California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 947

Introduced by Assembly Member Olsen

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 60604 of the Education Code, relating to pupil assessment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 947, as introduced, Olsen. Pupil assessment: statewide program.

Existing law, the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act, which will become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to design and implement a statewide pupil assessment program, and requires school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, certain achievement tests, including a standards-based achievement test pursuant to the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.

This bill would make nonsubstansive changes to those provisions relating to the design and implementation of a statewide pupil assessment program by the Superintendent.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 60604 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

60604.  

(a) The Superintendent shall design and implement,
consistent with the timetable and plan required pursuant to
subdivision (b), a statewide pupil assessment program consistent
with the testing requirements of this article begin insert and end insert in accordance with
the objectives set forth in Section 60602. That begin insert statewide pupil
assessment end insert program shall include all of the following:

(1) A plan for producing valid, reliable, and comparable
individual pupil scores in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, and a
comprehensive analysis of these scores based on the results of the
achievement test designated by the state board that assesses a broad
range of basic academic skills pursuant to the Standardized Testing
and Reporting (STAR) Program established by Article 4
(commencing with Section 60640).

(2) A method of working with publishers to ensure valid,
reliable, and comparable individual, grade-level, school-level,
district-level, county-level, and statewide scores in grades 2 to 11,
inclusive.

(3) Statewide academically rigorous content and performance
standards that reflect the knowledge and skills that pupils will need
begin delete in order end delete to succeed in the information-based, global economy of
the 21st century. These skills shall not include personal behavioral
standards or skills, including, but not limited to, honesty,
sociability, ethics, or self-esteem.

(4) A statewide system that provides the results of testing in a
manner that reflects the degree to which pupils are achieving the
academically rigorous content and performance standards adopted
by the state board.

(5) The alignment of assessment with the statewide academically
rigorous content and performance standards adopted by the state
board.

(6) The active, ongoing involvement of parents, classroom
teachers, administrators, other educators, governing board members
of school districts, and the public in all phases of the design and
implementation of the statewide pupil assessment program.

(7) The development of a contract or contracts with a publisher
or publishers, after the approval of statewide academically rigorous
content standards by the state board, for the development of
performance standards and assessments of applied academic skills
designed to test pupils’ knowledge of academic skills and abilities
to apply that knowledge and those skills begin delete in order end delete to solve problems
and communicate.

(b) The Superintendent shall develop and annually update for
the Legislature a five-year cost projection, implementation plan,
and timetable for implementing the program described in
subdivision (a). The annual update shall be submitted on or before
March 1 of each year to the chairperson of the fiscal subcommittee
considering budget appropriations in each house. The update shall
explain any significant variations from the five-year cost projection
for the current year budget and the proposed budget.

(c) The Superintendent shall provide each school district with
guidelines for professional development that are designed to assist
classroom teachers to use the results of the assessments
administered pursuant to this chapter to modify instruction for the
purpose of improving pupil learning. These guidelines shall be
developed in consultation with classroom teachers and approved
by the state board before dissemination.

(d) The Superintendent and the state board shall consider
comments and recommendations from school districts and the
public in the development, adoption, and approval of assessment
instruments.

(e) The results of the achievement test administered pursuant
to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) shall be returned
to the school district within the period of time specified by the
state board.