BILL ANALYSIS
AB 476
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 476 (Torlakson)
As Amended June 1, 2009
Majority vote
EDUCATION 8-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Arambula, Buchanan, | |Calderon, Davis, Fuentes, |
| |Carter, Eng, Solorio, | |Hall, John A. Perez, |
| |Torlakson | |Price, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Krekorian |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
|Nays:|Nestande, Garrick, |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| |Miller, | |Miller, |
| | | |Audra Strickland |
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SUMMARY : Requires a one-time independent evaluation of the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), on or
before April 1, 2010, to contract for an independent
evaluation of the STAR Program that:
a) Includes, but is not limited to, the STAR Program's
alignment to statewide content standards and the tests'
content validity, pupil performance, compliance with
testing standards, usefulness as diagnostic or evaluative
tools, and the feasibility of testing in new grade levels
or content areas.
b) Separately considers pupil subgroups and any
differential impacts STAR tests may have on those
subgroups.
c) Makes recommendations for improvements and revisions in
the program, and is provided by the SPI to the Legislature,
Governor and State Board of Education (SBE) on or before
November 1, 2010.
AB 476
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2)Requires the advisory committee advising the SPI on matters
involving the Academic Performance Index to advise the SPI, as
specified, on the evaluation of the STAR Program, and requires
the SPI to appoint four additional members, educators or
large-scale assessment experts, to the advisory committee for
the purposes advising the SPI on the evaluation.
3)Specifies that federal Flexibility and Accountability funds
pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), not
to exceed $150,000, be used for this evaluation.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each charter school, school district, and county
office of education to administer designated achievement tests
to each pupil in grades 2 through 11, inclusive, as part of
the STAR Program until July 1, 2011.
2)Requires the SPI and the SBE to undertake activities in
support of STAR testing in grades 2 through 11, inclusive, as
part of the STAR Program until July 1, 2011.
3)Repeals statute authorizing the STAR Program, the state's
content and performance standards, and other related elements
as of January 1, 2012.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time federal Title VI: Flexibility and
Accountability funds under the No Child Left Behind Act, cost
pressure of $150,000, to contract with an independent evaluator,
as required in this measure. The 2009 Budget Act allocated $24
million in federal Title VI funds; of this amount, approximately
$5.43 million is for the STAR Program.
COMMENTS : California's state assessment program is comprised of
three major testing components, the STAR Program, the English
language development test (the California English Language
Development Test, CELDT, is the adopted test), and a high school
exit examination (the California High School Exit Examination,
CAHSEE, is currently the designated test). The program also
includes a number of smaller, more specialized assessments.
The STAR Program, initially authorized in 1997, requires testing
of students in English language arts, mathematics, science and
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history/social science at specified grade levels. In 2003, the
California Standards Tests (CST) replaced a nationally published
"off the shelf" test as the primary battery of STAR tests; the
CST include only questions written specifically for California's
content standards. Today, the STAR Program includes the CSTs,
the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)
administered to students with significant cognitive
disabilities, the California Modified Assessment (CMA)
administered to students whose disabilities preclude them from
achieving grade-level proficiency on an assessment of the
California content standards with or without testing
accommodations, and a national norm-referenced test in Spanish
that is administered to Spanish speaking English learners who
have been in school in the U.S. less than 12 months or who are
receiving instruction in Spanish. Neither the high school exit
exam nor the English language development test are components of
the STAR Program; each is separately authorized in statute.
Results for STAR tests are reported for the individual pupil,
but no accountability attaches to these individual results; the
state and federal accountability systems are primarily based on
the aggregated STAR test scores from all pupils in a school or
school district. The following table summarizes testing
requirements under California's STAR Program.
---------------------------------------------------------------
| | Assessment | Grade Level Tested |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
|STAR |English Language Arts | 2-11 |
|Program |(Reading) | |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |English Language Arts | 2-11 |
| |(Reading) CAPA | |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |English Language Arts | 3-11 |
| |(Reading) CMA | |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |Mathematics |2-8 and EOC in grades |
| | | 9-11 |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |Mathematics CAPA | 2-11 |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |Mathematics CMA | 3-11 |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |Science | 5, 8, and EOC in |
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| | | grades 9-11 |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |History-Social Science | 8-11 |
|-----------+----------------------------+----------------------|
| |Primary Language Assessment |2 -11 |
| |(Spanish) | |
| | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------
EOC = End-of-course exam
Many elements of the STAR Program are used by California to meet
the assessment and accountability requirements of NCLB. NCLB
requires each state to administer a standards-aligned
achievement test in reading and mathematics to all students in
grades 3-8 and grade 10; it also requires science testing in
grades 5, 8, and 10.
This bill requires an independent evaluation of the STAR
Program. According to the author, this bill "would authorize an
independent evaluation of the current STAR program's
effectiveness in measuring student progress on California
academic standards and meeting the requirements of NCLB. This
evaluation would also examine the feasibility and cost of a
state-wide diagnostic testing model, to achieve both a
classroom-focused diagnostic tool and a state-wide data tracking
function. This independent evaluation would inform the STAR
reauthorization discussion."
Given the sunset and potential reauthorization of the STAR
Program in 2011, the Legislature's need for an evaluation of the
program is clear. The STAR Program has tested millions of
students in multiple content areas annually for twelve years,
however, no independent evaluation has been required or
completed. A technical report on the test is completed annually
by the testing contractor responsible for administration,
scoring, and reporting the test and results, but the
independence of contractors has been called into question by the
California Department of Education and the SBE over the lifetime
of the program. A report by the SPI and SBE regarding the
status of implementation of the STAR Program was required and
provided in 2001; an annual report of test scores from the SPI
to the Legislature and SBE is also required. Neither the annual
technical reports nor any of the SPI/SBE reports were completed
by an independent entity, and none of those reports examine all
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of the issues that the Legislature should examine prior to the
reauthorization of the STAR Program.
By contrast California's high school exit examination,
authorized in 1999 and first administered in 2001, has had an
ongoing independent evaluator that has issued both annual and
biennial evaluative reports since 2001. These evaluations are
contracted for separately from the contract issued to the vendor
or vendors responsible for the administration, development or
any other facet of the test, and have been conducted by a firm
and staff with backgrounds in measurement, and specializing in
research and program evaluation.
During this period of economic and budgetary crisis, imposing
the requirement of a new one-time evaluation and the cost that
it creates will be difficult for the Legislature to consider.
However, since the cost of implementing a one-time evaluation of
the STAR Program is minimal and constrained to be not more than
$150,000, this cost will likely be offset by future savings
generated by the evaluation's findings, that may allow the
Legislature to more efficiently use the state's resources to
support the reauthorized testing program.
Related and previous legislation: SB 800 (Hancock), pending in
the Senate Education Committee, eliminates grade 2 STAR testing
and makes conforming changes to dates by which related sections
of law become inoperative and are repealed. SB 1448 (Alpert),
Chapter 233, Statutes of 2004, reauthorizes the STAR Program.
SB 376 (Alpert), Chapter 828, Statutes of 1997, establishes the
STAR Program and authorizes testing in grades 2 through 11.
Analysis Prepared by : Gerald Shelton / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001235