BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2682
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 2682 (Block) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUBJECT : Community colleges: student assessments: pilot
project.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Community College (CCC) Board
of Governors (BOG) to establish a pilot project to create a
centrally delivered system of student assessment. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires BOG to establish a pilot project to create a
centrally delivered system of student assessment used for CCC
placement and advisement of students and requires the pilot
project to include the following objectives:
a) Creation of a centrally delivered system of student
assessment that provides a single assessment instrument for
use by CCC in English, mathematics, and English as a second
language.
b) Creation of a secure centrally housed assessment test
data warehouse that collects all assessment scores
generated by assessed students at all participating CCCs
and all available K-12 assessment data and transcript
information generated by assessed pupils in the state's
K-12 school system who are seeking enrollment at a CCC.
c) Creation of an Internet Web portal that can be accessed
by CCC personnel and students that provides:
i) An assessment profile that can be accessible for
counseling, matriculation, and course placement purposes;
ii) A pretest application that emulates the structure of
the pilot project assessment that students can practice
and familiarize themselves with before taking
assessments; and,
iii) An advisement tool that provides students with
information on historical success rates of remedial
courses for students at various levels of academic
AB 2682
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remediation.
2)Requires BOG to convene an advisory committee for the pilot
project that includes representatives from the CCC
Chancellor's Office (CCCCO), the Legislative Analyst's Office
(LAO), the Department of Finance, the State Department of
Education, the CCC Academic Senate, the CCC Research and
Planning Group, and the CCC Matriculation Professionals
Association.
3)Requires BOG to report on progress made on the pilot project
by February 28, 2011, and requires the report to include the
estimated cost for full implementation of the pilot project,
the technical feasibility of expanding the pilot project,
feedback on any potential legislative changes needed to
deliver test scores to and from the data warehouse, and the
best model for providing ongoing funding for the pilot
project.
EXISTING LAW establishes matriculation services required to be
made available by CCCs, including, among other services, the
administration of assessment instruments to determine competency
in math and language skills and student study and learning
skills. Requires BOG approval of assessment instruments.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. CCCCO reports that it has received
foundation funding to cover the costs of implementing the pilot
program outlined in this bill. Additionally, CCCCO's
preliminary estimates indicate that it would cost approximately
$5 million annually to assess 2.5 million students through a
project similar to the one outlined in this bill. The current
assessment model allows for the annual assessment of 1.6 million
students at a cost of $10 million.
COMMENTS : Most incoming CCC students are under-prepared for
college-level work. According to CCCCO, about 85% of incoming
CCC students are not proficient in college-level math, and about
70% arrive unprepared for college-level English. Basic skills
education is designed to help under-prepared CCC students
succeed in college-level work. A core CCC responsibility is to
provide basic skills instruction to students who lack
college-level proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics.
These skills are fundamental to student success. In 2008-09,
about 10% of CCC classroom instruction was at a basic skills
level.
AB 2682
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Purpose of this bill : The author argues that the implementation
of a centralized assessment program will increase the number of
students assessed and decrease assessment costs, save students'
time and CCC funds by allowing students to take their test
scores with them to different CCCs, ensure students understand
expectations before taking the tests through online pre-testing,
allow more accurate placement of students through combining data
with K-12 test data, and save millions of dollars by ensuring
CCCs can leverage purchasing power by purchasing testing
instruments centrally rather than at the CCC district level.
Studies show that assessment improves outcomes. According to
the LAO, most studies recommend that incoming CCC students be
assessed prior to enrolling in classes. The most commonly used
assessment tools are standardized tests. The purpose of these
tests is to determine the proficiency level of students in math
and English. Based on assessment results, CCC campuses can then
direct students to take coursework that is appropriate for their
skill level. A number of recent studies have linked mandatory
assessment with improved student outcomes such as course
completion and graduation rates.
Not all incoming CCC students are assessed. Existing law allows
CCCs to assess students, and CCC districts are permitted to use
any assessment tool they desire, so long as the assessment is
approved by BOG. BOG regulations require CCC districts to
provide assessment but allow CCC districts to establish criteria
for exempting certain students from assessment. While BOG
regulations do not permit nonexempt students from opting out of
assessment, many students do; in the fall of 2006, 97,000
nonexempt students failed to participate in assessment.
Varying assessment tools and procedures send a confusing message
to students. Currently, dozens of different standardized tests
are used throughout the CCC system. Additionally, many CCCs
recognize only their own tests and require students who were
previously tested at other CCCs to be reassessed. There can be
significant variation among these tests both in terms of the
test content and how much students are expected to know. In
effect, CCCs can have multiple definitions of college readiness.
This sends a confusing message to current and prospective
students and results in costly duplicative testing by CCCs.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 2682
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Support
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
California Postsecondary Education Commission
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960