BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 512
Author: Price (D)
Amended: 6/30/11
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 10-0, 4/6/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Runner, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock,
Huff, Liu, Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 40-0, 5/9/11 (Consent)
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters,
Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 8/18/11(Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Academic Performance Index: pupil subgroups:
performance data
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires that current reporting
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practices, relative to the Academic Performance Index,
include performance data for pupil subgroups consisting of
10 or more pupils with valid test score, requires that
reporting be conducted in accordance with specified federal
privacy laws, and states the Legislature's intent that this
data not be used for federal or state accountability
purposes.
Assembly Amendments revise and recast the contents of the
bill.
ANALYSIS : Current law establishes the Public School
Performance Accountability Program under which the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), with approval
of the State Board of Education (SBE), is required to
develop an Academic Performance Index (API) to measure the
performance of schools. The API was proposed as a means of
combining multiple indicators of school performance into
one easy-to-compare index. The API is required to consist
of a variety of indicators including, but not limited to,
the results of the achievement test, attendance rates for
pupils in elementary schools, middle schools, and secondary
schools, and the graduation rates for pupils in secondary
schools.
Current law also requires that a school demonstrate
comparable improvement in academic achievement as measured
by the API by all "numerically significant subgroups" at
the school, including ethnic subgroups, socioeconomically
disadvantaged pupils, English language learners, and pupils
with disabilities.
Current law, for purposes of the API, defines a
"numerically significant subgroup" as one that consists of
at least 50 pupils with valid test scores if these students
constitute at least 15 percent of the total pupil
population at a school or, a subgroup of at least 100
pupils with valid test scores.
This bill:
1.Requires that current reporting practices, relative to
the API, include performance data for pupil subgroups
consisting of 10 or more pupils with valid test scores.
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2.Requires that reporting be conducted in accordance for
any pupil subgroup that is not numerically significant,
as defined, be marked with an asterisk that indicates
less statistical certainty that data based on a
numerically significant subgroup.
3.Requires that reporting be conducted in accordance with
specified federal privacy laws.
3.States the Legislature's intent that this data not be
used for federal or state accountability purposes.
Comments
Intent of the Bill . According to a January 2011 report by
the African American Advisory Committee (AAAC) of the SBE,
there were roughly 14,500 African American students in
California public schools whose academic performance was
apparently not considered or monitored as a subgroup under
the current accountability and reporting system because
they were enrolled in schools where they constituted less
than 50 in number or less than 15 percent of the school
population. African American student performance and that
of other student subgroups are included in school wide API
reports, but their specific performance is a non-factor for
purposes of accountability and improvement goals. Among
its recommendations, the AAAC requested that the SBE
consider inclusion of the California Standards Tests and
the California High School Exit Examination subgroup
proficiency and accountability data for all subgroups with
more than 10 students on all assessment and accountability
reports.
What is a subgroup ? This bill is intended to address
issues raised by an advisory committee established to
facilitate the work needed to improve academic achievement
of African American students. However, this bill affects
all subgroups, which currently include the following
categories:
1.Black or African American
2.American Indian or Alaska Native
3.Asian
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4.Filipino
5.Hispanic or Latino
6.Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
7.White
8.Two or more Races
9.Socioeconmically Disadvantaged
10.English Learners
11 Students with Disabilities
Consistent with Current Practice . In the 2010 Adequate
Yearly Progress Report Information Guide, the California
Department of Education notes that California defines 11 as
the minimum number of students required to report subgroup
results. However, schools and local educational agencies
are held accountable only for "numerically significant
subgroups." Regulations prohibit the reporting of
aggregate or group scores to anyone other than the school
or school district where the pupils were tested, if the
subgroup is composed of ten or fewer individual pupil
scores. This bill essentially codifies the current
practice of reporting subgroup results for smaller groups
of students than that authorized for accountability
purposes.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/11)
Association of California School Administrators
Public Advocates
Californians Together
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill is intended to change the definition of subgroup
for purposes of calculating the API for reporting purposes
only. It is not intended to change the definition of
subgroup for purposes of federal or state accountability.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 08/18/11 (Consent)
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
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Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Cedillo, Gorell, Hill, Torres,
Valadao
CPM:cm 8/19/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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