BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          AB 743 (Block)
          
          Hearing Date: 07/11/2011        Amended: 05/27/2011
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 9-0
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: AB 743 requires the Board of Governors (BOG) of 
          the California Community Colleges (CCC), to establish a common 
          student assessment system for purposes of community college 
          placement and advisement, specifies its objectives, and requires 
          a report on the progress of its implementation by December 31, 
          2012
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions            2011-12      2012-13        2013-14         
              Fund
                                                                      
          Common assessment system*                          up to 
          $10,000**  up to $5,000**   General

          Chancellor's Office report              Potentially significant 
          one-time costs              General

          *Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding 
          guarantee
          ** This bill becomes operative "upon the receipt of state, 
          federal or philanthropic funds sufficient to cover the costs of 
          the system." Costs are for the first and second operative years, 
          but will not necessarily occur in the specific fiscal years 
          identified.
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the 
          Suspense File. 

          Existing law requires the CCC to provide students with 
          assessments and counseling upon enrollment which includes, but 
          is not limited to: 1) administration of assessments to determine 
          student competency in computational and language skills; 2) 
          assistance to students in identifying aptitudes, interests and 








          AB 743 (Block)
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          educational objectives, as specified; and 3) evaluation of 
          student study and learning skills. Existing law further requires 
          that assessments be used as an advisory tool to assist students 
          in the selection of educational programs and prohibits their use 
          to exclude students from admission. 

          The CCC system currently uses more than 100 different assessment 
          and placement tests. Individual community college districts 
          determine which assessment and placement tests to use, and the 
          costs for these tests are borne locally. If a student transfers 
          to another campus, or takes additional coursework in another 
          community college district, he or she could be required to take 
          a different placement test in order to enroll in the same course 
          he or she tested into in the original district.

          This bill requires the BOG of the CCC to establish a common 
          student assessment to be used as one of multiple measures for 
          purposes of community college placement and advisement. 
          Specifically, the BOG must establish centrally-delivered system 
          of student assessment that provides a single assessment 
          instrument for use by the CCC in the areas of English, 
          mathematics, and English as a second language. The BOG must also 
          provide for a centrally-housed assessment test data warehouse 
          that collects specified data for purposes of student advisement 
          and placement. Finally, the BOG must create an interactive web 
          portal, accessible by college personnel and students, which 
          provides information on assessments and related guidance.

          The cost to establish a common student assessment system that 
          meets the objectives outlined in this bill will depend on how 
          the project is implemented by the BOG. Cost variables would 
          include the number of different assessment tools established 
          with the system; whether the tools are developed internally, 
          purchased "off the shelf" through a vendor, or developed by a 
          vendor specifically for the CCC; technology or equipment needs 
          that might arise for individual campuses; as well as on-going 
          management of the assessment system, student data, and web 
          portal. The CCC Chancellor's office estimates that the project 
          could cost up to $10 million to develop, and $5 million annually 
          to implement a new system. The Chancellor's Office has further 
          indicated that it intends to phase in the project over time, and 
          to purchase an off-the-shelf system initially, both of which 
          would reduce costs; the bill, however, does not require the 
          project to be phased in or that a system be purchased rather 








          AB 743 (Block)
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          than developed specifically for the CCCs. This bill specifies 
          that its provisions "become operative upon the receipt of state, 
          federal or philanthropic funds sufficient to cover the costs of 
          the system." This language creates cost pressure for the state 
          to fund the assessment system, though it allows for federal and 
          philanthropic funding. 

          The CCC has received a grant of $500,000 from the Hewlett and 
          Gates Foundations to conduct foundational work on setting up a 
          single, centrally-delivered common assessment system. To date, 
          $150,000 of these funds has been used to convene faculty and 
          student services staff statewide to design an ideal assessment 
          framework. This work group has created a request for proposal to 
          seek vendor-created assessments.

          This bill requires the CCC Chancellor's Office to work with the 
          Department of Education and the California State University to 
          develop a common college readiness standard to be reflected in 
          the assessment instruments, and to submit a report to the 
          Legislature and Governor on the progress of the implementation 
          of the system by December 31, 2012. This potentially significant 
          cost could likely be borne by a portion of the remaining grant 
          funding. 

          Upon development and full implementation of a standardized 
          assessment system, community college districts and individual 
          campuses will likely realize significant workload savings. 
          Additionally, those entities will likely realize savings from no 
          longer maintaining their own systems, and having to test fewer 
          students (because transfers and cross-enrolled students would 
          not need to be assessed). While individual CCCs would be able to 
          opt out of using the system, they are unlikely to because of its 
          benefits and cost savings to the campus. Students will also 
          experience a far more efficient process.