BILL ANALYSIS
AB 519
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gene Mullin, Chair
AB 519 (Mendoza) - As Introduced: February 21, 2007
SUBJECT : Pupil achievement: Academic Performance Index
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Education to work to
incorporate additional measures of performance into the Academic
Performance Index (API). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the department to develop and submit to the
legislature a plan to incorporate dropout data into the API,
and develop a definition of the term "dropout".
2)Requires the department to incorporate into the API data
regarding the availability in high schools of a course of
study that fulfills admission requirements to California's
public universities.
EXISTING LAW requires the Superintendent, with the approval of
the State Board, to develop the API to measure the performance
of schools, and to include a variety of indicators in that
measure, including, but not limited to, achievement test
results, attendance rates, and graduation rates; this statute
was enacted in 1999. Existing law also requires school
districts to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in grades
7-12 a course of study fulfilling the requirements and
prerequisites for admission to California's public institutions
of postsecondary education, and to offer to those same pupils a
course of study that provides an opportunity to attain
entry-level employment skills in business or industry upon
graduation from high school.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Only achievement test results are currently
incorporated into the API.
Arguments in support would suggest that having an API that
focuses solely on achievement test results is too narrow and
does not reflect information about student outcomes (e.g.,
dropout and graduation rates, college readiness, preparation for
the workplace) that are as important in measuring the
AB 519
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performance of districts, schools and subgroups as testing
results. Perversely, increases in dropouts could easily lead to
an increase in test scores and in the API for a given school or
district, yet this may not be reflective of a real increase in
performance within that school or district.
Opponents argue that including data on dropouts and availability
of course offerings that fulfill admission requirements to
California's public universities will skew the emphasis of the
API toward high schools, resulting in the focusing of more
resources at that level to the detriment of elementary and
middle schools. Since the legislature can target the use of
resources by grade span, as well as by API ranking, this effect,
to the extent that it exists, could be easily moderated.
Opponents also argue that data on dropouts or graduation rates
are not well grounded. In fact, this bill does not propose to
include dropout data in the API, but requires a definition of
the term "dropout" to be developed and the submission of a plan
to include this data in the API. Opponent's point may be valid
when made against any future bill proposing to include dropout
data in the API.
Amendments : Staff recommends the following amendments:
1)Place responsibility for these provisions on the
Superintendent of Public Instruction as the chief executive of
the Department of Education, rather than on the department.
2)Add a date certain by which the required report to the
Legislature must be submitted.
3)Require that the developed definition of "dropout" be
submitted as part of the report to the Legislature.
4)Delete the requirement to incorporate data regarding the
availability in high schools of a course of study that
fulfills admission requirements to California's public
universities, in order to resolve conflicts with other pending
legislation.
Related legislation : AB 400 (Nunez) requires the incorporation
of additional measures of performance into the API, including
the rate at which pupils are offered a course of study that
fulfills University of California and California State
AB 519
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University admission requirements.
Previous legislation : AB 2167 (Arambula), Chapter 743, Statutes
of 2006, establishes a specific methodology for including
graduation rates, as previously required, in the API; also
requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
report annually to the Legislature on graduation and dropout
rates in the state.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Language Teachers Association
Opposition
California Federation of Teachers
Analysis Prepared by : Gerald Shelton / ED. / (916) 319-2087