of Education and prohibits the amortization of those costs
across the number of tests to be administered.
This bill would delete the provisions regarding the costs of test
item development. The bill would authorize the State Department of
Education, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to
enter into a separate contract for the administration of any test
that is part of the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic
Achievement Act, including coordination of tests, assemblage of tests
or test items, scoring, or reporting.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a
system of individual pupil assessments that meets the different needs
of the state, school administrators, teachers, parents and
guardians, and pupils.
(b) It is the further intent of the Legislature that the pupil
assessment system do each of the following:
(1) Emphasize standards-based tests that measure the achievement
of pupils on the state's academic content and performance standards
relative to nationally normed tests.
(2) Minimize the amount of instructional time spent on statewide
testing by eliminating redundant tests and consolidating different
state testing programs if the consolidated examination can achieve
the purpose of the original examinations with equal rigor,
reliability, and validity.
(3) Provide accountability in the elementary grades in
history/social science and science with the addition of a
standards-based test in each of these core areas in at least one
upper elementary grade.
(4) Use a nationally normed test in high school science until a
standards-based test can be developed that is appropriate for the
range of science classes offered in California high schools for which
there are no standards-based end-of-course examinations.
(5) Create a standards-based mathematics test available to pupils
in grades 8 and 9 who have not yet completed coursework that would
prepare them to take the Algebra I or Integrated I standards-based
mathematics test.
(6) Decrease the amount of time in the statewide testing system
dedicated to the nationally normed test by using shortened test forms
where appropriate; by 2003, eliminates the history/social science
nationally normed test in grades 9 to 11, inclusive, and uses a short
form of a nationally normed mathematics test in grades 2 to 11,
inclusive. No later than 2005, the State Board of Education shall
make a finding regarding the feasibility of using a short form of a
nationally normed test in English/language arts in grades 2 to 11,
inclusive.
(7) Restructure the Golden State Examination to increase the
potential use of this examination. Possible additional uses include
determining college placement, credit, and admission. To reduce
testing time and in subjects for which a California Standards Test
and a Golden State Examination exist, a Golden State Examination
should consist of some portion of a California Standards Test and
additional Golden State Examination items. It is further the intent
of the Legislature that the Golden State Examination program be
continued only to the extent that the examination meets the same
psychometric standards of other nationally accepted examinations used
to measure advanced academic achievement.
(8) Allow the Superintendent of Public Instruction to recommend,
and the State Board of Education to approve, a statewide master
contract to execute the state testing system.
(9) Conduct a series of technical evaluations to ensure system
coordination and coherency as well as technical validity and
reliability. These evaluations shall include analyses regarding how
well each of the components of the state testing system provide
information about the degree to which pupils are learning the content
of the state standards.
SEC. 2. Section 60601 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60601. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, which is enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Section 60605 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60605. (a) (1) (A) Not later than January 1, 1998, the State
Board of Education shall adopt statewide academically rigorous
content standards, pursuant to the recommendations of the Commission
for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards,
in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing, and mathematics to
serve as the basis for assessing the academic achievement of
individual pupils and of schools, school districts, and the
California education system. Not later than November 1, 1998, the
State Board of Education shall adopt these standards in the core
curriculum areas of history/social science and science.
(B) The board shall adopt statewide performance standards in the
core curriculum areas of reading, writing, mathematics,
history/social science, and science based on the recommendations made
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and a contractor or
contractors.
(C) The State Board of Education shall require the contractor or
contractors to submit performance standards to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction and the board not later than a specified date that
allows sufficient opportunity for the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to make a recommendation to the board and for the board
to conduct regional hearings prior to the adoption of the performance
standards.
(2) (A) The State Board of Education may modify any proposed
content standards or performance standards prior to adoption and may
adopt content and performance standards in individual core curriculum
areas as those standards are submitted to the board. The
performance standards shall be established against specific grade
level benchmarks of academic achievement for each subject area tested
and shall be based on the knowledge and skills that pupils will need
in order to succeed in the information-based, global economy of the
21st century. These skills shall not include personal behavioral
standards or skills, including, but not limited to, honesty,
sociability, ethics, or self-esteem. The standards adopted pursuant
to this section shall be for the purpose of guiding state decisions
regarding the development, adoption, and approval of assessment
instruments pursuant to this chapter and shall not be construed to
mandate any actions or activities by school districts.
(B) Because these standards are models, the adoption of these
standards is not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. This
subparagraph is declaratory of existing law.
