BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 743 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 29, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION Marty Block, Chair AB 743 (Block) - As Introduced: February 17, 2011 SUBJECT : Community colleges: student assessments: California Community Colleges: common assessment system. SUMMARY : Requires the California Community College (CCC) Board of Governors (BOG) to establish a common assessment system to be used for the purposes of CCC placement and advisement. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires BOG to establish a common assessment system to be used as one of multiple measures for the purposes of CCC placement and advisement, and requires the pilot project to include the following objectives: a) Creation of a centrally delivered system of student assessment that provides a single assessment instrument for use by CCC in English, mathematics, and English as a second language; b) Creation of a secure centrally housed assessment test data warehouse that collects all assessment scores generated by assessed students at all participating CCCs and all available K-12 assessment data and transcript information generated by assessed pupils in the state's K-12 school system who are seeking enrollment at a CCC; and, c) Creation of an Internet Web portal that can be accessed by CCC personnel and students that provides: i) An individualized student assessment profile that can be accessible for counseling, matriculation, and course placement purposes; ii) A pretest application that emulates the structure of the pilot project assessment that students can practice and familiarize themselves with before taking assessments; and, iii) An advisement tool that provides students with AB 743 Page 2 information on the importance of assessments and the historical success rates of remedial courses for students at various levels of academic remediation. 2)Requires CCC Office of the Chancellor (CCCCO) to work in collaboration with the State Department of Education (SDE) and the California State University (CSU) when developing a common college-readiness standard that will be reflected in the creation of the assessment instruments and requires the CCCCO to work with SDE and CSU to move toward alignment of college readiness standards and align toward future common core state standards. 3)Requires CCCCO to convene an advisory committee with specified representatives to assist in the establishment of the common assessment system. 4)Requires CCCCO to report to the Legislature and the Governor on progress made on the implementation of the common assessment system by December 31, 2012. EXISTING LAW establishes matriculation services required to be made available by CCCs, including, among other services, the administration of assessment instruments to determine competency in math and language skills and student study and learning skills. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. However, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis of AB 2682 (Block, 2010), which was similar to this bill, CCCCO has received grants of $500,000 that would cover the cost of development of the system. Ultimately, costs for the statewide utilization would be in the millions, and could potentially result in Proposition 98 mandate costs to the extent CCC districts are required to participate. However, it is possible that the long-term statewide costs would be offset by the increased efficiency of student assessment and placement, should the system prove successful. COMMENTS : Most incoming CCC students are under-prepared for college-level work. According to CCCCO, about 85% of incoming CCC students are not proficient in college-level math, and about 70% arrive unprepared for college-level English. Basic skills education is designed to help under-prepared CCC students succeed in college-level work. A core CCC responsibility is to AB 743 Page 3 provide basic skills instruction to students who lack college-level proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics. These skills are fundamental to student success. In 2008-09, about 10% of CCC classroom instruction was at a basic skills level. Purpose of this bill . The author argues that the implementation of a centralized assessment program will increase the number of students assessed and decrease assessment costs, save students' time and CCC funds by allowing students to take their test scores with them to different CCCs, ensure students understand expectations before taking the tests through online pre-testing, allow more accurate placement of students through combining data with K-12 test data, and save millions of dollars by ensuring CCCs can leverage purchasing power by purchasing testing instruments centrally rather than at the CCC district level. Studies show that assessment improves outcomes. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, most studies recommend that incoming CCC students be assessed prior to enrolling in classes. The most commonly used assessment tools are standardized tests. The purpose of these tests is to determine the proficiency level of students in math and English. Based on assessment results, CCC campuses can then direct students to take coursework that is appropriate for their skill level. A number of recent studies have linked mandatory assessment with improved student outcomes such as course completion and graduation rates. Not all incoming CCC students are assessed. Existing law allows CCCs to assess students, and CCC districts are permitted to use any assessment tool they desire, so long as the assessment is approved by BOG. BOG regulations require CCC districts to provide assessment but allow CCC districts to establish criteria for exempting certain students from assessment. While BOG regulations do not permit nonexempt students from opting out of assessment, many students do; in the fall of 2006, 97,000 nonexempt students failed to participate in assessment. Varying assessment tools and procedures send a confusing message to students. Currently, dozens of different standardized tests are used throughout the CCC system. Additionally, many CCCs recognize only their own tests and require students who were previously tested at other CCCs to be reassessed. There can be significant variation among these tests both in terms of the test content and how much students are expected to know. In AB 743 Page 4 effect, CCCs can have multiple definitions of college readiness. This sends a confusing message to current and prospective students and results in costly duplicative testing by CCCs. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (Sponsor) California Community College League of California California Postsecondary Education Commission Faculty Association of California Community Colleges Feather River College Merced College Los Rios Community College District State Center Community College District Opposition None on File Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960