BILL NUMBER: SB 1251 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Senator Steinberg
FEBRUARY 15, 2008
An act to amend Section 52052 of the Education Code, relating to
school accountability.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1251, as amended, Steinberg. School accountability: Academic
Performance Index: graduation rates.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
with approval of the State Board of Education, to develop the
Academic Performance Index (API) consisting of a variety of
indicators currently reported to the department to track the
achievement of schools and their pupils. Statutory provisions
establish a specific calculation for graduating rates to be included
within the API and require the Superintendent to provide an annual
report to the Legislature on graduation and dropout rates in
California. Existing law requires the API to be used for specified
purposes, including, but not limited to, ranking all public schools
in the state for purposes of the High Achieving/Improving Schools
Program.
This bill would include 5- and 6-year graduation rates in the
indicators currently reported to the department for purposes of
calculating a school's API. The bill would specify a formula to
calculate these rates, and would provide that schools receive partial
credit in their API scores for graduating pupils in 5 and 6 years,
as specified. Schools would be granted full credit for
graduating in 5 or 6 years pupils with disabilities that had an
Individual Education Plan (IEP), if the IEP included specified
elements.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 52052 of the Education Code is amended to read:
52052. (a) (1) The Superintendent, with approval of the state
board, shall develop an Academic Performance Index (API) ,
to measure the performance of schools, especially the
academic performance of pupils.
(2) A school shall demonstrate comparable improvement in academic
achievement as measured by the API by all numerically significant
pupil subgroups at the school, including:
(A) Ethnic subgroups.
(B) Socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils.
(C) English language learners.
(D) Pupils with disabilities.
(3) (A) For purposes of this section, a numerically significant
pupil subgroup is one that meets both of the following criteria:
(i) The subgroup consists of at least 50 pupils each of whom has a
valid test score.
(ii) The subgroup constitutes at least 15 percent of the total
population of pupils at a school who have valid test scores.
(B) If a subgroup does not constitute 15 percent of the total
population of pupils at a school who have valid test scores, the
subgroup may constitute a numerically significant pupil subgroup if
it has at least 100 valid test scores.
(C) For a school with an API score that is based on no fewer than
11 and no more than 99 pupils with valid test scores, numerically
significant subgroups shall be defined by the Superintendent, with
approval by the state board.
(4) The API shall consist of a variety of indicators currently
reported to the department, including, but not limited to, the
results of the achievement test administered pursuant to Section
60640, attendance rates for pupils in elementary schools, middle
schools, and secondary schools, and the four-, five-, and six-year
graduation rates for pupils in secondary schools.
(A) Graduation rates for pupils in secondary schools shall be
calculated for the API as follows:
(i) Four-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the
number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school year,
which is considered to be three school years after the pupils entered
grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the total
calculated in clause (ii).
(ii) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in
the school year three school years prior to the current school year,
plus the number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating
at the end of the current school year between the school year that
was three school years prior to the current school year and the date
of graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the
school between the school year that was three school years prior to
the current school year and the date of graduation who were members
of the class that is graduating at the end of the current school
year.
(iii) Five-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the
number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school year,
which is considered to be four school years after the pupils entered
grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the total
calculated in clause (iv).
(iv) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in
the school year four years prior to the current school year, plus the
number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating at the
end of the current school year between the school year that was four
school years prior to the current school year and the date of
graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the
school between the school year that was four years prior to the
current school year and the date of graduation who were members of
the class that is graduating at the end of the current school year.
(v) Six-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the
number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school year,
which is considered to be five school years after the pupils entered
grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the total
calculated in clause (vi).
(vi) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in
the school year five years prior to the current school year, plus the
number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating at the
end of the current school year between the school year that was five
school years prior to the current school year and the date of
graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the
school between the school year that was five years prior to the
current school year and the date of graduation who were members of
the class that is graduating at the end of the current school year.
(B) Schools shall be granted one-half the credit in their API
scores for graduating pupils in five years that they are granted for
graduating pupils in four years. Schools shall be granted full
credit in their API scores for graduating in five years pupils with
disabilities who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that
includes high school graduation and the right to attendance to 21
years of age to complete their IEP goals.
(C) Schools shall be granted one-quarter the credit in their API
scores for graduating pupils in six years that they are granted for
graduating pupils in four years. Schools shall be granted full
credit in their API scores for graduating in six years pupils with
disabilities who have an IEP that includes high school graduation and
the right to attendance to 21 years of age to complete
their IEP goals.
