BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          AB 484 (Bonilla) - Pupil Assessments 
          
          Amended: July 3, 2013           Policy Vote: Education 7-1
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: August 30, 2013                                
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez                       
          
          SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED.

          
          Bill Summary: AB 484 establishes the California Measurement of  
          Academic Performance and Progress for the 21st Century  
          (CalMAPP21), and makes numerous changes to statutes related to  
          pupil assessment, including: (a) suspending all assessments that  
          are not required by the federal Elementary and Secondary  
          Education Act (ESEA); (b) providing a transition to new  
          assessments that are aligned to the Common Core standards in  
          English language arts (ELA) and mathematics; (c) requiring the  
          development of updated primary language assessments and  
          alternate assessments for pupils with exceptional needs; and,  
          (d) requiring the development of plans for updated assessments  
          in other subject areas. This bill is an urgency measure.

          Fiscal Impact (as amended): This bill delegates considerable  
          authority to the California Department of Education (CDE) to  
          develop and implement new computer-based assessments aligned to  
          the Common Core standards; this includes giving the CDE  
          statutory authority to enter into contracts for assessments that  
          do not yet exist. The actual costs of CalMAPP21 will be  
          determined by CDE decisions (made in conjunction with other  
          members of the multi-state Smarter Balanced Assessment  
          Consortium [SBAC]) regarding the assessments, and the level of  
          support provided to local education agencies (LEAs) to implement  
          the new assessments.
              Assessment Suspensions: Approximately $8 million in state  
              savings in 2013-14, and $1.5 million in state savings in  
              2014-15 (General Fund). 
              Field testing: Substantial potential costs/savings, as this  
              bill does not require schools that are not field testing new  
              assessments to assess students in 2013-14. Additionally,  
              schools that choose to field test the new assessments will  
              not have to double-test (by administering current STAR  








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              tests). To the extent that more schools want to field test  
              the new assessments, there will likely be additional state  
              costs. To the extent that schools decline to participate in  
              field testing, there will likely be significant additional  
              savings from removing the testing requirements altogether  
              for 2013-14. 
              Assessments: Approximately $81 million in 2014-15, and $82  
              million - $105 million (General Fund) in 2015-16, and  
              annually thereafter. See staff comments. 
              Multi-year Evaluation: Approximately $200,000 in 2013-14,  
              and $700,000 (General Fund) annually thereafter, to contract  
              for the independent evaluation required by this bill.

          Background: Existing law establishes the state's assessment  
          system, which consists of several assessments, including the  
          Standardized Test and Reporting (STAR) program. Assessments  
          within the STAR program are the standards-aligned California  
          Standards Tests, primary language assessments, alternate  
          assessments and modified assessments. (Education Code § 60640)

          Many elements of the STAR program are used by California to meet  
          the assessment and accountability requirements of the federal  
          ESEA, which requires states to administer a standards-aligned  
          achievement test in reading and mathematics to all students in  
          grades 3-8 and grade 10. Federal law also requires assessment of  
          science, once in each grade span of 3-6, 7-8, and 10-12.  

          State law authorizes high school juniors to take "augmented"  
          grade 11 assessments in ELA and mathematics to learn about their  
          readiness for college-level English and mathematics. (EC §  
          99300)

          California's primary language assessment, the Standards-based  
          Tests in Spanish, assesses pupil achievement of California's  
          content standards for Spanish-speaking English learners. The STS  
          tests are administered in two content areas: reading/language  
          arts (in grades 2-11) and mathematics (in grades 2-7). Pupils  
          who take the STS are required to also take the standards-aligned  
          assessments in English (the California Standards Tests). Results  
          from the assessments administered in English are counted towards  
          a school's accountability measures, while results from the STS  
          are not included in a school's accountability measures.
           
           The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted Common Core state  








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          standards in ELA and mathematics on August 2, 2010. Existing law  
          requires the SBE to adopt revised frameworks that are aligned to  
          the common core standards in mathematics by November 30, 2013,  
          and in ELA by May 30, 2014. (EC § 60207)

          California joined the SBAC as a governing state in 2011, for the  
          purpose of developing assessments that are aligned to the Common  
          Core standards. As a condition of becoming a governing member  
          state, California committed to administering the SBAC  
          assessments to pupils beginning in the 2014-15 school year.  
           
           State law requires the Academic Performance Index (API) to  
          consist of a variety of indicators including the results of STAR  
          tests, the California High School Exit Exam, attendance rates,  
          and high school graduation rates. The results of the STAR tests  
          and the high school exit exam constitute at least 60% of the  
          value of API scores. (To date, the only indicators used to  
          calculate the API have been test scores). (EC § 52052)

          Proposed Law: AB 484, an urgency measure, replaces the STAR  
          Program with CalMAPP21. It makes numerous changes to CDE and SPI  
          duties relative to state assessments, and expresses the intent  
          of the Legislature relative to those changes. With regard to the  
          suspension of existing assessments and administration of new  
          assessments, this bill:

             1)   Suspends all STAR assessments not required by ESEA and  
               used as part of the Early Assessment Program, and provides  
               that these assessments are suspended until new assessments  
               of the Common Core standards are developed and implemented.  
                

             2)   Requires, beginning with the 2014-15 school year, all  
               LEAs to administer the SBAC assessments in ELA and  
               mathematics in grades 3-8, and grade 11.

             3)   Authorizes the CDE to make available to LEAs the  
               suspended assessments, and provides LEAs with the option to  
               administer suspended assessments, but at their own expense.

             4)   States legislative intent that, beginning with the  
               2014-15 school year, the assessments currently used for the  
               EAP should be replaced with the grade 11 SBAC assessments. 









