Amended in Assembly July 9, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 23, 2015

Amended in Senate April 6, 2015

Senate BillNo. 172


Introduced by Senator Liu

February 5, 2015


An act to amend Section 60640 of, and to add Section 60851.5 to, the Education Code, relating to pupil testing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 172, as amended, Liu. Pupil testing: high school exit examination: suspension.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to develop a high school exit examination in English language arts and mathematics in accordance with state academic content standards. Existing law requires, commencing with the 2003-04 school year and each school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 to successfully pass the high school exit examination as a condition of receiving a diploma of graduation or a condition of graduation from high school.

This bill would suspend the administration of the high school exit examination and would remove the high school exit examination as a condition of receiving a diploma of graduation or a condition of graduation from high school for each pupil completing grade 12, for thebegin delete 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 school years, or when the approved high school exit examination is no longer available.end deletebegin insert 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 school years.end insert

Existing law establishes the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress as the statewide system of pupil assessments, under which various assessments are required or authorized to be administered in public schools, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent, on or before March 1, 2016, to submit to the state board recommendations on expanding the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress to include additional assessments, for consideration at a regularly scheduled public meeting, and to also submit those recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and to the Director of Finance in accordance with specified requirements.

This bill would add a new requirement, that the Superintendent convene an advisory panel consisting of specified individuals to provide recommendations to the Superintendent on the continuation of the high school exit examination and on alternative pathways to satisfy specified high school graduation requirements, to those recommendations to be submitted by the Superintendent.

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 60640 of the Education Code is amended
2to read:

3

60640.  

(a) There is hereby established the California
4Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, to be known as
5the CAASPP.

6(b) Commencing with the 2013-14 school year, the CAASPP
7shall be composed of all of the following:

8(1) (A) A consortium summative assessment in English
9language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and
10grade 11 that measures content standards adopted by the state
11board.

12(B) In the 2013-14 school year, the consortium summative
13assessment in English language arts and mathematics shall be a
14field test only, to enable the consortium to gauge the validity and
15reliability of these assessments and to conduct all necessary
16psychometric procedures and studies, including, but not necessarily
17limited to, achievement standard setting, and to allow the
18department to conduct studies regarding full implementation of
P3    1the assessment system. These field tests and results shall not be
2used for any other purpose, including the calculation of any
3accountability measure.

4(2) (A) Science grade level assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10
5that measure content standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605,
6until a successor assessment is implemented pursuant to
7subparagraph (B).

8(B) For science assessments, the Superintendent shall make a
9recommendation to the state board as soon as is feasible after the
10adoption of science content standards pursuant to Section 60605.85
11regarding the assessment of the newly adopted standards. Before
12making recommendations, the Superintendent shall consult with
13stakeholders, including, but not necessarily limited to, California
14science teachers, individuals with expertise in assessing English
15learners and pupils with disabilities, parents, and measurement
16experts, regarding the grade level and type of assessment. The
17recommendations shall include cost estimates and a plan for
18implementation of at least one assessment in each of the following
19grade spans:

20(i) Grades 3 to 5, inclusive.

21(ii) Grades 6 to 9, inclusive.

22(iii) Grades 10 to 12, inclusive.

23(3) The California Alternate Performance Assessment in grades
242 to 11, inclusive, in English language arts and mathematics and
25science in grades 5, 8, and 10, which measures content standards
26adopted pursuant to Section 60605 until a successor assessment
27is implemented. The successor assessment shall be limited to the
28grades and subject areas assessed pursuant to paragraph (1) and
29subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2).

30(4) The Early Assessment Program established by Chapter 6
31(commencing with Section 99300) of Part 65 of Division 14 of
32Title 3.

33(5) (A) A local educational agency may administer a primary
34language assessment aligned to the English language arts standards
35adopted pursuant to Section 60605, as it read on January 1, 2013,
36to pupils who are identified as limited English proficient and
37enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, until a subsequent
38primary language assessment aligned to the common core standards
39in English language arts adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 is
40developed pursuant to subparagraph (E).

