BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 490
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 490 (Jackson)
As Amended May 15, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
HIGHER EDUCATION 12-0
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|Ayes:|Williams, Ch�vez, Bloom, | | |
| |Fong, Fox, Levine, | | |
| |Linder, Medina, Olsen, | | |
| |Quirk-Silva, Weber, Wilk | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Permits the California Community College (CCC) and
California State University (CSU) systems to use, in addition to
the existing California Standards Tests (CSTs), future
standards-aligned assessments for the purposes of the Early
Assessment Program (EAP).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic
Achievement Act (Greene Act), to provide a statewide pupil
assessment program. The Greene Act will become inoperative on
July 1, 2014, and as of January 1, 2015, will be repealed
(Education Code (EC) Section 60600, et seq.).
2)Recognizes the establishment of the EAP at the CSU to enable
pupils to learn about their readiness for college-level
English language arts and mathematics before their senior year
of high school; establishes the CCC EAP and authorizes the
CCCs to use the results of the CST for diagnostic or placement
purpose of prospective students who participate; and,
encourages school districts that choose to participate in the
EAP to consult with the Academic Senate of the CCC to work
toward sequencing their pre-collegiate level courses in
English language arts and mathematics to the academic content
standards (EC Section 99300, et seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This measure is keyed non-fiscal by
the Legislative Counsel.
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COMMENTS :
Early Assessment Program . Developed in collaboration with the
California Department of Education (CDE), the State Board of
Education (SBE), and the CSU, and accepted by participating CCC
campuses, the EAP is a voluntary program designed to provide
students, their families, and high schools with early signals
about students' readiness for college-level English language
arts and mathematics courses. Students in grade 11 who are
eligible to take the English language arts, the Algebra II, or
the Summative High School Mathematics CST may participate in the
EAP.
The EAP identifies a student's need for additional preparation
in these areas while still enrolled in high school. Students
then have an opportunity to enroll in English language arts
and/or mathematics classes that include additional instruction
during their senior year to prepare for placement exams
necessary at the CSU and the CCC systems. Students who
demonstrate proficiency for college-level coursework, based on
their EAP results, are exempt from taking CSU and participating
CCC placement tests in English language arts and mathematics and
are permitted to move directly into college-level classes upon
enrollment. If a student is identified as deficient in
mathematics and/or English language arts as indicated by their
test score on the EAP, the student who has been accepted to a
CSU will participate in a program designed to develop
proficiency in their area of deficiency before they enroll as
matriculated freshmen.
Students who participate in the EAP must complete the specified
CSTs and an additional 15 questions on the English language arts
and mathematics portions of the CSTs ("augmented CST").
Students are also required to complete an essay for the English
language arts portion of the EAP. The EAP results are
incorporated into the Standardized Testing and Reporting -
Student Report. Students who seek or intend to enroll in a CSU
or CCC have the opportunity to indicate that they want the
scores released to the institution at the time they take the
exams.
According to the CSU, in spring 2012, 87% of eligible grade 11
students participated in the EAP in English language arts and
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83% of eligible grade 11 students participated in the EAP in
mathematics. Of the 87% of grade 11 students participating in
the EAP for English language arts, 23% scored college ready; of
the 83% of grade 11 students participating in the EAP for
mathematics, 15% scored college ready.
According to the CCC Chancellor's Office, based on the most
recent data, 67 of the 112 CCC campuses accept EAP results and
thus students scoring college ready are exempt from having to
take the local CCC English language arts and/or mathematics
placement exams.
Common core state standards (CCSS) . The State Board of
Education (SBE) adopted the CCSS English language arts and
mathematics on August 2, 2010. Current law requires the SBE to
adopt revised frameworks that are aligned to the CCSS in
mathematics by November 30, 2013, and English language arts by
May 30, 2014 (EC Section 60207).
California joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
(SBAC) as a governing state in 2011, for the purpose of
developing assessments that are aligned to the CCSS. A
condition of becoming a governing member state, California
committed to administering the SBAC assessments to pupils
beginning in the 2014-15 school year.
The CCSS are designed to prepare students for college and career
readiness and in turn, mastery of these standards may be
evidence of such readiness. Therefore, SBAC has encouraged
institutions of higher education to recognize its assessment as
evidence that students are ready for entry-level, credit-bearing
courses and should be exempted from remediation in English
language arts and mathematics.
Need for the bill . According to the author, due to the
approaching sunset of the Greene Act, this measure will allow
for the Education Code to be updated to reflect the changes in
assessments with the CCSS. Additionally, this measure is needed
in order to encourage the CCC campuses to sequence their English
language arts and mathematics courses to the CCSS.
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Related legislation . AB 484 (Bonilla), which is pending a
hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee, suspends the
assessments required as part of the Standardized Testing and
Accountability Reporting (STAR) Program, except for those
assessments in the core subjects necessary to satisfy the
requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in
grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 10 and those assessments
augmented for use as part of the EAP in grade 11, until new
assessments addressing the CCSS are developed and implemented.
To note, AB 484 is amending the same code section as this bill;
the authors offices have indicated that they are working
together to create double-jointing amendments should both
measures reach the Floors of both Houses.
AB 959 (Bonilla), which was held in Assembly Appropriations,
required the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop a
recommendation for the use of the SBAC assessments for use in
the EAP as well as entry requirements and course placement
decisions of colleges and universities no later than January 1,
2018, to allow for the use of the assessment data that will be
available at that time.
SB 247 (Liu), which is pending a hearing in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, excludes pupils in grade 2 from the
STAR Program and extends the inoperative date of the STAR
Program from July 1, 2014, until July 1, 2016.
Previous legislation . AB 2001 (Bonilla) of 2012, which was held
in Senate Appropriations, stated the intent of the Legislature
that the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment
program include specified plans to reform that program as it
relates to grades 7 to 12, inclusive and required the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), in consultation with
various groups of individuals and entities, to develop
recommendations to effectuate those reforms.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0001583
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