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) Page 1 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) Page 2 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.