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          With regard to assessments in subjects other than ELA and math,  
          this bill:
           
           1)   Requires the SPI to make a recommendation to the SBE for  
               science assessments used to satisfy federal accountability  
               requirements. This bill requires the recommendation to be  
               made within six months of the adoption of the Next  
               Generation Science Standards (expected in November 2013). 

          2)   Requires the SPI to make recommendations, in consultation  
               with specified stakeholders, regarding the grade level,  
               content, and type of assessment. This bill requires the SPI  
               to consider the use of consortium developed assessments,  
               innovative item types, computer-based testing, and a  
               timeline for implementation.

          3)   Requires the plan for assessments in other subject areas to  
               include cost estimates and a plan to implement  
               history-social science assessments beginning in the 2018-19  
               school year.

          4)   Requires the SPI to consult with stakeholders and subject  
               matter experts to develop a plan for assessing content  
               areas for subjects not required by federal law to be  
               tested. This bill requires the plan to be presented to the  
               SBE for consideration and approval by August 1, 2015, as  
               specified.

          5)   Requires the SPI to develop and administer subject area  
               assessments not required by federal law upon the  
               appropriation of funding, and requires the SBE to approve  
               test blueprints, achievement level descriptors, testing  
               periods, performance standards, and a reporting plan. It  
               also requires LEAs to administer those assessments as  
               determined by the SBE. 

          With regard to primary language assessments, this bill requires  
          the SPI to develop and administer a primary language assessment  
          by the 2016-17 school year, to the extent that funding is  
          provided for this purpose, as specified.

          With regard to assessment contracts, this bill authorizes the  
          CDE to enter into contracts to implement the administration of  
          assessments, as specified, and extends the sunset, by 10 years,  








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          on the STAR program (for the assessments that remain intact)  
          until July 1, 2024. It also requires the CDE to develop a 3-year  
          plan of activities supporting the continuous improvement of the  
          assessment system, and to contract for a multiyear independent  
          evaluation of the assessments.

          Staff Comments: When California became a governing member of  
          SBAC, in 2011, the SBE and SPI committed to administering the  
          SBAC assessments to pupils beginning in the 2014-15 school year.  
          The new assessments have not been finalized, nor has the cost of  
          administering the SBAC assessments. This bill specifically  
          requires the SPI to design and implement a new statewide pupil  
          assessment system, beginning with "a plan for administering the  
          consortium summative assessments." It functionally gives the CDE  
          the authority to move forward with those assessments, though  
          subject to a budget appropriation, regardless of the eventual  
          cost.

          The costs for the new SBAC assessments have been controversial,  
          as have the costs to implement the Common Core standards in the  
          curricula. The SBAC assessments are a different type of  
          assessment than the current STAR program. They are designed to  
          assess the Common Core standards (which California has been  
          teaching, while assessing a different set of standards through  
          the STAR), designed to be online and computer adaptive, and will  
          include optional initial and formative assessments. This bill  
          does not commit the state to a specific level of funding, but  
          rather to a type of test that is necessarily more expensive  
          because it is more comprehensive in assessment and scoring.  

          The CDE has developed projections for the cost of the actual  
          SBAC tests, scoring, consortium and state services, and  
          technology assistance. The largest of those costs is for the  
          assessments that fulfill ESEA-required testing. The CDE believes  
          that these assessments can be administered for approximately $81  
          million (General Fund) per year, which is substantially more  
          than the existing STAR program assessments. As the agency  
          responsible for (1) administering the testing program, (2)  
          negotiating with the SBAC (as a governing state) regarding  
          California's share of the assessment costs, and (3) requesting  
          from the Legislature and defending the need for the Legislature  
          the budget/funding for transition to a new assessment system,  
          the CDE is in the best position to estimate the costs to  
          implement the SBAC assessments.








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          It is common, however, for new statewide programs to exceed cost  
          projections and timelines in the initial years of  
          implementation. This is especially true for programs involving  
          technology. If this bill is enacted, the state is putting its  
          confidence in the CDE to implement a new program within the  
          fiscal confines it has laid out. Moreover, because this bill  
          contains significant codified legislative intent language  
          concerning the SPI and CDE's planning and implementation mindset  
          and behavior, rather than simply concrete required actions, the  
          CDE will have to interpret and meet those directives within its  
          fiscal confines. Staff notes, however, that this bill also  
          specifically provides that the SPI and SBE will make annual  
          determinations of the amount of funding to be apportioned to  
          LEAs for test administration, which appears to grant further  
          leeway for funding adjustments.

          It is unclear what the recourse would be if the CDE were to fail  
          to implement SBAC assessments on the proposed timeline or within  
          the projected costs. It is also unclear what the state's role  
          will be if LEAs are unable to meet the technology requirements  
          for the SBAC assessments. While this bill would technically  
          depend on receiving Budget Act funding each year, the stakes are  
          sufficiently high (especially with regard to federal funding for  
          education) that it would be very difficult for the Legislature  
          to change course afterward or to deny a funding augmentation if  
          the SBAC assessments are more costly than projected. 


          AS AMENDED: Committee amendments make numerous changes to terms  
          and definitions in the bill, as well as legislative intent  
          regarding the new assessments. They revise the implementation  
          timeline, and the types of assessments to be included. Committee  
          amendments also provide the SPI with the authority to suspend  
          API calculation for two years, and allow a school to use its  
          most recent API or a 3-year average for accountability purposes,  
          as specified. They further provide that the consortium  
          assessments will be the only assessments administered in  
          2013-14, and specifies an evaluation and reporting requirements  
          for the CDE. Committee amendments also remove the urgency  
          clause.











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