BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Jack Scott, Chair
2007-2008 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1415
AUTHOR: Brownley
AMENDED: April 12, 2007
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27, 2007
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : School Administrators: Credential Preparation
Programs
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to
adopt a data evaluation report capable of assessing the
effectiveness of programs that prepare educators for the
administrative services credential.
BACKGROUND
Current law :
1) Requires educators who work in public schools to hold
credentials that certify their qualifications and
authorize specified services. California law requires
public school administrators to hold an Administrative
Services Credential.
2) Authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)
to issue credentials for school services positions
including but not limited to administrators, school
counselors, speech-language therapists, audiologists,
school psychologists, library media teachers,
supervisors of attendance, and school nurses.
3) Requires the CTC to adopt and implement an accreditation
system for the accreditation programs that prepare
educators for credentials.
4) Establishes the Principal Training Program (AB 75,
Steinberg, 2001) to provide school site administrators
with instruction and training and authorizes the CTC to
approve such programs as meeting a portion or all of the
requirements to fulfill the standards for the Clear
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Administrative Services Credential.
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires the CTC, on or before January 1, 2009 to adopt
an evaluation report capable of accessing the
effectiveness of each accredited program of professional
preparation for the administrative services credential.
2) Requires the effectiveness of administrative services
preparation programs to be assessed on multiple measures
including but not limited to:
a) The ability to prepare candidates who improve
student learning.
b) Program completion rates.
c) Placement of program graduates in
administrative positions.
d) Employment retention rates of program
graduates.
3) Requires the CTC to convene a group of stakeholders
including representatives from the California Department
of Education, local education agencies, and each higher
education segment, to recommend other outcome-based
performance measures for inclusion in the data
evaluation report and to measure the effectiveness of
various routes for earning the administrative services
credential.
4) Specifies the intent of the Legislature that the data
evaluation report be used to further the purpose of the
CTC accreditation process and embedded within biennial
accreditation reports submitted by programs to the CTC.
5) Requires institutions to submit biennial accreditation
reports to the CTC electronically.
6) Requires the CTC to revoke the accreditation of or
provide technical assistance to administrative services
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credential programs that are deemed to be struggling.
STAFF COMMENTS
1 Administrative services credentials . The Administrative
Services Credential (ASC) authorizes the holder to
provide the following services in grades 12 and below:
a) Develop, coordinate, and assess
instructional programs.
b) Evaluate certificated and
classified personnel.
c) Provide students' discipline,
including suspension and expulsion.
d) Provide certificated and classified employees
discipline, including but not limited to
suspension, dismissal, and reinstatement.
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e) Supervise certificated and
classified personnel.
f) Manage school site, district,
or county level fiscal services.
g) Recruit, employ, and assign
certificated and classified personnel.
h) Develop, coordinate, and supervise student support
services, including but not limited to
extracurricular activities, pupil personnel
services, health services, library services, and
technology support services.
The Preliminary Administrative Services Credential is
issued after an individual meets certain basic
requirements including completion of an entry level
administrative services preparation program, a one-year
administrative services internship, or achievement of a
passing score on the School Leaders Licensure Assessment
(SLLA) examination.
The Clear Administrative Service Credential is issued
after a preliminary ASC holder completes two years of
successful experience in an administrative position and
completes additional training in a CTC approved program,
which may include a Principal Training Program.
2) CTC accreditation process . In September 2006, the
Commission adopted a revised accreditation system that
includes on-going activity over a seven-year cycle.
According to the CTC, the revised accreditation process
is focused on accountability, standards, and data driven
decision making. The new system requires educator
preparation programs to annually collect data on various
outcomes and report those data to the CTC every two
years. The revised process provides for target
performance issues to be identified through the biennial
reporting process and on-site reviews to occur every
seven years.
3)Need for the bill : A 2005 report by Arthur Levine, former
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President and
Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia
University, concluded that nationwide, educational
administration programs are weak and include irrelevant
curricula. In 2004, the CTC adopted new standards for
administrator preparation programs that focus on student
learning and strengthened clinical training during the
program. According to the sponsor of this bill
(EdVoice), the intent of this bill is to ensure that the
Commission's accreditation process reinforces those
newly adopted standards and to provide for the
collection of data that will enable the CTC to determine
if administrator preparation programs are imparting the
skills school leaders need to improve student
achievement.
4) Nexus to student learning . While it may be appropriate
to hold school site administrators accountable for pupil
test scores, the nexus between an administrator
credential preparation program and student learning is
less clear. How much of the change in test scores can
be attributed to the credential program that prepared
the school's principal? What other factors contribute
to student learning? Finally, not all administrative
services credential holders serve as school site
administrators. Many administer county or
district-level programs or provide other services that
support instructional efforts but may not have a direct
effect on student learning. What data are appropriate
when program completers are not assigned to a specific
school site?
5) Clarifying amendments. According to the sponsor, the
goal of this bill is to create a mechanism for
evaluating administrator preparation programs that
includes specified, measurable data about program
effectiveness. Staff recommends that paragraph 44270.6
(a) of the bill be amended to require the Commission to
adopt a data evaluation system instead of report. In
addition, to provide more direct guidance to the CTC
about struggling programs, this bill should more clearly
anchor the concept to the CTC accreditation system.
Accordingly, staff recommends amendments to 44270.6 (e)
to replace the words "are deemed to be struggling" with
the "receive accreditation with stipulations."
SUPPORT
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Commission on Teacher Credentialing
EdVoice
OPPOSITION
California State University
Chapman University
Walter H. Gmelch, Dean of the School of Education, University
of San Francisco
Westmont College