BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2682|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2682
Author: Block (D)
Amended: 7/15/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/30/10
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Emmerson, Hancock, Liu,
Price, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Ashburn, Alquist, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno,
Price, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 67-2, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Community colleges: student assessments:
pilot project
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges to establish a pilot program
to develop a centrally delivered student assessment system
for purposes of community college placement and advisement,
specifies its objectives, establishes an advisory committee
for the pilot, as specified, and requires a report on the
progress of the pilot by February 28, 2011.
ANALYSIS : Current law requires that colleges make
CONTINUED
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available a variety of "matriculation services" to
students. Among other things, these services are required
to include assessment and counseling upon enrollment which
includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
1.Administration of assessment instruments to determine
student competency in computational and language skills.
2.Assistance to students in the identification of
aptitudes, interests and educational objectives,
including, but not limited to, associate of arts degrees,
transfer for baccalaureate degrees, and vocational
certificates and licenses.
3.Evaluation of student study and learning skills.
Current law also requires that assessments be used as an
advisory tool to assist students in the selection of
educational programs and prohibits their use to exclude
students from admission.
This bill requires the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges (CCC) to establish a pilot program to
create a centrally delivered system of student assessment
to be used as one of multiple measures, consistent with
existing regulations, for purposes of community college
placement and advisement. More specifically, this bill:
1.Requires the pilot program established by the bill to
include the following objectives:
A. Creation of a centrally delivered system of
student assessment instrument for use by the CCC in
the areas of English, mathematics, and English as a
second language.
B. Creation of a secure, centrally housed assessment
test data ware house that collects all available
assessment scores generated by assessed students at
participating community colleges and all available
K-12 assessment data and transcript information for
these students, and limits the use of this data to
its use for the placement and advising of these
students to enhance their success with and completion
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of their postsecondary education objectives.
C. Creation of an Internet Web portal, accessible by
college personnel and students, that provides all of
the following:
(1) An individual student assessment profile for
purposes of counseling, matriculation, and course
placement.
(2) A pretest application for students to
practice on and familiarize themselves with prior
to taking any assessments.
(3) An advisement tool that provides students
with information on historical success rates of
remedial courses for students at various levels of
remediation.
2.Requires the Board of Governors to:
A. Convene an advisory committee for the pilot that
includes but is not limited to the Office of the
Chancellor, Academic Senate and the Research and
Planning Group of the CCC, the Legislative Analyst,
the Department of Finance, the California Department
of Education, and the California Community Colleges
Matriculation Professionals Association.
B. Report on the progress of the pilot by February
28, 2011, and specifies that the report include
information on:
(1) Estimated costs for full implementation of
the centralized delivery and warehousing of
assessment instruments.
(2) The technical feasibility of expanding the
pilot.
(3) Identification of legislative changes needed
to deliver test scores to and from the data
warehouse.
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(4) The best model for providing ongoing funding
for the pilot project.
Comments
Under current regulations, community college districts are
prohibited from using any single assessment, instrument,
method, or procedure to exclude any person from admission,
placement, or for mandatory placement or exclusion from any
particular course or education program. Essentially, these
regulations ensure that multiple measures are used for
determining student access to community college coursework
and programs.
Consistent with LAO Report/Recommendations . In the June
2008 report, Back to Basics: Improving College Readiness
of Community College Students, the LAO finds that a number
of systemwide policies and practices are at odds with
generally accepted strategies for improving basic skills
education. Among its findings, the LAO noted that
individual colleges often use different assessment tests
and employ different definitions of college readiness,
which sends a confusing message to current and prospective
students. The LAO recommended, among other things, that a
statewide CCC placement test derived from K-12's math and
English standards tests be made available. The LAO also
notes that most studies agree that incoming community
college students should be assessed prior to enrolling its
class.
The "Other" Assessment Program . Current law provides for
the community colleges' participation in the Early
Assessment Program (EAP). Originally implemented by the
California State University (CSU) in 2004, the EAP is a
collaborative effort between the CSU, the California
Department of Education (CDE), and the State Board of
Education to determine a high school student's readiness to
do college-level work in English language arts and math and
to provide students opportunities to improve skills during
their senior year. Under the EAP, 11th graders taking the
California Standards Test are encouraged to take an
"augmented version" of the test that includes additional
English and math questions and a written essay. The
results of the augmented version, once scored, indicate a
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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. The goal of the EAP
is to have high school graduates enter the CSU and the CCCs
fully prepared to do college-level work. Inclusion of the
CCCs in the EAP enabled community colleges to work with
their local high schools and CSU, to address the high
number of students who are unprepared for college-level
course work.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/10)
Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges
(source)
Antelope Valley Community College District
California Postsecondary Education Commission
Cerritos Community College District
Citrus College
College of Marin
College of the Sequoias
Community College League of California
Desert Community College District
Feather River College
Glendale Community College
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Kern Community College District
Long Beach City College
Los Angeles Community College District
Los Rios Community College District
MiraCosta Community College District
Mt. San Antonio College
Pasadena City College
Peralta Community College District
Rio Hondo College
San Bernardino Community College District
San Diego Community College District
West Kern Community College District
Yosemite Community College District
Yuba Community College District
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OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/16/10)
California Teachers Association
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the sponsor, the BOG
of the CCC, taking an assessment prior to placement in a
course is an essential step in increasing student academic
success. Because of fiscal constraints, colleges recently
have h ad to reduce the number of assessments available for
students, falling far short of the actual need. In
addition, because colleges use a variety of test
instruments, students who take courses in multiple colleges
within a region are compelled to take a new assessment test
at each college attended. This is a time consuming
requirement for students and an inefficient use of funds by
the colleges, as each college currently develops and
purchases its own testing program.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : According to the Department of
Finance (DOF), "While DOF supports a common centralized
assessment system utilized by all colleges because it would
result in efficiencies at the local level, we oppose this
bill for the following reasons:
"1.Chapter 473, Statutes of 2008, (SB 946, Scott), expanded
the Early Assessment Program operated by the California
State University in conjunction with the California
Department of Education to include community colleges
for the same purposes as this bill. Therefore, it is
unclear why an additional advisory committee and
assessment system is needed if the EAP can be adapted to
address the CCC needs. Moreover, the CCCs could achieve
significant Proposition 98 General Fund savings if they
utilized the EAP instead of creating a new assessment.
"2.The bill unnecessarily requires the data warehouse to
house K-12 assessment data and transcript information
for students enrolled at CCCs. Assessment data for K-12
students will be made available through the California
Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System.
Furthermore, the CCCCO indicates that K-12 transcript
data would not be stored in the data warehouse since it
is retrieved directly from local educational agencies."
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The California Teachers Association (CTA), in opposition,
states "CTA objects to the creation of new programs that
operate with one-time federal funds rather than maximizing
opportunities for students to complete their academic
goals. We believe that this effort is short-sighted and
fraught with unforeseen costly expenditures."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
Emmerson, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,
Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Torlakson, Torres, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Anderson, DeVore
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Eng, Evans, Harkey, Lieu,
Miller, Norby, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torrico,
Vacancy
CPM:cm 8/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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