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 AB 484 (Bonilla) Page 1 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 AB 484 (Bonilla) Page 2 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. AB 484 (Bonilla) Page 3 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, AB 484 (Bonilla) Page 4 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. AB 484 (Bonilla) Page 5 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. AB 484 (Bonilla) Page 6