Amended in Senate June 18, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 12, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1548

Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Ting)

(Coauthor: Senator Hill)

January 27, 2014

An act to begin insert amend Sections 99152 and 99153 of, and to end insert add and repeal Section 99160.7 begin delete of end delete begin insert of, end insert the Education Code, relating to standardized tests.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1548, as amended, Mullin. Standardized tests: begin delete canceled or invalidated test scores: report. end delete begin insert reports. end insert

Existing law imposes various requirements on a test agency, as defined, with respect to the administration of standardized tests for purposes of postsecondary begin delete education. end delete begin insert education, and requires a test sponsor to submit certain information and data to the California Postsecondary Education Commission. end insert A test agency that intentionally violates any of those provisions is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $750 for each violation. Existing law authorizes a test agency to cancel or invalidate a test score where substantial evidence exists to support cancellation or invalidation of the test score.

This bill would begin insert require a test sponsor to also submit specified information that is required to be submitted to the California Postsecondary Education Commission to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Legislature, and would authorize the submission of that information in digital format. The bill would, until January 1, 2017, end insert require a test begin delete agency, on or before March 1 of each year, end delete begin insert agency end insert to submit a begin delete report end delete begin insert report, on or before March 1 of each year, end insert to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and to the Legislature that contains specified information on test scores that were canceled or invalidated in the prior year. begin delete The bill would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2017. end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 99152 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

99152.  

Each test sponsor shall report the closing date of its
testing year to the begin delete commission end delete begin insert commission, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, and the Legislature, end insert by February 1, 1985, or
within 90 days after it first becomes a test sponsor, whichever is
later. Each test sponsor shall report any change in the closing date
of its testing year within 90 days after the change. begin insert The report may
be submitted in a digital format. end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 99153 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

99153.  

On or before November 15 of each year, the test sponsor
shall submit to the begin delete commission end delete begin insert commission, the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, and the Legislature end insert all of the following data
and information:

(a) Three copies of each version of the test begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert was
disclosed in the prior testing year, along with the corresponding
acceptable answers, and the methods used to convert raw scores
into the test scores reported to test subjects and test score recipients,
together with an explanation of that method.

(b) The dates of major or national administration of each test
administered by the test agency during the testing year.

(c) The total number of test subjects who have taken the test
once, who have taken it twice, and who have taken it more than
twice during the testing year.

(d) The total number of test subjects who registered for, but did
not take, the test.

(e) The total amount of fees received from test subjects by the
test agency for the test for that testing year.

(f) The expenses to the test sponsor of the test, as follows:

(1) Those expenses begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert are directly attributable to the
test.

(2) Those expenses begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert are indirectly attributable to the
test. However, if the test sponsor also sponsors another test or
related activities, it shall be sufficient for compliance with this
section for the test sponsor to list indirectly attributable expenses,
to the extent that they are identifiable, as they are proportionately
related to the test. The test sponsor shall also list expenses
indirectly attributable to all activities of the test’s sponsor,
including expenses not identifiable as attributable to a test.

The financial disclosure required by this section shall be
submitted within 135 days after the close of the testing year and
in sufficient detail to indicate the major categories of revenues and
expenses associated with the test. Except as provided in this
section, the information for different tests administered by the
same test sponsor shall be reported separately and by individual
test.

(g) A copy of all documents, pamphlets, and literature provided
to the test subject and the test score recipient.

(h) Where applicable, the national average test scores, state
average test scores, the standard error of measurement, and any
other existing information relevant to a comparison of the test
scores of the state’s test subjects with test scores of previous test
subjects of the past five years.

(i) For those tests used to predict academic performance, the
most recent national or regional aggregation of data concerning
the predictive validity of all of the following:

(1) Academic record or grades alone.

(2) Standardized test score alone.

(3) Academic record and test score combined.

(4) Standardized test scores over and above the predictive
validity of academic record alone.

(j) Using available data, the racial, ethnic, and sex breakdown
of all test subjects taking each test during the testing year.

(k) If a separate fee is charged test subjects for admissions data
assembly service, the test sponsor shall report information
concerning the data assembly service in substantially the same
form as would be required for a test under this section.

(l) The test sponsor shall also supply to the commission any
other information mutually identified by the commission and the
test sponsor that will be reasonably available and helpful in either
(1) assessing the state’s progress in increasing the number of
Hispanic, Black, or American Indian students who graduate from
high school eligible to enroll in either the University of California
or the California State University or (2) developing strategies to
involve the testing companies in cooperative actions with schools,
colleges, and universities to expand access to college for Hispanic,
Black, and American Indian students.

(m) This section shall not be construed to require any test agency
to submit to the commission any reports or documents containing
information relating to any individual test subject. Any information
relating to any individual test subject shall be deleted or obliterated
from any reports or documents filed with the commission pursuant
to this section.

(n) This section shall not apply to any standardized test begin delete which end delete
begin insert that end insert is administered to fewer than 3,000 test subjects in California
during a testing year.

begin insert

(o) The information required to be submitted pursuant to this
section may be submitted in a digital format.

end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 99160.7 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

99160.7.  

(a) On or before March 1 of each year, a test agency
shall submit a report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction
and to the Legislature that contains all of the following information
for the prior year:

(1) The number of test scores for each type of standardized test
that were canceled or invalidated.

(2) The reasons the test scores were canceled or invalidated,
including, but not limited to, irregular test administration, irregular
statistical data, or cheating.

(b) A report submitted pursuant to this section shall not include
specific or identifiable information on the test subjects.

(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.