BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2682
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2682 (Block)
As Amended May 28, 2010
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Block, Norby, Adams, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano, |
| |Chesbro, Fong, Fuller, | |Bradford, |
| |Galgiani, Portantino, | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| |Ruskin | |Davis, |
| | | |Monning, Ruskin, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
| | | | |
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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 as
well as all available K-12 assessment data and transcript
information; and; and,
c) Creation of an Internet Web portal that can be accessed
by CCC personnel and students that provides:
AB 2682
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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
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 : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)CCCCO reports that it has received grants totaling $500,000 to
cover the costs of determining the single assessment
instrument, developing the data warehouse and access portal,
and completing the progress report.
AB 2682
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2)Costs for the CCCCO to fully implement and operate a statewide
assessment system will be estimated in the progress report,
but will likely be several million dollars annually. To the
extent most or all districts eventually participate and
exclusively use the statewide assessment system, these costs
would likely be more than offset by General Fund Proposition
98 savings at the district level.
COMMENTS : 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. Student assessment
tests are often used to assist CCC campuses in directing
students to take coursework that is appropriate for their skill
level. Most studies recommend that incoming CCC students be
assessed prior to enrolling in classes, yet in the fall of 2006,
97,000 CCC students failed to participate in assessment.
Additionally, there are dozens of different standardized tests
are used throughout the CCC system and many CCCs recognize only
their own tests and require students who were previously tested
at other CCCs to be reassessed. This sends a confusing message
to current and prospective students and results in costly
duplicative testing by CCCs.
According to the author, implementation of a centralized
assessment program will increase the number of students assessed
and decrease assessment costs. This bill will result in saving
students' time and CCC funds by allowing students to take their
test scores with them to different CCCs. This bill will help
ensure students understand expectations before taking the tests
through online pre-testing, allow more accurate placement of
students, and save millions of dollars by ensuring CCCs can
leverage purchasing power by purchasing testing instruments
centrally rather than at the CCC district level.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0004683