(3) Before adopting academic content and performance standards,
the board shall hold regional hearings for the purpose of giving
parents and other members of the public the opportunity to comment on
the proposed standards.
(b) (1) The State Board of Education shall require the State
Department of Education to notify publishers of the opportunity to
submit, for consideration by the State Board of Education pursuant to
Section 60642, tests of achievement that include all of the basic
academic skills identified in subdivision (c) of Section 60603 in
grades 2 to 8, inclusive, and the core curriculum areas of English
and language arts, mathematics, and science in grades 9 to 11,
inclusive.
(2) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall recommend to
the State Board of Education which achievement test to adopt pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 60642.
(c) (1) The State Board of Education shall ensure that the
statewide assessment system adopted pursuant to this chapter yields
valid, reliable individual pupil scores and, where applicable,
aggregate school scores, school district scores, and statewide scores
of pupils and assesses basic academic skills and content standards,
including the use of a direct writing assessment or other applied
academic skills if deemed valid and reliable and if resources are
made available for their use.
(2) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent the
State Board of Education from developing or adopting an assessment
instrument that also contains assessments of basic academic skills.
(d) To the extent feasible and as otherwise required, the State
Board of Education shall ensure that assessments developed, or
contracted for pursuant to Section 60642.5, by the state are aligned
with the statewide content and performance standards adopted pursuant
to subdivision (a). The State Department of Education, with the
approval of the State Board of Education, shall periodically contract
for a review of the achievement test for conformance with these
standards.
(e) After adopting statewide content and performance standards,
the State Board of Education shall review the existing curriculum
frameworks for conformity with the new statewide standards and shall
modify the curriculum frameworks where appropriate to bring them into
alignment with the standards.
(f) The State Board of Education shall adopt regulations for the
conduct and administration of the testing and assessment program.
(g) The State Board of Education shall adopt a regulation for
minimum security procedures that test and assessment publishers and
school districts must follow to ensure the security and integrity of
test and assessment questions and materials.
SEC. 4. Section 60605.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:
60605.6. Subject to the availability of funds in the annual
Budget Act for this purpose, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, upon approval of the State Board of Education, shall
contract for the development and distribution of workbooks, as
follows:
(a) One workbook to be distributed to all pupils in the 10th
grade. This workbook shall contain information on the proficiency
levels that must be demonstrated by pupils on the high school exit
examination described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 60850).
The workbook also shall contain sample questions, with explanations
describing how these sample questions test pupil knowledge of the
language arts and mathematics content standards adopted by the State
Board of Education pursuant to Section 60605.
(b) Separate workbooks for each of grades 2 to 11, inclusive.
Each pupil in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, who is required to take the
achievement tests described in Section 60642 or Section 60642.5 shall
receive a copy of the workbook designed for the same grade level in
which the pupil is enrolled. These workbooks shall contain material
to assist pupils and their parents with standards-based learning,
including the grade appropriate academic content standards adopted by
the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 60605 and sample
questions that require knowledge of these standards to answer. The
workbooks also shall describe how the sample questions test knowledge
of the State Board of Education adopted academic content standards.
SEC. 5. Section 60607 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60607. (a) Each pupil shall have an individual record of
accomplishment by the end of grade 12 that includes the results of
the achievement test required and administered annually as part of
the standardized testing and reporting program established pursuant
to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640), results of
end-of-course exams he or she has taken, and whatever vocational
education certification exams he or she chose to take.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that school districts and
schools use the results of the academic achievement tests
administered annually as part of the statewide pupil assessment
program to provide support to pupils and parents or guardians in
order to assist pupils in strengthening their development as
learners, and thereby to improve their academic achievement and
performance in subsequent assessments.
(c) Any pupil results or record of achievement shall be private,
and may not be released to any person, other than the pupil's parent
or guardian and a teacher, counselor, or administrator directly
involved with the pupil, without the express written consent of the
parent or guardian of the pupil if the pupil is a minor or the pupil
if the pupil has reached the age of majority or is emancipated.
SEC. 6. Section 60609 of the Education Code is repealed.
SEC. 7. Section 60630 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60630. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare
and submit an annual report to the Legislature and the State Board
of Education containing an analysis of the results and test scores of
the assessment of applied academic skills adopted pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 60605 and the achievement test designated
pursuant to Section 60642. The report simultaneously shall be made
available in an electronic medium on the Internet. The analysis may
include, but need not be limited to, the following factors:
(1) Financial characteristics, including specially funded
programs.
