BILL NUMBER: AB 400 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nunez
FEBRUARY 15, 2007
An act to amend Section 52052 of the Education Code, relating to
public school accountability.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 400, as amended, Nunez. Public school accountability.
Existing law establishes the
The Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999
and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
develop an Academic Performance Index (API), which consists in part
of the results of the tests administered pursuant to the Standardized
Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program , to measure the
performance of schools, to demonstrate comparable improvement in
academic achievement by all numerically significant ethnic and
socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroups within schools, and to rank
schools based on the value of the API . The API measures
the performance of schools and the academic performance of pupils and
consists of a variety of indicators, including pupil scores from a
list of specified tests. The results of those specified tests
constitute 60% of the value of the API.
Existing law requires a school district maintaining any of grades
7 to 12, inclusive, to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in
those grades a course of study fulfilling the requirements and
prerequisites for admission to the California public institutions of
postsecondary education and to provide a timely opportunity to each
of those pupils to enroll within a 4-year period in each course
necessary to fulfill those requirements and prerequisites before
graduating from high school. Existing law also requires those school
districts to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades
a course of study that provides an opportunity for those pupils to
attain entry-level employment skills in business or industry upon
graduation from high school.
This bill , commencing with the 2008-09 fiscal year,
instead would require the
that the results of those test constitute 50% of the value of
the API. Commencing with the 2008- 09 fiscal year, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction
would be required to incorporate ,
various indicators into the API, including high
school graduation rates, attendance rates, rates
by which pupils are offered and actually complete a course of study
that fulfills the requirements and prerequisites for admission to
California public institutions of postsecondary education, and rates
by which pupils are offered and actually complete a course of study
that provides the skills and knowledge necessary to attain
entry-level employment in business or industry when they graduate
from high school. The indicators incorporated by the
Superintendent would constitute the other 50% of the API.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 52052 of the Education Code is amended to read:
52052. (a) (1) The Superintendent, with approval of the state
board, shall develop an Academic Performance Index (API), to measure
the performance of schools, especially the academic performance of
pupils.
(2) A school shall demonstrate comparable improvement in academic
achievement as measured by the API by all numerically significant
pupil subgroups at the school, including:
(A) Ethnic subgroups.
(B) Socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils.
(C) English language learners.
(D) Pupils with disabilities.
(3) (A) For purposes of this section, a numerically significant
pupil subgroup is one that meets both of the following criteria:
(i) The subgroup consists of at least 50 pupils each of whom has a
valid test score.
(ii) The subgroup constitutes at least 15 percent of the total
population of pupils at a school who have valid test scores.
(B) If a subgroup does not constitute 15 percent of the total
population of pupils at a school who have valid test scores, the
subgroup may constitute a numerically significant pupil subgroup if
it has at least 100 valid test scores.
(C) For a school with an API score that is based on no fewer than
11 and no more than 99 pupils with valid test scores, numerically
significant subgroups shall be defined by the Superintendent, with
approval by the State Board.
(4) The API shall consist of a variety of indicators currently
reported to the department, including, but not limited to, the
results of the achievement test administered pursuant to Section
60640 , attendance rates for pupils in elementary schools,
middle schools, and secondary schools, and the graduation
rates for pupils in secondary schools.
(A) Graduation rates for pupils in secondary schools shall be
calculated for the API as follows:
(i) The number of pupils who graduated on time for the current
school year, which is considered to be three school years after the
pupils entered 9th grade for the first time, divided by the total
calculated in paragraph (2) clause (ii)
.
(ii) The number of pupils entering 9th grade for the first time in
the school year three school years prior to the current school year,
plus the number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating
at the end of the current school year between the school year that
was three school years prior to the current school year and the date
of graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the
school between the school year that was three school years prior to
the current school year and the date of graduation who were members
of the class that is graduating at the end of the current school
year.
(B) The pupil data collected for the API that comes from the
achievement test administered pursuant to Sections 60640 and 60644
and the high school exit examination administered pursuant to Section
60851, when fully implemented, shall be disaggregated by special
education status, English language learners, socioeconomic status,
gender and ethnic group. Only the test scores of pupils who were
counted as part of the enrollment in the annual data collection of
the California Basic Educational Data System for the current fiscal
year and who were continuously enrolled during that year may be
included in the test result reports in the API score of the school.
Results of the achievement test and other tests specified in
subdivision (b) shall constitute at least 60 percent of the value of
the index.
(C) Before including high school graduation rates and
attendance rates in the API, the Superintendent shall
determine the extent to which the data are currently reported to the
state and the accuracy of the data. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, graduation rates for pupils in dropout recovery
high schools shall not be included in the API. For purposes of this
subparagraph, "dropout recovery high school" means a high school in
which 50 percent or more of its pupils have been designated as
dropouts pursuant to the exit/withdrawal codes developed by the
department.
(D) The Superintendent shall provide an annual report to the
Legislature on the graduation and dropout rates in California and
shall make the same report available to the public. The report shall
be accompanied by the release of publicly accessible data for each
school district and school in a manner that provides for
disaggregation based upon socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils and
numerically significant subgroups scoring below average on statewide
standards aligned assessments. In addition, the data shall be made
available in a manner that provides for comparisons of a minimum of
three years of data.