P4    1(B) If a local educational agency chooses to administer a primary
2language assessment to pupils identified as limited English
3proficient and enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, pursuant
4to subparagraph (A), it shall notify the department in a manner to
5be determined by the department and the costs shall be paid by the
6state and included as part of the testing contract, and the department
7shall provide the local educational agency a per pupil
8apportionment for administering the assessment pursuant to
9subdivision (l).

10(C) The Superintendent shall consult with stakeholders,
11including assessment and English learner experts, to determine
12the content and purpose of a stand-alone language arts summative
13assessment in primary languages other than English that aligns
14with the English language arts content standards. The
15Superintendent shall consider the appropriate purpose for this
16assessment, including, but not necessarily limited to, support for
17the State Seal of Biliteracy and accountability. It is the intent of
18the Legislature that an assessment developed pursuant to this
19section be included in the state accountability system.

20(D) The Superintendent shall report and make recommendations
21to the state board at a regularly scheduled public meeting no sooner
22than one year after the first full administration of the consortium
23computer-adaptive assessments in English language arts and
24mathematics summative assessments in grades 3 to 8, inclusive,
25and grade 11, regarding an implementation timeline and estimated
26costs of a stand-alone language arts summative assessment in
27primary languages other than English.

28(E) The Superintendent shall develop, and the state board shall
29adopt, a primary language assessment. The Superintendent shall
30administer this assessment no later than the 2016-17 school year.

31(F) This paragraph shall be operative only to the extent that
32funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute
33for the purpose of this section.

34(c) No later than March 1, 2016, the Superintendent shall submit
35to the state board recommendations on expanding the CAASPP
36to include additional assessments, for consideration at a regularly
37scheduled public meeting. The Superintendent shall also submit
38these recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal
39committees of the Legislature and to the Director of Finance in
40accordance with all of the following:

P5    1(1) In consultation with stakeholders, including, but not
2necessarily limited to, California teachers, individuals with
3expertise in assessing English learners and pupils with disabilities,
4parents, and measurement experts, the Superintendent shall make
5 recommendations regarding assessments, including the grade level,
6content, and type of assessment. These recommendations shall
7take into consideration the assessments already administered or
8planned pursuant to subdivision (b). The Superintendent shall
9consider the use of consortium-developed assessments, various
10item types, computer-based testing, and a timeline for
11implementation.

12(2) The recommendations shall consider assessments in subjects,
13including, but not necessarily limited to, history-social science,
14technology, visual and performing arts, and other subjects as
15appropriate, as well as English language arts, mathematics, and
16science assessments to augment the assessments required under
17subdivision (b), and the use of various assessment options,
18including, but not necessarily limited to, computer-based tests,
19locally scored performance tasks, and portfolios.

20(3) The recommendations shall include the use of an assessment
21calendar that would schedule the assessments identified pursuant
22to paragraph (2) over several years, the use of matrix sampling, if
23appropriate, and the use of population sampling.

24(4) The recommendations shall include a timeline for test
25development, and shall include cost estimates for subject areas, as
26appropriate.

27(5) Upon approval by the state board and the appropriation of
28funding for this purpose, the Superintendent shall develop and
29administer approved assessments. The state board shall approve
30test blueprints, achievement level descriptors, testing periods,
31performance standards, and a reporting plan for each approved
32assessment.

33(6) The Superintendent shall convene an advisory panel,
34consisting of, but not necessarily limited to, secondary teachers,
35 school administrators, school board members, parents, the student
36member of the state board, representatives of a dropout recovery
37charter school operating pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section
3847605.1, measurement experts, and individuals with expertise in
39assessing English learners and pupils with disabilities, to provide
40recommendations to the Superintendent on the continuation of the
P6    1high school exit examination, described in Chapter 9 (commencing
2with Section 60850), and on alternative pathways to satisfy the
3high school graduation requirements pursuant to Sections 51224.5
4and 51225.3.

