BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 172
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 172
(Liu) - As Amended July 9, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill suspends the requirement to pass the California High
School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) as a condition of receiving a high
school diploma for the 2014-15 through the 2017-18 school years,
inclusive. This bill also requires the Superintendent of Public
SB 172
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Instruction (SPI) to convene an advisory panel to provide
recommendations on the continuation of the CAHSEE and on
alternative pathways to satisfy the high school graduation
requirements. These recommendations will be added to
recommendations the SPI is required to make to the State Board
of Education (SBE) regarding the expansion of the California
Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) by March
1, 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)General Fund costs of approximately $200,000 for CDE to
convene an advisory panel to provide recommendations on the
continuation of the CAHSEE and on alternative pathways to
satisfy the high school graduation requirements. These
recommendations could create significant cost pressures in the
millions of dollars depending on the scope of the
recommendations.
2)Proposition 98/GF savings in 2014-15 through 2017-18,
potentially in the range of $10 million to $12 million, due to
the suspension of the test. The 2015 Budget Act required the
California Department of Education (CDE) to develop a plan to
utilize any savings for other assessment needs.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The CAHSEE assesses pupils in the areas of
English language arts and mathematics. It was established by
SB 2X (O'Connell, Chapter 1, Statutes of 1999) as part of a
package of school reform bills that established new curriculum
content standards, a new statewide assessment program, and
related professional development and instructional programs.
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The requirement to pass the exam as a condition of receiving a
high school diploma became a requirement starting with the
class of 2006. According to the most recent CAHSEE
independent evaluation, the pass rate has increased from year
to year, and in 2014 it was 97.2% among all pupils (this
includes pupils who had to take the test more than once before
they passed it).
2)Purpose. The CAHSEE is aligned to the content standards for
English language arts and mathematics that were adopted
pursuant to the 1999 education reform package of bills. In
2010 the SBE voted to adopt the Common Core State Standards
(CCSS). The adoption of the CCSS led to the development of
new statewide assessments that are aligned to the new
standards. However, the CAHSEE is still aligned to the old
standards. The author proposes to suspend the test due to
this misalignment between the test and the new standards.
During the suspension of the CAHSEE, this bill also requires
an advisory committee of academics and community stakeholders
to meet and make recommendations regarding future
administrations of a high school exit exam and alternative
methods to meet high school graduation requirements.
3)Budget language. The 2015 Budget Act requires the CDE to
develop a plan for the use of any savings from the funds
appropriated for the California High School Exit Examination
(CAHSEE) to be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee and the Department of Finance for approval. First
priority for the use of any savings is required to be for the
development of the English Language Proficiency Assessments
for California (ELPAC) and the development of a primary
language assessment and the California Alternate Assessments
as specified in law for the California Assessment of Student
Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System.
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Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081