(b) Pupil scores from the following tests, when available and when
found to be valid and reliable for this purpose, shall be
incorporated into the API:
(1) The assessment of the applied academic skills matrix test
developed pursuant to Section 60604.
(2) The nationally normed test designated pursuant to Section
60642.
(3) The standards-based achievement tests provided for in Section
60642.5.
(4) The high school exit examination.
(c) In addition to the pupil scores from the tests set forth in
subdivision (b) and commencing with the 2008-09 fiscal year, the
Superintendent shall incorporate the following indicators into the
API using the best available data:
(1) High school graduation rates and attendance rates, as
required pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a), with
graduation rates calculated as specified in subparagraph
(A) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a).
(2) Rates by which pupils are offered and actually complete a
course of study that fulfills the requirements and prerequisites for
admission to California public institutions of postsecondary
education, as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 51228.
(3) Rates by which pupils are offered and actually complete a
course of study that provides the skills and knowledge necessary to
attain entry-level employment in business or industry when they
graduate from high school, as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section
51228.
(d) Based on the API, the Superintendent shall develop, and the
State Board shall adopt, expected annual percentage growth targets
for all schools based on their API baseline score from the previous
year. Schools are expected to meet these growth targets through
effective allocation of available resources. For schools below the
statewide API performance target adopted by the State Board pursuant
to subdivision (d) (e) , the minimum
annual percentage growth target shall be 5 percent of the difference
between the actual API score of a school and the statewide API
performance target, or one API point, whichever is greater. Schools
at or above the statewide API performance target shall have, as their
growth target, maintenance of their API score above the statewide
API performance target. However, the State Board may set differential
growth targets based on grade level of instruction and may set
higher growth targets for the lowest performing schools because they
have the greatest room for improvement. To meet its growth target, a
school shall demonstrate that the annual growth in its API is equal
to or more than its schoolwide annual percentage growth target and
that all numerically significant pupil subgroups, as defined in
subdivision (a), are making comparable improvement.
(e) Upon adoption of state performance standards by the State
Board, the Superintendent shall recommend, and the State Board shall
adopt, a statewide API performance target that includes consideration
of performance standards and represents the proficiency level
required to meet the state performance target. When the API is fully
developed, schools, at a minimum, must meet their annual API growth
targets to be eligible for the Governor's Performance Award Program
as set forth in Section 52057. The State Board may establish
additional criteria that schools must meet to be eligible for the
Governor's Performance Award Program.
(f) The API shall be used for both of the following:
(1) Measuring the progress of schools selected for participation
in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program
pursuant to Section 52053.
(2) Ranking all public schools in the state for the purpose of the
High Achieving/Improving Schools Program pursuant to Section 52056.
(g) (1) A school with 11 to 99 pupils with valid test scores shall
receive an API score with an asterisk that indicates less
statistical certainty than API scores based on 100 or more test
scores.
(2) A school annually shall receive an API score, unless the
Superintendent determines that an API score would be an invalid
measure of the performance of the school for one or more of the
following reasons:
(A) Irregularities in testing procedures occurred.
(B) The data used to calculate the API score of the school are not
representative of the pupil population at the school.
(C) Significant demographic changes in the pupil population render
year-to-year comparisons of pupil performance invalid.
(D) The department discovers or receives information indicating
that the integrity of the API score has been compromised.
(E) Insufficient pupil participation in the assessments included
in the API.
(3) If a school has less than 100 pupils with valid test scores,
the calculation of the API or adequate yearly progress pursuant to
the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et
seq.) and federal regulations may be calculated over more than one
annual administration of the tests administered pursuant to Sections
60640 and 60644 and the high school exit examination administered
pursuant to Section 60851, consistent with regulations adopted by the
State Board.
(h) Only schools with 100 or more test scores contributing to the
API may be included in the API rankings.
(i) The Superintendent, with the approval of the State board,
shall develop an alternative accountability system for schools under
the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county
superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic,
nonsectarian schools pursuant to Section 56366, and alternative
schools serving high-risk pupils, including continuation high schools
and opportunity schools. Schools in the alternative accountability
system may receive an API score, but shall not be included in the API
rankings.
(j) (1) Results of the achievement test and other tests specified
in subdivision (b) shall constitute 50 percent of the value of the
index.
(2) The indicators described in subdivision (c) collectively shall
constitute 50 percent of the value of the index.
(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the indicators described
in subdivision (c) shall be assigned equal weight in the index.
(4) The Superintendent shall design the indicators described in
subdivision (c) in a manner that gives additional weight to the
combined rate by which pupils satisfy the conditions described in
paragraphs (2) and (3) of that subdivision.
(k) For purposes of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), the
Superintendent shall use indicators derived from one or more of the
following:
(1) Satisfactory completion of a designated career and technical
education course or series of courses.
(2) The number or percentage of pupils who earn a certificate,
license, or the equivalent in the designated occupation for which it
is issued.
(3) The scores of pupils on valid and reliable assessments,
including portfolio assessments, that are designed to assess the
degree to which pupils have acquired the skills and knowledge
necessary to be successful in a specific occupation or in the general
workforce.
(4) Workforce outcomes for pupils graduating from high school may
include, but are not limited to, employment rates and earnings.
(5) The number of courses offered to pupils that meet the career
technical education content standards adopted by the State Board.