BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1200
AUTHOR: Hancock
INTRODUCED: February 22, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 25, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Common core standards.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Board of Education to adopt the
common core college and career readiness anchor standards, and
modify the common core standards for 8th grade mathematics.
BACKGROUND
The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted common core standards
in English language arts and mathematics on August 2, 2010. The
SBE adopted two distinct sets of standards for grade 8
mathematics, one that is the common core standards for grade 8
and one that is a combination of common core grade 8 and Algebra
I standards.
The SBE adopted common core standards in English language arts
and mathematics but did not adopt the college and career
readiness anchor standards that complement the grade-specific
content standards. The anchor standards are broad and the
grade-specific standards provide more details. It appears that
the anchor standards were not adopted due to uncertainty about
the SBE's authority to adopt anything other than content
standards.
The SBE does not have broad statutory authority to review,
revise or adopt academic content standards. The SBE was given
the authority, on a one-time basis, to adopt the existing
standards, including the common core standards in English
language arts and mathematics.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the State Board of Education to adopt the
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common core college and career readiness anchor standards, and
modify the common core standards for 8th grade mathematics.
Specifically, this bill:
8th grade mathematics common core standards
1) Requires a review of the common core standards for 8th
grade mathematics if the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) and the State Board of Education (SBE)
jointly find that there is a need to revise or modify those
standards.
2) Requires the SPI and SBE to notify, upon finding a need to
modify the 8th grade mathematics standards, the Governor,
Senate Rules Committee and the Speaker of the Assembly of
the reasons for the needed modifications and the need to
appoint members to the standards review commission.
3) Establishes an 11-member standards review commission to
review and recommend modifications to the 8th grade
mathematics standards, to be appointed as follows:
a) The Governor appoints four members.
b) The Senate Rules Committee appoints three
members.
c) The Speaker of the Assembly appoints three
members.
d) The SPI appoints one member.
4) Requires the recommendations of the standards review
commission and modifications approved by the SBE to ensure
all of the following:
a) The rigor of the state common core
standards is maintained so that all high school
graduates are prepared for college and careers, as
specified in the common core standards.
b) All of the common core standards
developed by the national Common Core Standards
Initiative consortium are adopted.
c) Modifications, including additions and
revisions, amount to no more than 15% of the state
common core standards adopted by the SBE.
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5) Requires the SBE, upon receiving recommendations from the
standards review commission, to do one of the following:
a) Adopt the standards as proposed by the
commission.
b) Reject the standards. If the SBE
rejects the recommendations, it must provide to the
SPI, Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature a specific written
explanation of the reasons why the proposed standards
were rejected.
c) Revise the standards. If the SBE
revises the recommendations it must provide written
reasons for its revisions in a public meeting. The
SBE must adopt the revisions at a subsequent meeting
by June 30, 2013.
6) Requires at least one-half of the members appointed by each
of the appointing bodies to be current public school
elementary or secondary classroom teachers. The appointing
bodies must consult with each other to ensure that the
commission includes all of the following:
a) People with expertise in the subject area under
review.
b) People from different geographical areas of the
state.
c) People who reflect the ethnic and gender
diversity of California.
d) People who are knowledgeable about English
learners and pupils with
disabilities.
7) Requires commission meetings and hearings to be open to the
public pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act, and
provides that members are to serve at the pleasure of the
appointing body.
8) Requires the SPI and SBE to notify the Governor, Senate
Rules Committee and Speaker of the Assembly after the SBE
takes action on the recommendations submitted by the
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standards review commission.
Anchor standards
9) Requires the SPI to recommend and the SBE to adopt the
college and career readiness anchor standards developed by
the Common Core Standards Initiative consortium.
10) Authorizes the SBE to resolve any technical issues in the
common core standards.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "Several
implementation issues arise by California adopting a
different set of grade 8 math standards from other
participating states. For example, instructional materials
for use in California would need to be different from those
used by other states - the unique additional standards may
increase the costs of those materials for our local school
districts. In addition, assessment consortia will be
developing assessment aligned to the common core standards
and not the variation adopted in California. This may
result in issues with our Algebra standards and curriculum
not being aligned with our assessment and accountability
system."
2) Problem is recognized . Two sets of grade 8 mathematics
standards may result in misalignment with any common
assessments that may be adopted in the future, and may also
result in challenges in the practical implementation of
having two different sets of standards and expectations for
pupils in the same grade level. Additionally, the federal
No Child Left Behind requires pupils to be assessed on one
set of standards; it is expected that all pupils on the
same grade (except high school) are taught and assessed on
the same set of standards.
The difficulties with having two sets of standards are now
widely recognized. For example, SB 140 (Lowenthal, Ch.
623, 2011), which requires the development of a list of
supplemental instructional materials to bridge the gap
between current instructional materials and the common core
standards, specifically excludes materials for 8th grade
mathematics.
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3) Standards review commission . This bill establishes a
standards review commission for the purpose of recommending
to the SBE modifications to the 8th grade mathematics
standards. Recent legislation (AB 124, Fuentes, Ch. 605,
2011) establishes a panel of experts to update, revise, and
align the English language development (ELD) standards to
the common core state standards in English language arts.
Further, SB 300 (Hancock, Ch. 624, 2011) required the SPI
to convene a panel of experts to recommend new science
content standards. Should this bill convene a panel of
experts rather than a standards review commission?
4) Fiscal impact . It is estimated that this bill, as drafted
establishing a standards review commission, would impose
upon the California Department of Education a cost of
approximately $200,000.
5) Technical amendments . Clarify that SPI and SBE are to
notify the Governor and Legislature of the need, the
reasons for the needed modifications, and the need to
appoint members to the commission. (Page 3, line 7)
Clarify that the standards review commission is authorized only
to review and modify the 8th grade standards. (Page 3,
line 36, after "only" insert "review")
6) Related legislation . AB 2116 (Lara) requires the CDE to
contract for a multiyear independent study of the
implementation of the common core standards. AB
2116 is pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
7) Prior legislation . AB 1033 (Feuer) would have established
a content standards review commission to revise and modify
all or any of the academic content standards (including 8th
grade common core mathematics). AB 1033 was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
Superintendent of Public Instruction
OPPOSITION
None on file.
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