BILL ANALYSIS AJR 39 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AJR 39 (Torlakson) As Amended June 22, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |70-1 |(May 10, 2010) |SENATE: |31-0 |(June 28, | | | | | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: ED. SUMMARY : Calls upon the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to develop common core state standards in the core academic disciplines of English-language arts, mathematics, history-social science, and science, and to replicate the process used to develop English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics common core state standards to develop common core state standards for social studies and science. The Senate amendments replace "the arts" with "visual and performing arts." EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), the State Board of Education (SBE), and any other entity designated by the Governor to participate in the Common Core State Standards Initiative Consortium (CCSSIC) sponsored by the NGA and the CCSSO, or any associated or related interstate collaboration to develop common high-quality standards or assessments. 2)Establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission, as specified, to develop academic content standards in language arts and mathematics and present recommended academic content standards to the SBE by July 15, 2010, requires that at least 85% of the new standards include the common core academic standards developed by the CCSSIC or any associated or related interstate collaboration to jointly develop common high-quality standards or assessments aligned with the common set of standards, and requires the SBE to adopt or reject the recommended standards by August 2, 2010. AJR 39 Page 2 AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to the version passed by the Senate. FISCAL EFFECT : This resolution is keyed non-fiscal. COMMENTS : California has adopted content standards in the areas of reading/language arts, math, history/social science, science, visual and performing arts, career technical education, physical education, health education, and most recently world languages. The CCSSI is an effort to establish a single set of content standards for English-language arts (ELA) and math that states can share and voluntarily adopt. The CCSSO and the NGA Center for Best Practices have coordinated the effort and the process of developing common core standards in consultation with teachers, parents, experts and administrators. 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia joined the CCSSI and committed to developing a common core of state standards in ELA and math for kindergarten and grades 1-12, inclusive (K-12). Legislation enacted for purposes of satisfying some of the criteria for the Race to the Top (RTTT) program, namely, SB 1 X5 (Steinberg), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009-10, Fifth Extraordinary Session, establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission to develop academic content standards in ELA and math and to present recommended academic content standards to the SBE by July 15, 2010. SB 1 X5 (Steinberg) requires that at least 85% of these standards be comprised of the common core academic standards developed by the CCSSIC or any associated or related interstate collaboration to jointly develop common high-quality standards or assessments aligned with the common set of standards. In March of this year, the draft common core state standards in ELA and math for K-12 were released for public comment. The draft ELA standards set requirements for ELA but also for reading, writing, speaking, listening and language in history, social studies and science. However, supporters of history-social science and science would argue that important literature is left out of the history-social studies and science exemplars in the draft ELA standards and that it is important to have common core state standards in social studies and science in preparing all students for college and careers. According to the NGA and the CCSSO, "These English language arts and mathematics standards represent a set of expectations for student knowledge and skills that will result in high school AJR 39 Page 3 graduates who are prepared for success in college and careers." Furthermore, the NGA and the CCSSO note that the standards are research and evidence based, aligned with college and work expectations, rigorous, and internationally benchmarked. According to the NGA and the CCSSO, the final common core state standards are expected to be finalized in late spring of this year. This resolution calls on the NGA and the CCSSO to replicate the process used to develop ELA and math standards to also develop common core state standards for social studies and science. The existing work of the CCSSIC, similar to our assessment and accountability system, has focused solely on reading and math. This heavy emphasis on these two subjects has often led to a reduced focus on equally important subjects such as science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography, which the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) considers "core academic subjects." This resolution seeks to ensure that efforts to create common core state standards take into account subjects other than ELA and math and calls on the NGO and the CCSSO to develop common core state standards in social science and science and it further calls on these organizations to examine the viability of developing common core state standards in foreign language, visual and performing arts, physical education and CTE. This resolution emphasizes the importance of each of these subjects in ensuring pupils have access to a comprehensive and well-rounded curriculum. Information on the CCSSIC Internet Web site stipulates that, "English-language arts and math were the first subjects chosen for the common core state standards because these two subjects are skills, upon which students build skill sets in other subject areas. They are also the subjects most frequently assessed for accountability purposes." Information on the CCSSIC Web site further points out, "Of course, other subject areas are critical to young people's education and their success in college and careers. Once the English-language arts and math standards are developed, CCSSO and NGA Center, on behalf of the states, plan to develop a common core of standards in science and potentially additional subject areas." No further information is available regarding a specific plan for the development of common core state standards in science or social studies as part of the CCSSIC. Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avina / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: AJR 39 Page 4 0005065