5(d) For the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years, the department
6shall make available to local educational agencies Standardized
7Testing and Reporting Program test forms no longer required by
8the CAASPP. The cost of implementing this subdivision, including,
9but not necessarily limited to, shipping, printing, scoring, and
10reporting per pupil shall be the same for all local educational
11agencies, and shall not exceed the marginal cost of the assessment,
12including any cost the department incurs to implement this section.
13A local educational agency that chooses to administer an
14assessment pursuant to this subdivision shall do so at its own
15expense, and shall enter into an agreement for that purpose with
16a contractor, subject to the approval of the department.

17(e) The Superintendent shall make available a paper and pencil
18version of any computer-based CAASPP assessment for use by
19pupils who are unable to access the computer-based version of the
20assessment for a maximum of three years after a new operational
21test is first administered.

22(f) (1) From the funds available for that purpose, each local
23educational agency shall administer assessments to each of its
24pupils pursuant to subdivision (b). As allowable by federal statute,
25recently arrived English learner pupils are exempted from taking
26the assessment in English language arts. The state board shall
27establish a testing period to provide that all schools administer
28these tests to pupils at approximately the same time during the
29instructional year. The testing period established by the state board
30shall take into consideration the need of local educational agencies
31to provide makeup days for pupils who were absent during testing,
32as well as the need to schedule testing on electronic computing
33devices.

34(2) For the 2013-14 school year, each local educational agency
35shall administer the field tests in a manner described by the
36department in consultation with the president or executive director
37of the state board. Additional participants in the field test beyond
38the representative sample may be approved by the department, and
39the department shall use existing contract savings to fund local
40educational agency participation in one or more tests per
P7    1participant. Funds for this purpose shall be used to allow for
2maximum participation in the field tests across the state. To the
3extent savings in the current contract are not available to fully fund
4this participation, the department shall prorate available funds by
5test. Local educational agencies shall bear any additional costs to
6administer these assessments that are in excess of the contracted
7amount. With the approval of the state board and the Director of
8Finance, the department shall amend the existing assessment
9contract to accommodate field testing beyond the representative
10sample, and to allow for special studies using information collected
11from the field tests.

12(g) From the funds available for that purpose, each local
13educational agency shall administer assessments as determined by
14the state board pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (c).

15(h) As feasible, the CAASPP field tests shall be conducted in
16a manner that will minimize the testing burden on individual
17schools. The CAASPP field tests shall not produce individual pupil
18scores unless it is determined that these scores are valid and
19reliable.

20(i) The governing board of a school district may administer
21achievement tests in grades other than those required by this section
22as it deems appropriate.

23(j) Subject to the approval of the state board, the department
24may make available to local educational agencies a primary
25language assessment aligned to the English language arts standards
26adopted pursuant to Section 60605, as it read on January 1, 2013,
27for assessing pupils who are enrolled in a dual language immersion
28program that includes the primary language of the assessment and
29who are either nonlimited English proficient or redesignated fluent
30English proficient until a subsequent primary language assessment
31aligned to the common core standards in English language arts
32adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 is developed pursuant to
33paragraph (5) of subdivision (b). The cost for the assessment shall
34be the same for all local educational agencies and shall not exceed
35the marginal cost of the assessment, including any cost the
36department incurs to implement this section. A local educational
37agency that elects to administer a primary language assessment
38pursuant to this subdivision shall do so at its own expense and
39shall enter into an agreement for that purpose with the state testing
40contractor, subject to the approval of the department.

P8    1(k) Pursuant to Section 1412(a)(16) of Title 20 of the United
2States Code, individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in
3Section 56026, shall be included in the testing requirement of
4subdivision (b) with appropriate accommodations in administration,
5where necessary, and the individuals with exceptional needs who
6are unable to participate in the testing, even with accommodations,
7shall be given an alternate assessment.

8(l) (1) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated
9for these purposes to local educational agencies to enable them to
10meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c).

11(A) For the CAASPP field tests administered in the 2013-14
12school year or later school years, the Superintendent shall apportion
13funds to local educational agencies if funds are specifically
14provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.

