BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 247
                                                                  Page 1


          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 247 (Liu)
          As Amended  September 3, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :27-11  
           
           EDUCATION           7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      12-1        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Chávez,  |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra,         |
          |     |Gonzalez, Nazarian,       |     |Bradford,                 |
          |     |Weber, Williams           |     |Ian Calderon, Campos,     |
          |     |                          |     |Eggman, Gomez, Hall,      |
          |     |                          |     |Holden, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |Nays:|Donnelly                  |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY:   Addresses the use of second grade diagnostic  
          assessments for use by classroom teachers in the absence of  
          state-required testing of second grade pupils.  Specifically,  
           this bill  :

          1)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), by  
            November 1, 2014, to identify to school districts existing  
            assessments in English language arts and mathematics that are  
            aligned to the Common Core State Standards and are appropriate  
            for diagnostic use by classroom teachers for use in second  
            grade.

          2)Specifies that the savings from the elimination of the second  
            grade achievement assessments be used by local education  
            agencies (LEAs) should they choose to administer the second  
            grade diagnostic assessment.

          3)Requires the CDE to ensure that the diagnostic second grade  
            assessments it identifies are valid for the purpose of  
            identifying particular knowledge or skills a pupil has or has  
            not acquired in order to inform instruction and make  
            educational decisions.

          4)Specifies that the diagnostic assessments identified pursuant  








                                                                  SB 247
                                                                  Page 2


            to this bill are not intended to be valid measures of pupil,  
            personnel, or LEA accountability.

          5)Makes this bill operative only if AB 484 (Bonilla) of the  
            current legislative session is also enacted and takes effect  
            on or before January 1, 2014.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill has the following fiscal effects: 

          1)Loss of General Fund (GF)/ Proposition 98 savings of  
            approximately $2 million by eliminating second grade testing  
            in the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program and  
            redirecting this expenditure for the administration of second  
            grade diagnostic assessments, as proposed in this measure.  Of  
            this cost, approximately $800,000 is for test development and  
            $1.2 million GF/Proposition 98 is annual apportionment  
            savings.  Currently, the state provides $2.52 per pupil for  
            the administration of each STAR assessment.  

          This bill requires the entire $2 million GF/Proposition 98 in  
            savings to be used by LEAs for the administration of second  
            grade diagnostic assessments.  The entire amount may not be  
            used, however, given the fact that only $1.2 million is  
            currently used to pay for administration.  As such, the state  
            may still realize $800,000 in GF/Proposition 98 savings.  

          2)GF/Proposition 98 costs of at least $100,000, to State  
            Department of Education (SDE) to contract for the evaluation  
            of existing second grade diagnostic assessments.  This  
            information would be made available to school districts, as  
            specified.  

           COMMENTS:   This bill eliminates the requirement for LEAs to  
          administer achievement assessments in second grade.  While The  
          Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) does not require  
          testing of second grade pupils, California's STAR Program  
          includes assessments administered to pupils in second grade in  
          English language arts and mathematics.  This decision stemmed  
          from the concern that without second grade testing, parents and  
          teachers will not have this data sufficiently early in a pupil's  
          educational career in order to make adjustments to that  
          student's instruction.  This bill continues to make available  
          diagnostic assessments for second grade to address the concerns  








                                                                  SB 247
                                                                  Page 3


          of those who rely on these assessments as an indicator of the  
          need for adjustments to a pupil's educational program.  However,  
          such an assessment would no longer be provided by the state and  
          LEAs would be required to purchase these assessments at their  
          own expense.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087


                                                                FN: 0002225