(2) Pupil and parent characteristics.
(3) Staff characteristics.
(4) Instructional methodologies and materials.
(b) School districts shall submit to the State Department of
Education whatever information the department deems necessary to
carry out this section.
SEC. 8. Section 60640.1 of the Education Code is repealed.
SEC. 9. Section 60641 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60641. (a) The State Department of Education shall ensure that
school districts comply with each of the following requirements:
(1) The achievement test designated pursuant to Section 60642 and
the standards-based achievement test provided for in Section 60642.5
are scheduled to be administered to all pupils during the period
prescribed in subdivision (b) of Section 60640.
(2) The individual results of each pupil test administered
pursuant to Section 60640 shall be reported, in writing, to the pupil'
s parent or guardian. The written report shall include a clear
explanation of the purpose of the test, the pupil's score, and its
intended use by the school district. Nothing in this subdivision
shall be construed to require teachers to prepare individualized
explanations of each pupil's test score.
(3) The individual results of each pupil test administered
pursuant to Section 60640 shall also be reported to the pupil's
school and teachers. The school district shall include the pupil's
test results in his or her pupil records. However, except as
provided in this section, individual pupil test results may only be
released with the permission of the pupil's parent or guardian.
(4) The districtwide, school-level, and grade-level results of the
STAR Program in each of the grades designated pursuant to Section
60640, but not the score or relative position of any individually
ascertainable pupil, shall be reported to the governing board of the
school district at a regularly scheduled meeting, and the countywide,
school-level, and grade-level results for classes and programs under
the jurisdiction of the county office of education shall be
similarly reported to the county board of education at a regularly
scheduled meeting.
(b) The publisher designated pursuant to Section 60642 and the
publisher of the standards-based achievement tests provided for in
Section 60642.5 shall make the individual pupil, grade, school,
school district, and state results available to the State Department
of Education pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section
60643 by August 8 of each year in which the achievement test is
administered for those schools for which the last day of test
administration, including makeup days, is on or before June 25. The
State Department of Education shall make the grade, school, school
district, and state results available on the Internet by August 15 of
each year in which the achievement test is administered for those
schools for which the last day of test administration, including
makeup days, is on or before June 25.
(c) The department shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that
the results of the test for all pupils who take the test by June 25
are made available on the Internet by August 15, as set forth in
subdivision (b).
SEC. 10. Section 60642 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60642. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State
Board of Education may consider any evaluations of independent
experts who have not been employed by a test publisher in the
preceding 12 months regarding the suitability of the achievement
tests submitted by publishers as required by subdivision (b) of
Section 60605 for use as part of the STAR Program established by this
article.
(b) Based upon a review of the achievement tests submitted and the
recommendation made by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 60605, the State Board of
Education, in its sole discretion, based on the considerations set
forth in Section 60644, shall designate for use as part of the STAR
Program a single test in grades 2 to 11, inclusive.
(c) The State Board of Education shall ensure that the achievement
test designated pursuant to subdivision (b) contains the subject
areas specified in subdivision (c) of Section 60603 for grades 2 to
8, inclusive, and the core curriculum areas of English and language
arts, mathematics, and science for grades 9 to 11, inclusive.
(d) The State Board of Education is hereby authorized to designate
the achievement test to be administered pursuant to this article for
more than one academic year subject to the availability of funds.
(e) The board shall minimize, to the extent it deems feasible, the
amount of testing time required by the assessment in subdivision (b)
for those content areas for which there also exists a
standards-based examination as provided for pursuant to Section
60642.5.
SEC. 11. Section 60642.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60642.5. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, with
approval of the State Board of Education, shall provide for the
development of an assessment instrument, to be called the California
Standards Tests, that measures the degree to which pupils are
achieving the academically rigorous content standards and performance
standards, to the extent standards have been adopted by the State
Board of Education. This standards-based achievement test shall
contain the subject areas specified in subdivision (c) of Section
60603 for grades 2 to 8, inclusive, and shall include an assessment
in history/social science in at least one elementary or middle school
grade level selected by the State Board of Education and science in
at least one elementary or middle school grade level selected by the
State Board of Education, and the core curriculum areas specified in
subdivision (e) of Section 60603 for grades 9 to 11, inclusive, and
shall include, at a minimum, a direct writing assessment once in
elementary school and once in middle or junior high school and other
items of applied academic skill if deemed valid and reliable and if
resources are made available for their use.