15(B) The Superintendent shall apportion funds to local
16educational agencies to enable them to administer assessments
17used to satisfy the voluntary Early Assessment Program in the
182013-14 school year pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b).

19(2) The state board annually shall establish the amount of
20funding to be apportioned to local educational agencies for each
21test administered and annually shall establish the amount that each
22contractor shall be paid for each test administered under the
23contracts required pursuant to Section 60643. The amounts to be
24paid to the contractors shall be determined by considering the cost
25estimates submitted by each contractor each September and the
26amount included in the annual Budget Act, and by making
27allowance for the estimated costs to local educational agencies for
28compliance with the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c). The
29state board shall take into account changes to local educational
30agency test administration activities under the CAASPP, including,
31but not limited to, the number and type of tests administered and
32changes in computerized test registration and administration
33procedures, when establishing the amount of funding to be
34apportioned to local educational agencies for each test
35administered.

36(3) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned
37per test shall not be valid without the approval of the Director of
38Finance. A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount
39of funding to be apportioned per test shall be submitted in writing
40to the Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal
P9    1committees of both houses of the Legislature with accompanying
2material justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of
3Finance is authorized to approve only those adjustments related
4to activities required by statute. The Director of Finance shall
5approve or disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the
6request and shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees
7of both houses of the Legislature of the decision.

8(m) For purposes of making the computations required by
9Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the
10appropriation for the apportionments made pursuant to paragraph
11(1) of subdivision (l), and the payments made to the contractors
12under the contracts required pursuant to Section 60643 or
13subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
1460605 between the department and the contractor, are “General
15Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in
16subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the applicable fiscal year,
17and included within the “total allocations to school districts and
18community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes
19appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision
20(e) of Section 41202, for that fiscal year.

21(n) As a condition to receiving an apportionment pursuant to
22subdivision (l), a local educational agency shall report to the
23Superintendent all of the following:

24(1) The pupils enrolled in the local educational agency in the
25grades in which assessments were administered pursuant to
26subdivisions (b) and (c).

27(2) The pupils to whom an achievement test was administered
28pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) in the local educational agency.

29(3) The pupils in paragraph (1) who were exempted from the
30test pursuant to this section.

31(o) The Superintendent and the state board are authorized and
32encouraged to assist postsecondary educational institutions to use
33the assessment results of the CAASPP, including, but not
34necessarily limited to, the grade 11 consortium summative
35assessments in English language arts and mathematics, for
36academic credit, placement, or admissions processes.

37(p) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget Act
38for this purpose, and exclusive of the consortium assessments, the
39Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, annually shall
40release to the public test items from the achievement tests pursuant
P10   1to Section 60642.5 administered in previous years. Where feasible
2and practicable, the minimum number of test items released per
3year shall be equal to 25 percent of the total number of test items
4on the test administered in the previous year.

5(q) On or before July 1, 2014, Sections 850 to 868, inclusive,
6of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations shall be revised
7by the state board to conform to the changes made to this section
8in the first year of the 2013-14 Regular Session. The state board
9shall adopt initial regulations as emergency regulations to
10immediately implement the CAASPP assessments, including, but
11 not necessarily limited to, the administration, scoring, and reporting
12of the tests, as the adoption of emergency regulations is necessary
13for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety,
14or general welfare within the meaning of Section 11346.1 of the
15Government Code. The emergency regulations shall be followed
16by the adoption of permanent regulations, in accordance with the
17Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
18Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
19Code).

20

SEC. 2.  

Section 60851.5 is added to the Education Code, to
21read:

22

60851.5.  

Notwithstanding Section 60851, the administration
23of the high school exit examination, and the requirement that each
24pupil completing grade 12 successfully pass the high school exit
25examination as a condition of receiving a diploma of graduation
26or a condition of graduation from high school, shall be suspended
27for thebegin delete 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 school years, or when the
28high school exit examination approved pursuant to Section 60850
29is no longer available.end delete
begin insert 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18
30school years.end insert



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