BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    





                                                                  AB 1435

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          GOVERNOR'S VETO
          AB 1435 (V. Manuel Perez)
          As Amended  April 29, 2009
          2/3 vote

           EDUCATION           10-0      APPROPRIATIONS           17-0 

           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Brownley, Nestande,       |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen,         |
          |     |Ammiano, Arambula,        |     |Ammiano,                  |
          |     |Carter, Eng, Garrick,     |     |Charles Calderon, Davis,  |
          |     |Miller, Solorio,          |     |Duvall, Fuentes, Hall,    |
          |     |Torlakson                 |     |Harkey, Miller,           |
          |     |                          |     |John A. Perez, Price,     |
          |     |                          |     |Skinner, Solorio, Audra   |
          |     |                          |     |Strickland, Torlakson,    |
          |     |                          |     |Krekorian                 |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           ASSEMBLY:      79-0 (June 1, 2009)      SENATE:   40-0  
          (September 4, 2009)

          SUMMARY  : Requires the advisory committee, advising the  
          Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) on matters related to  
          the Academic Performance Index (API), to make recommendations to  
          the SPI by July 1, 2010, regarding the inclusion of English  
          language development test results and English learner (EL)  
          proficiency as part of the API; also requires the SPI, with the  
          approval of the State Board of Education (SBE), to include these  
          test results and EL proficiency levels and growth in the API.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires the SPI, with the approval of the SBE, to develop and  
            implement the API to measure the performance of schools, and  
            to include a variety of indicators, including achievement test  
            results, attendance rates, and graduation rates in that  
            measure.











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          2)Requires the SPI to establish an advisory committee to provide  
            advice on all appropriate matters relative to the creation of  
            the API, and directs the advisory committee by July 1, 2005,  
            to make recommendations to the SPI on the appropriateness and  
            feasibility of a methodology for generating a measurement of  
            academic performance by using unique pupil identifiers and  
            annual academic achievement growth to provide a more accurate  
            measure of a school's growth over time.

          3)Establishes the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR)  
            Program to test academic skills in grades 2-11, and to report  
            individual and aggregate results.

          4)Requires, under both state and federal law, that school  
            districts administer a test of English language proficiency,  
            adopted for the state, to each newly enrolled student in the  
            state's public schools, if the primary language of those  
            students is other than English; also requires an annual  
            re-administration of that test to all EL students; also  
            establishes the English language development test to assess  
            English language proficiency by testing listening and speaking  
            for EL students in grades K-1, and listening, speaking,  
            reading and writing for EL students in grades 2-12; the  
            California English Language Development Test (CELDT) is the  
            test adopted to meet the state and federal requirements  
            specified above.

           FISCAL EFFECT  : According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, General Fund Proposition 98 costs of approximately  
          $200,000 to the California Department of Education (CDE) to  
          include the CELDT results in the API.

           COMMENTS  :  The SPI established, pursuant to SB 1 X1 (Alpert),  
          Chapter 3, Statutes of 1999-2000 First Extraordinary Session, an  
          advisory committee to advise the SPI and the SBE on all  
          appropriate matters relative to the creation of the API.  SB 1  
          X1 also requires the SPI, with the approval of the SBE, to  
          develop the API to measure the performance of schools, and to  
          include a variety of indicators in that measure, including, but  
          not limited to, achievement test results, attendance rates, and  
          graduation rates.  Currently only achievement test results are  










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          incorporated into the API, and the API is configured to produce  
          scores measuring a school's static performance at each grade  
          level, in each content area, in each year, at one point in time.  
           In addition, the SPI produces a comparison of static (API)  
          performance from one year to the next.

          According to the author, "AB 1435 would create a process and  
          mechanism by which to include the CELDT result in the API;  
          providing English learners and their parents, teachers, schools  
          and school districts a real opportunity to demonstrate  
          achievements in English language acquisition and proficiency."   
          The CDE reports that nearly 25% or 1.6 million of the state's  
          public school pupils in grades K-12 are EL students.

          Current law requires schools to assess the English proficiency  
          of all pupils whose primary language is not English.  The CELDT  
          is the required state test for English language proficiency; the  
          CELDT must be administered to pupils whose primary language is  
          not English.  The CELDT is used for three purposes:  (1) to  
          identify new students who are English learners in kindergarten  
          through grade twelve; (2) to determine the level of  
          English-language proficiency; and (3) to annually assess EL  
          students' progress in learning English until they are  
          reclassified.  English learners in grades 2-12 are administered  
          the CELDT in the four domains of speaking, listening, reading  
          and writing.  English learners in grades K - 1 are currently  
          assessed in English listening and speaking; there are plans to  
          also assess early literacy skills in the near future.

          SB 1 X1 (Alpert), Chapter 3, Statutes of 1999-2000 First  
          Extraordinary Session, established the states accountability  
          system by mandating that the SPI, with the approval of the SBE  
          "develop an Academic Performance Index, to be used to measure  
          performance of schools?"  According to the author, "our public  
          schools are working hard to ensure that our 1.5 million English  
          learners statewide receive the appropriate assessments, tools,  
          resources and services to achieve English language proficiency;  
          thereby allowing them to participate fully in the American Dream  
          of economic and social advancement."  To the extent that public  
          schools are working to provide English language skills to EL  
          students and this work fits into the purpose of a public school  










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          in California, then the performance of those schools, as  
          reflected in the API, should in part be measured by how well  
          those English skills are acquired.  English language acquisition  
          in California is measured by the CELDT.

          Related and previous legislation:  This bill is one of four  
          bills that propose changes to the state's accountability system,  
          specifically to the API measure, and that have been introduced  
          in the Assembly in 2009.  Those four bills are AB 173 (Price),  
          AB 429 (Brownley), AB 1130 (Solorio), and AB 1435 (V. Manuel  
          Perez).  AB 2776 (Mullin), held in the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee in 2008, would have required examination of the  
          collection of individual student data, the state's emerging data  
          systems, the possibility of making real comparisons of student  
          performance over time, and the long-term availability of  
          assessment data related to the acquisition of English language  
          by English learners with respect to making potential  
          improvements in the API.  SB 219 (Steinberg), Chapter 731,  
          Statutes of 2007, made changes in the calculation of and in the  
          process for revising the API.  AB 2167 (Arambula), Chapter 743,  
          Statutes of 2006, established a specific methodology for  
          including graduation rates, as previously required, in the API;  
          also required the SPI to report annually to the Legislature on  
          graduation and dropout rates in the state.  SB 1 X1 (Alpert),  
          Chapter 3, Statutes of 1999-2000 First Extraordinary Session,  
          known as the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA),  
          authorized the state's current accountability program, including  
          establishment of the PSAA Advisory Committee and development of  
          the API.  AB 748 (Escutia), Chapter 936, Statutes of 1997,  
          required the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop an  
          English language development test by January 1, 1999.
           
          GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :

          "The Public School Accountability Act advisory committee and the  
          Superintendent of Public Instruction already have the authority  
          to make the recommendations specified in this bill.  Therefore,  
          this bill is unnecessary.  Furthermore, the California English  
          Language Development Test would have to be substantially revised  
          from its current form as a diagnostic test to be a valid
           and reliable academic achievement test before it should be  










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          considered for inclusion in the Academic Performance Index."


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Gerald Shelton / ED. / (916) 319-2087 
           
           
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