(b) In approving a contract for the development or administration
of the California Standards Tests, the State Board of Education shall
consider each of the following criteria:
(1) The ability of the contractor to produce valid, reliable
individual pupil scores.
(2) The ability of the contractor to report results pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 60643 by August 8.
(3) The ability of the contractor to ensure alignment between the
standards-based achievement test and the academically rigorous
content and performance standards as those standards are adopted by
the State Board of Education. This criterion shall include the
ability of the contractor to implement a process to establish and
maintain alignment between the test items and the standards.
(4) The per pupil cost estimates of developing, and, if
appropriate, administering the proposed assessment with a system to
facilitate the determination of future per pupil cost determinations.
(5) The contractor's procedures to ensuring the security and
integrity of test questions and materials.
(6) The contractor's experience in successfully conducting testing
programs adopted and administered by other states. For experience
to be considered, the number of grades and pupils tested shall be
provided.
(c) The standards-based achievement tests may use items from other
tests including items from the achievement test designated pursuant
to Section 60642.
SEC. 12. Section 60643 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60643. (a) To be eligible for consideration under Section 60642
or 60642.5 by the State Board of Education, test publishers shall
agree in writing each year to meet the following requirements, as
applicable, if selected:
(1) Enter into an agreement, pursuant to subdivision (e) or (f),
with the State Department of Education by October 15.
(2) With respect to selection under Section 60642.5, align the
standards-based achievement test provided for in Section 60642.5 to
the academically rigorous content and performance standards adopted
by the State Board of Education.
(3) Comply with subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 60645.
(4) Provide valid and reliable individual pupil scores only in the
content areas specified in subdivision (c) of Section 60642 to
parents or guardians, teachers, and school administrators.
(5) Provide valid and reliable aggregate scores only in the
content areas specified in subdivision (c) of Section 60642 to school
districts and county boards of education in all of the following
forms and formats:
(A) Grade level.
(B) School level.
(C) District level.
(D) Countywide.
(E) Statewide.
(F) Comparison of statewide scores relative to other states.
(6) Provide disaggregated scores, based on
limited-English-proficient status and nonlimited-English-proficient
status. For purposes of this section, pupils with
"nonlimited-English-proficient status" shall include the total of
those pupils who are English-only pupils, fluent-English-proficient
pupils, and redesignated fluent-English-proficient pupils. These
scores shall be provided to school districts and county boards of
education in the same forms and formats listed in paragraph (5).
(7) Provide disaggregated scores by pupil gender and provide
disaggregated scores based on whether pupils are economically
disadvantaged or not. These disaggregated scores shall be in the
same forms and formats as listed in paragraph (5). In any one year,
the disaggregation shall entail information already being collected
by school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools.
(8) Provide disaggregated scores for pupils who have
individualized education programs and have enrolled in special
education, to the extent required by federal law. These scores shall
be provided in the same forms and formats listed in paragraph (5).
This section may not be construed to exclude the scores of special
education pupils from any state or federal accountability system.
(9) Provide information listed in paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and
(8) to the State Board of Education and the State Department of
Education in the medium requested by each entity, respectively.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the publisher work
with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of
Education in developing a methodology to disaggregate statewide
scores as required in paragraphs (6) and (7) of subdivision (a), and
in determining which variable indicated on the STAR testing document
shall serve as a proxy for "economically disadvantaged" status
pursuant to paragraph (7).
(c) Access to any information about individual pupils or their
families shall be granted to the publisher only for purposes of
correctly associating test results with the pupils who produced those
results or for reporting and disaggregating test results as required
by this section. School districts are prohibited from excluding a
pupil from the test if a parent or parents decline to disclose
income. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge or
deny rights to confidentiality contained in the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g) or other
applicable provisions of state and federal law that protect the
confidentiality of information collected by educational institutions.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the publisher of
the achievement test designated pursuant to Section 60642, the
publisher of the standards-based achievement test provided for in
Section 60642.5, or any contractor under subdivision (f) shall comply
with all of the conditions and requirements enumerated in
subdivision (a), as applicable, to the satisfaction of the State
Board of Education.
(e) (1) A publisher may not provide a test described in Section
60642, 60642.5, or 60650 or in subdivision (f) of Section 60640 for
use in California public schools unless the publisher enters into a
written contract with the State Department of Education as set forth
in this subdivision.
