BILL NUMBER: AB 180 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Carter
JANUARY 24, 2011
An act to add Section 52052.3 to the Education Code, relating to
academic performance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 180, as introduced, Carter. Education: academic performance.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
with approval of the State Board of Education, to develop an Academic
Performance Index (API) and as part of the Public School Performance
Accountability Program, to measure the performance of schools,
especially the academic performance of pupils. The API consists of a
variety of indicators including specified achievement test schools,
attendance rates, and graduation rates. Existing law requires the
Superintendent, with approval of the state board, to develop an
alternative accountability system for specified types of schools,
including, among others, community day schools and continuation
schools. Existing law allows these schools to receive an API score,
but prohibits them from being included in the API rankings of
schools.
This bill would require the Superintendent and the state board, as
part of the Public School Performance Accountability Program, to
allow a dropout recovery high school, as defined, to report the
results of an individual pupil growth model that is proposed by the
school and certified by the Superintendent pursuant to specified
criteria instead of reporting other indicators.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Dropout recovery high schools provide significant social,
economic, and academic benefits to their pupils and to California's
population as a whole.
(b) Research by the Alliance for Excellent Education demonstrates
that if only one-half of the dropouts were recovered in California's
six largest metropolitan areas, the economic benefits to California
would be staggering: those recovered dropouts would invest an
additional $247 million a year; increase home sales by $2.92 billion
during their careers; support an additional 6,800 jobs to the
midpoint of their careers; and increase state and local tax revenues
by $129 million every year.
(c) Research further demonstrates that reengaged learners
demonstrate higher civic engagement, contribute to the cultural
strengths of their communities, and are significantly less likely to
be unemployed, on public assistance, or arrested for a violent crime.
(d) Research further demonstrates that dropout recovery high
schools face a number of challenges in reengaging students into
academic endeavors, including:
(1) Dropouts who reenter high school are significantly below grade
level.
(2) Students who drop out display a gradual process of
disengagement from school that encompasses years of academic and
behavioral difficulties, absenteeism, and stressful life
circumstances.
(3) Reengagement into a high school setting can be difficult and
take a significant amount of time.
(4) Students who have dropped out once are significantly more
likely to drop out again. Research by WestEd found that one-half of
the dropouts who return to school stay for one year or less and that
one-third of returning dropouts fail to complete even one course
after they reenroll. The school district WestEd studied had a
graduate rate of 18 percent for recovered dropouts.
(e) Successful dropout recovery high schools utilize multiple
strategies including state-of-the-art technology and career technical
education to reach the variety of learning modalities of the
population that they serve.
(f) Successful dropout recovery schools typically enroll students
for less than four years, provide competency-based rather than seat
time-based instruction, and operate with open entry or open exit
enrollment.
(g) Standardized testing depends on all students being present on
a fixed schedule with learning competencies within a narrower band of
averages than represented by dropouts. Research by the National
Governor's Association recognizes that seat time education in the
dropout recovery context is a substantial and unnecessary barrier.
The use of competency-based and open entry strategies result in
dropout recovery students not being in school at the time that
standardized tests are administered.
(h) Support for successful dropout recovery high schools should
include an alternative assessment mechanism that measures the
individual growth in students which can be administered at the school
level when students are available.
SEC. 2. Section 52052.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:
52052.3. (a) As part of the Public School Performance
Accountability Program, the Superintendent and the state board shall
allow a dropout recovery high school, as defined in subdivision (b),
to report, in lieu of other indicators, the results of an individual
pupil growth model that is proposed by the school and certified by
the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision (c).
(b) For purposes of this section, "dropout recovery high school"
means a high school in which 50 percent or more of its pupils are
designated as dropouts pursuant to the exit and withdrawal codes
developed by the department and the school provides instruction in
partnership with any of the following:
(1) The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec.
2801 et seq.).
(2) Federally affiliated Youthbuild programs (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12899
et seq.).
(3) Federal job corps training or instruction provided pursuant to
a memorandum of understanding with the federal provider.
(4) The California Conservation Corps or local conservation corps
certified by the California Conservation Corps pursuant to Section
14406 or 14507.5 of the Public Resources Code.
(c) The Superintendent shall review the individual pupil growth
model proposed by the dropout recovery high school and certify that
model if it meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The model measures learning based on valid and reliable
nationally normed or criterion-referenced reading and mathematics
tests.
(2) The model measures skills and knowledge aligned with state
standards.
(3) The model measures the extent to which a pupil scored above an
expected amount of growth based on the individual pupil's initial
achievement score.
(4) The model demonstrates the extent to which a school is able to
accelerate learning on an annual basis.