BILL NUMBER: SB 1384 CHAPTERED 09/09/04 CHAPTER 397 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 25, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 22, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Senator Scott FEBRUARY 18, 2004 An act to add Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 60660) to Part 33 of the Education Code, relating to education, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1384, Scott. Pupil assessment data: electronic resources. Existing law requires each school district, charter school, and county office of education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, certain achievement tests. This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to require the California Learning Resource Network to establish review criteria and a process for the identification and review of electronic learning assessment resources by December 31, 2004. The bill would require the review to include a descriptive model for use by administrators and teachers that differentiates and compares the capabilities of the different types of electronic learning assessment resources. The bill would require the review also to include an exploration of the feasibility of creating, implementing, and maintaining an online customer feedback system. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to direct the California Learning Resource Network to implement the provisions of the bill by prioritizing the use of existing budgeted resources available to the network. The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The purpose of the public school accountability system is to improve the learning and academic achievement of all California public school pupils. (b) The Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) achievement test and the California Standards Tests provide a wealth of data about individual pupil achievement in different academic content clusters. Currently, this assessment data does not sufficiently reach most principals and teachers so they can efficiently utilize it in recognizing the level of achievement of each pupil and designing a program that is best tailored to meet the needs and improve the achievement of each pupil. (c) This information can and should be disaggregated to provide teachers and principals all relevant data regarding individual pupil learning and achievement so they make better decisions and design more individualized learning and instructional programs for each pupil. (d) Many public school pupils transfer schools each school year, making it difficult for principals and teachers to obtain and utilize the available data regarding the status and level of academic preparedness of each incoming pupil. (e) The use of data to inform and to determine decisionmaking is revolutionizing public and private entities worldwide by putting formerly centralized information at the fingertips of educators so they can make informed decisions with regard to improving the academic achievement of their pupils. (f) Many schools need assistance to utilize information technology to craft appropriate programs that strive to improve the learning and achievement of their pupils. (g) Easy-to-use electronic learning assessment resources are now available to provide educators with increased capacity to determine the achievement status of their pupils and to better design programs tailored toward their improvement. (h) Putting easy-to-use electronic learning assessment resources in the hands of principals and teachers would allow them to monitor pupil academic achievement over time and use that data to effectively design instructional strategies to improve pupil performance. (i) The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandates that all programs and interventions be quantitatively evaluated using reliable pupil data and that technology be used whenever possible to collect, analyze, and report findings. The burden of this mandate may be partially relieved by the use of electronic learning assessment resources to save time and money. SEC. 2. Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 60660) is added to Part 33 of the Education Code, to read: CHAPTER 5.5. REVIEW OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES CAPABLE OF ANALYZING PUPIL ASSESSMENT DATA 60660. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall require the California Learning Resource Network to establish, by December 31, 2004, review criteria and a review process for the identification and review of electronic learning assessment resources. 60661. (a) The review performed by the California Learning Resource Network shall identify new and existing electronic learning assessment resources capable of assisting schools and school districts to analyze assessment information for the purpose of designing instructional plans to improve pupil achievement and shall include a descriptive model for use by administrators and teachers that differentiates and compares the capabilities of the different types of identified electronic learning assessment resources. (b) The descriptive model shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following criteria: (1) The ability to report the results of the statewide pupil assessment programs in aggregate and disaggregate forms for analysis by administrators and teachers to plan for improved pupil achievement. (2) The ability to quickly identify achievement gaps. (3) The ability to link results of assessment to instructional strategies that are aligned to state adopted content standards and the curriculum frameworks. (4) The extent to which information can be tailored to individual pupil level, classroom level, school level, school district level, and state level data. (5) The ability to reduce the overhead and additional cost of assisting teachers and school administrators to plan and align instruction to address academic deficiencies identified by both standardized and criterion referenced academic assessments. (c) In performing its review, the California Learning Resource Network may not make subjective evaluations of the electronic learning assessment resources under review and shall limit its review to the factual capabilities of those resources. (d) The existing external evaluation of the California Learning Resource Network will determine the overall cost and benefits of providing statewide assessment information resources as described in this chapter and the extent to which school administrators and teachers access and use the information provided to accomplish all of the following: (1) Make use of state assessment information to inform instructional planning. (2) Link instruction to the state-adopted content standards. (3) Save time and financial resources related to instructional planning. (4) Target instruction to the academic needs of pupils. (e) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall provide a written report of the results of the external evaluation of the ongoing review process to the Director of Finance, the Legislative Analyst, the State Board of Education, and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2006. 60662. In its review of electronic learning assessment resources, the California Learning Resource Network shall explore the feasibility of creating, implementing, and maintaining an online customer feedback system that would allow purchasers of electronic learning assessment resources identified and reviewed to document the extent to which these electronic learning assessment resources contribute to improved instructional planning. 60663. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall direct the California Learning Resource Network to implement the provisions of this chapter by prioritizing the use of existing budgeted resources available to the network. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to provide school districts, at the earliest possible time, with access to information on electronic learning assessment resources that will assist them in monitoring pupil achievement, designing instructional strategies to improve pupil performance, and meeting the reporting requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.