(2) The State Department of Education shall develop, and the State
Board of Education shall approve, a contract to be entered into with
any publisher pursuant to paragraph (1). The department may develop
the contract through negotiations with the publisher.
(3) For purposes of the contracts authorized pursuant to this
subdivision, the State Department of Education is exempt from the
requirements of Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2
of the Public Contract Code and from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code.
(4) The contracts shall include provisions for progress payments
to the publisher for work performed or costs incurred in the
performance of the contract. Not less than 10 percent of the amount
budgeted for each separate and distinct component task provided for
in each contract shall be withheld pending final completion of all
component tasks by that publisher. The total amount withheld pending
final completion shall not exceed 10 percent of the total contract
price.
(5) The contracts shall require liquidated damages to be paid by
the publisher in the amount of up to 10 percent of the total cost of
the contract for any component task that the publisher through its
own fault or that of its subcontractors fails to substantially
perform by the date specified in the agreement.
(6) The contracts shall establish the process and criteria by
which the successful completion of each component task shall be
recommended by the State Department of Education and approved by the
State Board of Education.
(7) The publishers shall submit, as part of the contract
negotiation process, a proposed budget and invoice schedule, that
includes a detailed listing of the costs for each component task and
the expected date of the invoice for each completed component task.
(8) The contracts shall specify the following component tasks, as
applicable, that are separate and distinct:
(A) Development of new tests or test
items as required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(B) Test materials production or publication.
(C) Delivery of test materials to school districts.
(D) Test processing, scoring, and analyses.
(E) Reporting of test results to the school districts, including,
but not limited to, all reports specified in this section.
(F) Reporting of test results to the State Department of
Education, including, but not limited to, the electronic files
required pursuant to this section.
(G) All other analyses or reports required by the Superintendent
of Public Instruction to meet the requirements of state and federal
law and set forth in the agreement.
(9) The contracts shall specify the specific reports and data
files, if any, that are to be provided to school districts by the
publisher and the number of copies of each report or file to be
provided.
(10) The contracts shall specify the means by which any delivery
date for materials to each school district shall be verified by the
publisher and the school district.
(11) School districts may negotiate a separate agreement with the
publisher for any additional materials or services not within the
contracts specified in this subdivision, including, but not limited
to, the administration of the tests to pupils in grade levels other
than grades 2 to 11, inclusive. Any separate agreement is not within
the scope of the contract specified in this subdivision.
(f) The State Department of Education, with approval of the State
Board of Education, may enter into a separate contract for the
development or administration of any test authorized pursuant to this
part, including, but not limited to, item development, coordination
of tests, assemblage of tests or test items, scoring, or reporting.
The liquidated damages provision set forth in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (e) shall apply to any contract entered into pursuant to
this subdivision.
SEC. 13. Section 60643.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60643.5. (a) A school shall be reimbursed by the test publisher
selected pursuant to this article for any unexpected expenses
incurred due to scheduling changes that resulted from the late
delivery of testing materials in connection with the STAR Program.
(b) The State Department of Education shall monitor and report to
the State Board of Education regarding the publisher's production,
processing, and delivery system to ensure that a timely delivery of
testing materials to all schools occurs during the 1999-2000 testing
cycle.
SEC. 14. Section 60653 is added to the Education Code, to read:
60653. To reduce testing time and in subjects for which a
California Standards Test and a Golden State Examination exist, a
Golden State Examination shall consist of some portion of the
California Standards Test and additional Golden State Examination
items.
SEC. 15. Section 60650 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60650. There is hereby established the Golden State Examination
Program for the purpose of administering the Golden State Examination
to pupils enrolled in public high schools. The Golden State
Examination shall measure advanced pupil achievement on the
academically rigorous content standards adopted by the State Board of
Education and shall be administered as an augmentation to the
standards test provided in Section 60642.5 unless there is no
standards test in the subject area being tested. With the approval of
the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education
shall, in consultation with the California State University System
and the University of California, contract for a study to determine
if Golden State Examinations meet the same psychometric standards of
nationally accepted examinations used for determining college
placement, credit, or admission. The study shall be completed by
December 15, 2003. A special honors designation and insignia shall
be adopted on a high school diploma for qualifying pupils.
Participation in the Golden State Examination Program shall be
voluntary on the part of each school district maintaining a high
school. The governing board of each participating school district
shall determine the extent to which pupils of the district shall be
required to participate in the Golden State Examination.