BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2116
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Date of Hearing: May 16, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2116 (Lara) - As Amended: April 26, 2012
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Department of Education (SDE), with
approval from the State Board of Education (SBE), to contract
for a multi-year independent study of the implementation of the
Common Core (CC) academic content standards in English language
arts (ELA) and mathematics adopted by the SBE and any subsequent
CC standards adopted by SBE (including English language
development standards aligned to the CC standards in ELA).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the study to examine and publically report on the
progress of implementation of the CC Standards with respect to
actions taken by state-level entities and by a representative
sample of schools and districts across the state. Further
specifies the focus of the report to be whether implementation
is proceeding in a manner that promotes equal opportunities
for all pupils to learn the academic content pursuant to the
standards and to succeed related to the state assessments.
2)Requires the study to include specified information related to
instructional materials, professional development for teachers
and administrators, teacher preparation programs,
instructional strategies with specific emphasis on English
learners, pupils with disabilities, and underperforming
pupils.
3)Requires the independent evaluator who conducts the study to
report his or her findings to the governor and the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before
February 1, 2014 and then on a biennial basis on or before
February 1 of each even-numbered year.
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4)Requires SDE to use available federal Title I No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) funds and authorizes SDE to use
Title VI NCLB funds, to the extent additional funds are
needed, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)GF/98 costs, likely between $500,000 and $1 million, to
contract with an independent evaluator to study the
implementation of CC Standards, as specified. At least
$200,000 of these costs will be on-going GF/98 to complete
biennial reports pursuant to this measure.
2)In 2001, the Legislature passed and Governor Davis signed AB
1609 (Calderon), Chapter 716, Statutes of 2001. Chapter 716
required SDE to contract with an independent entity to
evaluate the implementation of the California High School Exit
Exam (CAHSEE) graduation requirement, including whether the
implementation of the standards-based instruction enabled
pupils to take a test of this nature. The 2001 Budget Act
allocated $500,000 for this study. Subsequent budgets
including additional funding to ensure biennial reports were
completed.
3)This bill requires SDE to use available state and federal NCLB
funds to fund this study. It is unclear, however, whether
these funds are available for this purpose.
COMMENTS
1)Background . As a condition of applying for the federal Race
to the Top (RTT) grant program, states were required to adopt
the CC Standards in ELA and mathematics by the fall of 2010.
As part of California's RTT application, SB 1 X5 (Steinberg),
Chapter 2, Fifth Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2010, was
enacted to establish the Academic Content Standards Commission
(ACSC), consisting of 21 members appointed by the governor
(11), the Senate Committee on Rules (5), and the Speaker of
the Assembly (5), to develop academic content standards in
language arts and mathematics.
In July and August 2010, the ACSC held several meetings to
analyze the state's current ELA and mathematics content
standards in comparison to the CC ELA and mathematics. In
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August 2010, the ACSC completed its work and submitted its
recommendations to the SBE for their approval. The SBE
approved the revised standards submitted by the ACSC.
AB 250 (Brownley), Chapter 608, Statutes of 2011, established
the Curriculum and Reform Act to begin the implementation of
the CC Standards in ELA and mathematics. Specifically,
Chapter 608 requires SDE to develop and adopt new curriculum
frameworks, develop professional development practices, and
begin a transition plan to implement high-quality assessments
aligned to these standards.
According to SDE, the CC mathematics curriculum framework is
expected to be finished by the end of 2013 and the CC ELA
curriculum framework is expected to be completed in the winter
2013.
2)Purpose . The author connects the state's undertaking of the
implementation of the CC Standards to another instructional
shift that occurred in the early 2000s - implementation of the
CAHSEE graduation requirement. As part of planning for the
implementation of the CAHSEE requirement, the state contracted
with the Human Resources Research Organization to conduct an
independent evaluation to determine if pupils were being
adequately prepared to take the exam. According to the
author, "California now faces a similar large-scale roll-out
and implementation of new academic content standards. This
requires modifying teacher education programs so that all new
teachers are prepared to teach the revised standards; adopting
and disseminating curriculum materials integrating the new
standards; ensuring teachers receive appropriate professional
development in how to adapt their current curriculum to the
new standards; and building new assessments to measure student
progress in learning the new standards."
The author further states: "California's current fiscal
condition is much worse than when the current academic
standards were rolled out and implemented in 1998-2008, and it
undermines the capacity of schools and districts to deliver
the new CC Standards. Unless we proactively monitor the CC
Standards as they are being rolled-out, California's students
- particularly students of color, English Learners, students
in disadvantaged neighborhoods and students with disabilities
- are at risk, once again, of facing widespread inequalities
and significant gaps in learning."
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3)New K-12 assessment system aligned to the CC Standards . As
part of the RTT grant program, two assessment consortia were
funded: the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment
Consortium. Each consortium was awarded grant funding to
develop an assessment system aligned to the CC Standards in
ELA and mathematics and to help participating states
transition implementing the standards and the common
assessments. Both consortia are scheduled to operationalize
assessments 2014-15 and include use computer administered
assessments.
In June 2010, California joined the SMARTER Balanced
Consortium. Participation in this consortium requires
California to administer and use the assessments developed by
the consortium to meet the federal Elementary and Secondary
Education Act's Title I requirements in the 2014-15 school
year.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081