(D) The pupil data collected for the API that comes from the
achievement test administered pursuant to Sections 60640 and 60644
and the high school exit examination administered pursuant to Section
60851, when fully implemented, shall be disaggregated by special
education status, English language learners, socioeconomic status,
gender, and ethnic group. Only the test scores of pupils who were
counted as part of the enrollment in the annual data collection of
the California Basic Educational Data System for the current fiscal
year and who continuously were enrolled during that year may be
included in the test result reports in the API score of the school.
Results of the achievement test and other tests specified in
subdivision (b) shall constitute at least 60 percent of the value of
the index.
(E) Before including high school graduation rates and attendance
rates in the API, the Superintendent shall determine the extent to
which the data are currently reported to the state and the accuracy
of the data. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, graduation
rates for pupils in dropout recovery high schools shall not be
included in the API. For purposes of this subparagraph, "dropout
recovery high school" means a high school in which 50 percent or more
of its pupils have been designated as dropouts pursuant to the
exit/withdrawal codes developed by the department.
(F) The Superintendent shall provide an annual report to the
Legislature on the graduation and dropout rates in California and
shall make the same report available to the public. The report shall
be accompanied by the release of publicly accessible data for each
school district and school in a manner that provides for
disaggregation based upon socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils and
numerically significant subgroups scoring below average on statewide
standards-aligned assessments. In addition, the data shall be made
available in a manner that provides for comparisons of a minimum of
three years of data.
(b) Pupil scores from the following tests, when available and when
found to be valid and reliable for this purpose, shall be
incorporated into the API:
(1) The assessment of the applied academic skills matrix test
developed pursuant to Section 60604.
(2) The nationally normed test designated pursuant to Section
60642.
(3) The standards-based achievement tests provided for in Section
60642.5.
(4) The high school exit examination.
(c) Based on the API, the Superintendent shall develop, and the
state board shall adopt, expected annual percentage growth targets
for all schools based on their API baseline score from the previous
year. Schools are expected to meet these growth targets through
effective allocation of available resources. For schools below the
statewide API performance target adopted by the state board pursuant
to subdivision (d), the minimum annual percentage growth target shall
be 5 percent of the difference between the actual API score of a
school and the statewide API performance target, or one API point,
whichever is greater. Schools at or above the statewide API
performance target shall have, as their growth target, maintenance of
their API score above the statewide API performance target. However,
the state board may set differential growth targets based on grade
level of instruction and may set higher growth targets for the lowest
performing schools because they have the greatest room for
improvement. To meet its growth target, a school shall demonstrate
that the annual growth in its API is equal to or more than its
schoolwide annual percentage growth target and that all numerically
significant pupil subgroups, as defined in subdivision (a), are
making comparable improvement.
(d) Upon adoption of state performance standards by the state
board, the Superintendent shall recommend, and the state board shall
adopt, a statewide API performance target that includes consideration
of performance standards and represents the proficiency level
required to meet the state performance target. When the API is fully
developed, schools, at a minimum, must shall
meet their annual API growth targets to be eligible for the
Governor's Performance Award Program as set forth in Section 52057.
The state board may establish additional criteria that schools must
meet to be eligible for the Governor's Performance Award Program.
(e) The API shall be used for both of the following:
(1) Measuring the progress of schools selected for participation
in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program
pursuant to Section 52053.
(2) Ranking all public schools in the state for the purpose of the
High Achieving/Improving Schools Program pursuant to Section 52056.
(f) (1) A school with 11 to 99 pupils with valid test scores shall
receive an API score with an asterisk that indicates less
statistical certainty than API scores based on 100 or more test
scores.
(2) A school annually shall receive an API score, unless the
Superintendent determines that an API score would be an invalid
measure of the performance of the school for one or more of the
following reasons:
(A) Irregularities in testing procedures occurred.
(B) The data used to calculate the API score of the school are not
representative of the pupil population at the school.
(C) Significant demographic changes in the pupil population render
year-to-year comparisons of pupil performance invalid.
(D) The department discovers or receives information indicating
that the integrity of the API score has been compromised.
(E) Insufficient pupil participation in the assessments included
in the API.
(3) If a school has fewer than 100 pupils with valid test scores,
the calculation of the API or adequate yearly progress pursuant to
the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et
seq.) and federal regulations may be calculated over more than one
annual administration of the tests administered pursuant to Sections
60640 and 60644 and the high school exit examination administered
pursuant to Section 60851, consistent with regulations adopted by the
state board.
(g) Only schools with 100 or more test scores contributing to the
API may be included in the API rankings.
(h) The Superintendent, with the approval of the state board,
shall develop an alternative accountability system for schools under
the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county
superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic,
nonsectarian schools pursuant to Section 56366, and alternative
schools serving high-risk pupils, including continuation high schools
and opportunity schools. Schools in the alternative accountability
system may receive an API score, but shall not be included in the API
rankings.