BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman
400 (Nunez)
Hearing Date: 08/30/07 Amended: 07/18/07
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 6-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 400 would require the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI), commencing with the 2009-10 fiscal
year to incorporate several elements to the Academic Performance
Index (API) for schools serving pupils in grades 9-12,
including:
1) High school graduation rates.
2) Rates by which pupils complete a course of study that meets
the requirement for admission to the University of California
(UC) or the California State University (CSU).
3) Rates by which pupils complete career technical education
(CTE) courses that provide skills and knowledge necessary to
attain entry-level employment upon graduation, as measured by:
- CTE course completion.
- The number of pupils earning licenses or certificates.
- The outcomes on valid occupation specific or general workforce
assessments, including portfolio assessment, and/or workforce
outcomes, such as employment rates and earnings.
This bill would also reduce the percentage by which test scores
are required to constitute the API from 60% (test scores
currently constitute 100% of the API as other specified elements
have not been incorporated) to 50%, and requires that the new
elements provided by the bill would constitute the other 50% no
later than June 30, 2014. The SPI would be authorized to
convene an advisory committee to provide recommendations for
implementing these changes, and to develop recommendations for
inclusion of multiple API measures for middle and junior high
schools.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Fund
API revision $350
General
LEA data collection
Millions, annually General*
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Chapter 3/1999 (SB 1x, Alpert) authorized the API as means of
combining multiple measures into a single indicator that would
allow for school to school comparisons. In
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AB 400 (Nunez)
addition to test scores, which were required to constitute at
least 60% of the API, the API was required to include other
factors such as attendance rates, and graduation rates. These
other factors have not been incorporated into the API as the
data needed to calculate them is not yet reliable. With the
CALPADS system in full operation by the 2009-10 fiscal year, it
should be possible to begin the process of accurately tracking
dropout and graduation rates, as the system will have the
capacity to track each student through unique student
identifiers.
By adding new factors to the API, this bill would result in
costs for the Department of Education (SDE). The cost of
developing new indicators, including the addition of one new
consultant, other staff time, workload related to advisory
committee and subcommittee meetings, and providing for the
attendance of appropriate experts at these meetings. Further,
there could be additional unknown costs related to the
collecting and incorporation of college preparation and CTE
coursework. Currently, districts are not required to collect or
report this data to SDE, so it is unknown how difficult it would
be to collect this data in a way that will lead to useful input
into the API.
Similarly, there would be potentially significant costs for
districts to compile this information and report it to SDE in a
usable format. Earlier versions of AB 1656 (Feuer) would have
provided over $30 million to local education agencies for the
costs of collecting, maintaining, and reporting required data
elements to SDE. This bill would add further requirements that
could drive significant new costs for districts to comply.
These costs are unknown, but are potentially in the millions.
Staff recommends amending the bill to provide that test results
will continue to make up at least 50% of the API through the
2013-2014 fiscal year. The current version of the bill
immediately deletes the requirement that test results constitute
at least 60% of the API but is inadvertently silent on the issue
until 2014 when scores must constitute exactly 50%. Providing
a floor of 50% in the interim would ensure the consistency of
the index.
AB 519 (Mendoza), currently awaiting action on the Senate floor,
would require the SPI to define the term "dropout" and prepare a
plan to include dropouts in the API. SB 219 (Steinberg),
currently before the Assembly Appropriations Committee, would,
among other activities, require the API to include 8th and 9th
grade dropout data and high school graduation rates when
feasible.
As proposed to be amended: Author's amendment would specify
that test scores would constitute at least 60% of the API until
July 1, 2009, and at least 50% thereafter.