BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1876
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Lopez |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |May 18, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 22, 2016 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Kathleen Chavira |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Pupils: diploma alternatives: language options
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits the California Department of Education,
beginning January 1, 2019, from approving or renewing a
contractor or test center to administer tests for the purpose of
a high school equivalency certificate unless the
contractor/testing center provides the test in English, Spanish,
and Vietnamese, and requires the test to be administered in the
examinee's choice of these languages.
BACKGROUND
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to issue a California high school equivalency certificate
and an official score report to any person who has not completed
high school and who meets all of the following requirements:
1) Is a resident of California or is a member of the armed
services assigned to duty in California.
2) Has taken all or a portion of a general educational
development test approved by the State Board of Education
(SBE) and administered by a test center approved by the
California Department of Education, with a score determined
by the SBE to be equal to the standard of performance
expected from high school graduates.
AB 1876 (Lopez) Page 2
of ?
3) Meets one of the following:
a) Is at least 18 years of age.
b) Would have graduated from high school had he
or she remained in school and followed the usual
course of study toward graduation.
c) Is at least 17 years of age, has accumulated
fewer than 100 units of high school credit, and is
confined to a state or county correctional agency.
d) Is at least 17 years of age, has accumulated
fewer than 100 units of high school credit prior to
enrollment in a dropout recovery high school, and has
successfully completed the program offered by a
dropout recovery high school that provides the student
with all of the following:
i) Instruction aligned to state academic
content standards.
ii) The opportunity to complete the
requirements for a high school diploma.
iii) At least one year of instruction or
instruction followed by services related to the
academic program.
Existing law provides that a California high school equivalency
certificate is deemed to be a high school diploma for the
purpose of meeting the requirements of employment by all state
and local public agencies in California. (EC § 51420 and §
51425)
The State Board of Education has approved the use of three high
school equivalency tests:
1) The General Educational Development Test (GED).
2) The High School Equivalency Test (HiSET).
3) The Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC).
AB 1876 (Lopez) Page 3
of ?
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Prohibits the California Department of Education (CDE),
beginning January 1, 2019, from approving or renewing a
contractor/test center to administer tests for purposes of
the high school equivalency certificate unless the
contractor/testing center provides the test in English,
Spanish, and Vietnamese.
2) Requires the test to be administered in the examinee's
choice of the three specified languages.
3) Declares that these provisions are intended to supplement
and not supplant any other requirements for approval of
contractors/testing centers adopted by the CDE.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author, California has
an estimated population of 10 million immigrants and
roughly 44 percent of the total population speaks a
language other than English at home. The author also cites
a 2011 report by the Public Policy Institute of California
(PPIC) which finds that, in California, 36 percent of
immigrants ages 25-64 had not graduated from high school.
The report also noted that immigrants dominate the sector
of adults in California with less than a high school
education, accounting for 73 percent of this population.
Offering the high school equivalency exam in Spanish and
Vietnamese will better equip immigrants in California who
lack a high school diploma to obtain employment, compete in
the job market, and have the opportunity to increase their
income. This bill requires the test be administered in
Vietnamese because it is the second (after Spanish at 87
percent) most frequently spoken language among California's
English learners (ELs) in schools (2.3 percent of ELs).
According to 2015 U.S. Census information, there are about
300,000 Vietnamese in California who indicate that they
speak English "less than very well."
2) Current status. The State Board of Education has approved
three high school equivalency tests for use in California:
AB 1876 (Lopez) Page 4
of ?
the General Educational Development Test (GED), the High
School Equivalency Test (HiSET), and the Test Assessing
Secondary Completion (TASC). According to the California
Department of Education (CDE), all three approved test
centers currently provide the exam in English and in
Spanish.
In 2013, about 65,000 Californians took the General
Education Development Test (GED) and approximately 45,000
passed the exam. Of those who took the test, 37,430
(57.6%) were reported as Hispanic, and 8,624 (13.2%) took
the test in Spanish.
Testing fees vary from test to test and from one test
center to another, but are generally around $140 to $150
per test. The state currently subsidizes these testing fees
for homeless students.
While the high school equivalency exam is generally used
for purposes of employment, GED Testing Service reports
that it has been working with the California State
University to offer college credit based on a student's
score and information has been provided to the Chancellor's
Office of the California Community Colleges for their
review and consideration.
3) Unintended consequences. According to the CDE, a high
school equivalency
certificate is the same for all students regardless of the
language of its administration. However, the transcript
for the test will indicate whether it was taken in another
language, and the CDE has received anecdotal reports of
instances when postsecondary educational institutions or
employers did not accept transcripts unless the
administration of the test was in English. CDE reports that
there are no current options for students to demonstrate
English proficiency if the exam is taken in a language
other than English.
The committee may wish to consider:
a) Absent a means for assessing English
proficiency, would the results of a high school
equivalency exam administered in a language other than
AB 1876 (Lopez) Page 5
of ?
English have value to higher education institutions or
employers?
b) Should administration of a test in a language
other than English be required to include an
assessment of the functional English skills of the
examinee?
c) Current law authorizes the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to charge a one-time maximum fee of
$20 to examinees to cover the costs of administration
of the exam. In addition, a contractor/testing center
is authorized to charge an examinee its own separate
fee (currently $140-$150 per exam). Would the cost
to test developers to meet the requirements of this
bill result in an increase in fees charged of
examinees?
1) Related legislation. AB 2656 (O'Donnell), also on the
committee's agenda today, extends to foster youth the fee
waivers for the California High School Proficiency Exam and
the high school equivalency exam that are currently
provided to students who are homeless.
SUPPORT
None received on this version.
OPPOSITION
None received.
-- END --