BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 740
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 17, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 740 (Hancock) - As Amended: August 15, 2011
Policy Committee: Education Vote:7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill, effective July 1, 2012, repeals the requirement for
the state to assess second graders in English language arts
(ELA) and mathematics as part of the Standardized Testing and
Reporting (STAR) Program.
Requires the State Department of Education (SDE), by November 1,
2012, to identify and make available to school districts
information regarding existing assessments in ELA and
mathematics that are appropriate for pupils in second grade for
diagnostic use by classroom teachers. Further requires SDE to
utilize the savings from repealing second grade testing to
conduct this work.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)GF/98 savings of approximately $2 million by eliminating
second grade testing in the STAR program. Of this cost,
approximately $800,000 GF/98 is annual apportionment savings.
Currently, the state provides $2.52 per pupil for the
administration of each STAR assessment.
2)Minor, absorbable GF administrative costs to identify and make
available information to school districts regarding existing
second grade assessments, as specified.
3)Potential, annual GF/98 cost pressure, likely in excess of
$920,000, to school districts to purchase and administer
second grade assessments in ELA and mathematics. As of the
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2009-10 school year, there were 880 school elementary and
unified school districts. To the extent that school districts
are currently administering these assessments in addition to
the STAR program, this cost may be reduced.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the Center for Assessment and
Evaluation of Student Learning's Assessment Brief (2004), "In
1998, the Goal 1 Early Childhood Assessments Resource Group
recommended to the National Education Goals Panel that before
age eight, standardized achievement measures are not
sufficiently accurate to be used for high stakes
decision-making about individual children and schools.
Therefore, high-stakes assessments intended for accountability
purposes should be delayed until the end of third grade (or
preferably fourth grade)."
According to Tom Torlakson, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, "Numerous childhood organizations have expressed
concern about the administration of standardized tests to
students under the age of eight. Testing in second grade is
beyond what is required by the federal Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and will not be a part of the
new assessment aligned to the Common Core State Standards
being developed by the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium.
I believe it is the right time to begin aligning California's
assessment system with the federal requirements."
This bill, sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers,
eliminates second grade testing from the STAR program
beginning in July 2012.
2)Existing law establishes the STAR program as the primary
component of the state's assessment system. This program
consists of three elements: (a) California Standards Tests,
including tests in Spanish for specified grades; (c) the
Spanish Assessment of Basic Education primary language test,
and (d) the California Alternative Performance Assessment for
special education pupils. Under the STAR program, the state
requires schools to test all students in grades 2 to 11 in ELA
and mathematics using a CST, regardless of their language
status.
As referenced above, the federal ESEA does not require states
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to assess pupils on their content standard knowledge in second
grade in ELA and mathematics; instead, it requires pupils to
be assessed in grades three through eleven. Nothing in
federal law, however, precludes states from requiring
additional grade levels to be assessed or additional subject
matters.
3)Opposition . Opponents of this measure (the Association of
California School Administrators (ACSA) and EdVoice), argue
eliminating second grade testing will leave a void of valuable
data, which will make it difficult for school districts to
measure how well students are progressing in ELA and
mathematics. Specifically, ACSA states: "There will be no
required assessment of what students know and are able to do
until the end of third grade. Waiting until fourth grade to
learn a student cannot read, a gateway skill for higher
learning, is far too late. Whether second grade testing
scores are in the Academic Performance Index or whether the
federal government requires second grade testing are not
compelling reasons in our view to eliminate �this
assessment]."
4)California becomes a governing state in national assessment
consortium . In June 2011, California joined the SMARTER
Balanced Assessment Consortium as a governing state. A total
of 30 states have signed up to become members of this
consortium. Of those, California is one of 18 governing
states, which allows decision-making participation. The
remaining 12 are advisory states.
As part of the federal Race to the Top grant program, the
federal government set-aside funding to establish assessment
consortiums to design national assessments aligned to the
Common Core ELA and mathematic standards. The SMARTER
Balanced Consortium received $176 million in federal funds to
design assessments in ELA and mathematics in grades three
through eight and grade eleven. The new assessments are
expected to be available for the 2014-15 school year.
The goal of the consortium is to prepare students for college
and career by improving teaching and learning in schools
through the development of assessments of the Common Core
State Standards in ELA and mathematics that are valid and
reliable. It is expected that the assessments developed by
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SMARTER Balanced will replace the existing STAR program. At
this time, it is unclear if California will continue to assess
second graders in ELA and mathematics once this new assessment
system is operative.
5)Related legislation . AB 250 (Brownley), pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee, contains provisions related to the
implementation of the Common Core ELA and mathematic standards
and extends the sunset date of the STAR program by one year -
from 2013 to 2014. An earlier version of this measure
eliminated second grade testing; this language, however, was
amended out in this committee in May 2011.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081