BILL ANALYSIS
SB 946
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Date of Hearing: July 18, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
SB 946 (Scott) - As Amended: June 28, 2007
Policy Committee: EducationVote:7-3
Higher Education 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Community College Early Assessment Pilot
Program (CCEAPP) to provide grade 11 pupils with information and
guidance related to readiness for college-level coursework.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the CCEAPP, administered by the CCC Board of
Governors (BOG), commencing in the 2008-09 academic year for
five years, to provide high school pupils with an indicator of
their readiness for transfer-level English and math at the end
of grade 11 in order to allow high schools to work with pupils
during grade 12 to enhance their skills.
2)Requires use of the California State University
(CSU)-augmented California Standards Test (CST) in the CCEAPP
and authorizes modification of test scoring to measure
"degree-applicable" standards of the CCC.
3)Requires the Chancellor of the CCC to:
a) Coordinate with the California Department of Education
(CDE) to implement the CCEAPP as it relates to the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.
b) Select applicant colleges to participate in the CCEAPP,
giving priority to districts currently working with or
utilizing data from the California Partnership for
Achieving Students (Cal-PASS)
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c) Provide, in coordination with CSU, the academic senates
of the participating campuses, and participating K-12
teachers, appropriate basic skills enrichment opportunities
to students at schools participating in CCEAPP who require
additional academic preparation in grade 12 to become
college-ready, relying on the already completed work by the
CSU Early Assessment Program (EAP) to minimize duplication.
d) Develop a community college student notification system
to ensure that pupils receive notification regarding their
readiness for transfer-level work, the availability of
enrichment opportunities, and assurance of eligibility to
attend a CCC.
e) Contract with an independent entity for an interim and a
final evaluation of the CCEAPP. The final evaluation is due
by December 1, 2013.
4)Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to review the final
report and make recommendations regarding the CCEAPP.
5)States legislative intent to provide a stipend for up to 25
CCCs and their feeder high schools, adequate to cover the
costs of participation in the CCEAPP, to the extent funding is
provided in the Budget Act or another statute.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)General Fund (Prop. 98) cost pressure of up to about $2.1
million annually for a full-time equivalent position at each
participating community college district (up to 25) to provide
outreach and coordination for all pilot program activities.
Costs would be for five years starting in 2008-09.
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2)Ongoing General Fund costs about $250,000 through 2012-13,
including two positions, for statewide coordination and
administration at the CCC Chancellor's Office.
3)One-time GF costs of around $150,000 for the pilot program
evaluation.
4)Potential major savings to the extent the program leads to
increased incidence of community college readiness for
entering students and thus reduces the demand for remediation
courses.
COMMENTS
1)Background . A recent survey by the CCC Research and Planning
Group indicated that over 70% of students who took a CCC
placement test require remedial math while 42% require
remedial English. Unlike the CSU and the University of
California, the CCC system does not have a single English or
math proficiency exam upon enrollment at a CCC. Each of the
109 campuses determines for itself the type of placement tests
to use. However, the CCC Board of Governors recently directed
the Chancellor to begin a consultation process to evaluate
implementation of systemwide student assessment measures.
This bill is modeled after the CSU's Early Assessment Program
(EAP), whereby 11th graders taking the CST are encouraged to
take an "augmented version" of the test comprised of 15
additional English-language-arts questions and an essay and 15
additional math questions. The results of the augmented tests
indicate a student's "readiness" for college-level English and
math. Those whose scores indicate they are not ready are
encouraged to take classes during their senior year to improve
and strengthen their skills and/or work independently on the
CSU's English and math success websites. In coordination with
the CDE and State Board of Education, the CSU developed new
courses that students can take during their senior year.
2)Purpose . According to the author, CCCs use a variety of
assessment tools to gauge student preparedness for
college-level courses. However, these tools have little in
common and none reach down into high schools to assess student
readiness. This bill establishes a five-year pilot early
assessment project in order to determine:
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a) Whether participating students who require additional
skill development in English and math, or both, should
adjust their grade 12 course schedule to better prepare for
postsecondary education in these subject.
b) If there is a decrease in the number of basic skills
courses that participants must complete before entering
degree-applicable courses and transfer-level courses at
CCCs.
c) Whether the indicators of readiness for transfer-level
courses utilized in the CCEAPP are appropriate and accurate
indicators of readiness for degree-applicable and
transfer-level courses.
3)Prior Legislation . This bill is similar to last year's SB 1563
(Escutia), which was vetoed. The governor argued that SB 1563
was redundant with CSU's early assessment efforts and that the
state has aligned K-12 curriculum frameworks with academic
content standards.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081