BILL NUMBER: AB 2001 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonilla
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to add Section 60604.6 to the Education Code, relating to
pupil assessment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2001, as amended, Bonilla. Pupil assessment.
The Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act
states the intent of the Legislature to provide a system of
individual assessment of pupils that has the primary purpose of
assisting teachers, administrators, and pupils and their parents to
improve teaching and learning. Existing law establishes the
Standardized Testing and Reporting Program pursuant to which each
school district, charter school, and county office of education is
required to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11,
inclusive, the standards-based achievement tests. These provisions
are inoperative on July 1, 2014, and as of January 1, 2015, are
repealed.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the
reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment program include
specified plans to reform that program as it relates to grades 7 to
12, inclusive. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, in consultation with various groups of individuals and
entities, to develop and present to the State Board of Education, by
May 30, 2013, recommendations to effectuate those reforms. The bill
would require the state board to adopt, or modify and adopt, the
recommendations by September 30, 2013. The bill would require the
Superintendent and the state board to present to the Governor and the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a
schedule and implementation plan. The bill would authorize the State
Department of Education to use specified federal carryover funds and
any other available state and federal funds to implement these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment program pursuant to
Section 60604.5 of the Education Code include all
both of the following:
(a) A plan to streamline and reduce state-mandated middle and high
school testing, including, but not limited to, eliminating redundant
assessments, reducing or minimizing testing time for pupils,
teachers, and administrators in order to restore instructional time,
and minimizing assessments that are not directly connected to
teaching and learning in the classroom.
(b)
(a) A plan to bring together elementary and secondary
school policy leaders, the community colleges, the California State
University, the University of California, private colleges and
universities, and postsecondary career technical and vocational
programs to develop criteria and create pathways in which assessments
taken by middle and high school pupils are aligned with college and
career readiness and are recognized as one of a number of multiple
measures for entry into college and career training.
(c)
(b) A plan for transitioning to a system of
high-quality high-quality assessments that has
tangible meaning to individual middle and high school pupils,
including, but not limited to, recognition and rewards for
demonstrating mastery of subject matter and progress toward mastery
of subject matter.
SEC. 2. Section 60604.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:
60604.6. (a) For purposes of developing a plan to streamline and
reduce pupil time devoted to pupil testing and to restore
instructional time to pupils, the Superintendent, in consultation
with the state board, school administrators, teachers, members of the
governing board of school districts, pupil representatives, and
parents, shall develop and recommend a plan to the state board that
accomplishes all of the following:
(1) Reduces the number of minutes annually devoted to the
administration of state assessments in schools serving pupils in
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and greater balances the time spent on
assessment across grade levels.
(2) Eliminates redundant or overlapping assessments.
(3) Eliminates assessments used solely for the purpose of federal
or state accountability that do not assess the content learned in
that school year by the pupil.
(4) Eliminates the current state practice of assigning a failing
score to pupils who do not take particular courses and, therefore, do
not take the end-of-course assessment.
(5) Eliminates statewide end-of-course assessments that are
unnecessary for the purposes of state and federal accountability
requirements.
(6) More quickly turns around assessment results so that pupils,
parents, teachers, and schools receive them within the same school
year in which the assessments are administered.
(b)
60604.6. (a) For purposes of developing a
plan to strengthen the pupil relevance of assessments and to
strengthen the alignment between state-mandated middle and high
school assessments and the entry requirements of public and private
colleges and universities and postsecondary career and technical
training institutions, the Superintendent, in consultation with the
state board, the segments of public and private higher education,
career technical and training institutions, administrators of
elementary and secondary schools, teachers, members of the governing
board of school districts, pupil representatives, and parents, shall
develop and recommend to the state board all of the following:
(1) Principles among elementary and secondary schools, public and
private colleges and universities, and postsecondary career and
technical training institutions that would strengthen the alignment
of assessments of pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to the
requirements for entry into college or career opportunities.
(2) Options for equating, if practicable, statewide assessments in
grade 11 English language arts, including a strengthened writing
component, algebra I, algebra II, and summative mathematics to
college admission tests.
(3)
(2) Options for using the grade 11 assessments in core
subjects, including, but not limited to, the Early
Assessment Program future early assessment programs
, to provide diagnostic information to teachers,
administrators, parents, and pupils that ensures appropriate
placement in courses in grade 12 that lead to stronger college and
career ready career-ready preparedness.
(4)
(3) Options for using the grade 11 assessment results
in English language arts as one tool to ensure effective placement
for grade 12 English learners so they may strive for full English
proficiency by the time they graduate from high school.
(5)
(4) A plan and timeline to expand and strengthen
the Early Assessment Program future early
assessment programs to provide information to postsecondary
institutions, secondary schools, and pupils about pupil preparedness
for all California public institutions of postsecondary education,
including the community colleges, the California State University,
the University of California, private colleges and universities, and
postsecondary career training institutions.
(c)
(b) For purposes of developing a plan to make statewide
assessments more meaningful to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive,
the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board,
administrators, teachers, members of the governing board of school
districts, pupil representatives, and parents, shall develop multiple
methods to provide for pupil recognition, reward, and incentives
that a local educational agency may adopt. These options may include,
but shall not be limited to, the following:
(1) Assessment performance as one component of a pupil's academic
transcript.
(2) Assessment performance as one component of a final course
grade or course passage as determined by the teacher if the
course substantially aligns with the grade level content standards
assessed .
(3) Assessment performance as one criterion for eligibility for
merit-based scholarships , recognition programs, and internship
opportunities .
(4) The right of a pupil to be exempted from the requirement to
take and pass the California high school exit examination if he or
she can demonstrate proficiency on other assessments that are found
to be substantially equivalent in terms of rigor and
content assessed.
(5) The right of a pupil to be exempted from other required
statewide assessments if equivalent or more rigorous exams are taken
and equivalent or sufficiently comparable subject matter proficiency
is shown.
(6) Making the Early Assessment Program
future early assessment programs available to all pupils at all
schools.
(d)
(c) The Superintendent shall present recommendations to
the state board on or before May 30, 2013. After the Superintendent
presents the recommendations, two public hearings shall be held
during regularly scheduled state board meetings to ensure public
input and participation.
(e)
(d) On or before September 30, 2013, the state board
shall adopt, or modify and adopt, the recommendations.
(f)
(e) The Superintendent and the state board shall
present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan that
meets the intent of this section.
(g)
(f) The department may use federal carryover funds
received pursuant to Title I of the federal No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), available funds received
pursuant to Title VI of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), and any other available state and
federal funds to implement this act section
.