BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1573 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Amended: April 2, 2014
SUBJECT : Alternative schools: Student Achievement via
Excellence accountability
SUMMARY : Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI), with the approval of the state board of education (SBE),
to develop, by July 1, 2016, the Student Achievement via
Excellence (SAVE) accountability system for the schools under
the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county
superintendent of schools, community day schools, specified
charter schools, nonpublic/nonsectarian schools providing
special education, continuation high school, opportunity
schools, and other alternative schools. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Contains findings and declarations regarding the value of
alternative high schools, the challenges they face, and the
need for an alternative assessment mechanism that measures the
individual growth in pupils that can be administered at the
school level when pupils are available.
2)Requires the SPI to develop SAVE for the following types of
schools:
a) Schools under the jurisdiction of a county board of
education or a county superintendent of schools;
b) Community day schools;
c) Charter schools providing instruction exclusively in
partnership with the federal Workforce Investment Act,
federally affiliated Youth Build programs, and the
California Conservation Corps (CCC) or local conservation
corps certified by the CCC; and charter schools that
provide instruction to juvenile court school pupils;
d) Nonpublic, nonsectarian schools providing special
education; and
e) Alternative schools, including continuation high schools
and opportunity schools.
3)Requires SAVE to be fully implemented beginning with the
2016-17 school year.
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4)States that the purpose of SAVE is to annually measure the
positive outcome performance of a covered school, as expressed
by the SAVE score.
5)Requires a school's SAVE score to be based on three
categories: learning readiness (10% of the total), save rate
(30% of the total), and academic achievement (60% of the
total).
6)Requires each category to be measured based upon indicators
specific to the category and appropriate to the school being
measured.
7)Requires learning readiness indicators to include all of the
following:
a) Improved pupil behavior, as measured by the number of
and rate of classroom-based long-term pupils suspended or
recommended for expulsion. Reductions in classroom-based
suspensions shall also be weighted positively based on the
percentage reduction;
b) Reduction of the suspension rate below the statewide
average, as measured by the percentage of long-term pupils
who receive out-of-school suspensions;
c) Improved pupil punctuality, as measured by the
percentage of long-term pupils who are present on time at
the beginning of the school day;
d) Sustained daily attendance, as measured by the
percentage of classroom-based long-term pupils who are
present in class and complete their full assigned school
day;
e) Pupil persistence, as measured by the percentage of
long-term pupils considered accounted for by the annual
California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS)
Information Day; and
f) Improved attendance, as measured by the percentage of
apportionment days claimed for all long-term pupils.
8)Provides that the save rate shall measure the effectiveness of
the educational options at a school by tracking the outcome
for each individual pupil. A pupil shall be considered saved
upon enrollment in a SAVE accountability school, and shall
remain saved over the course of his or her enrollment at the
school. A pupil shall maintain his or her saved status as long
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as his or her transition out of the SAVE accountability system
school is a positive outcome, as determined by the positive
outcome indicators. A pupil whose transition out of a SAVE
accountability school is not a positive outcome, shall lose
his or her saved status. A school's save rate shall be
calculated by determining the proportion of a school's pupils
that transition out of the school with a positive outcome.
9)Provides that positive outcomes shall include all of the
following:
a) Attainment of a high school diploma;
b) Continued enrollment in the same SAVE accountability
system school with progress being made toward graduation;
c) Reenrollment in a traditional school; and
d) Attainment of a General Educational Development (GED)
credential.
10)Provides that academic achievement indicators shall include
all of the following:
a) The writing, reading, and mathematic achievement
measures and instruments adopted by the SBE;
b) An individual pupil growth model certified by the SPI;
c) Promotion to the next grade, as measured by the
percentage of pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6,
inclusive, who are promoted to the next grade level;
d) Actual course completion, as measured by the percentage
of courses passed by all middle school long-term pupils
based on the number of courses attempted; and
e) Actual credit completion, as measured by the percentage
of graduation credits earned, both full and partial, by all
high school long-term pupils based on the number of
graduation credits attempted.
11)Defines "long term pupil" as a pupil enrolled at a school for
90 days or more.
12)Authorizes the SPI, with the approval of the SBE, to
incorporate additional indicators into a SAVE score category
that are valid, reliable, and stable measures, and consistent
with the purposes of the SAVE accountability system.
13)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), upon
the next revision to the California Longitudinal Pupil
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Achievement Data System (CALPADS), to create a process for
school districts operating continuation schools to report the
following information:
a) Total number of daily instructional minutes offered to
pupils enrolled at each continuation schoolsite; and
b) Whether pupils attending the school district's
continuation schools are also able to access career
technical education and vocational courses.
14)Authorizes the CDE to adopt regulations necessary to
implement these provisions.
EXISTING LAW requires the SPI, with the approval of the SBE, to
develop an alternative accountability system (ASAM) for schools
under the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a
county superintendent of schools, community day schools,
specified charter schools, nonpublic/nonsectarian schools
providing special education, continuation high school,
opportunity schools, and other alternative schools. Existing
law provides that ASAM schools may receive an Academic
Performance Index (API) score, but shall not be included in the
API rankings.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The current accountability model for alternative
schools, ASAM, was developed following the passage of the 1999
Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA). Participation in the
ASAM is voluntary. ASAM schools include community day schools,
continuation schools, county community schools, county court
schools, Division of Juvenile Justice (formerly California Youth
Authority) schools, opportunity schools, and alternative schools
of choice and charter schools that meet SBE criteria.
Approximately 1,000 schools participate in the ASAM with an
estimated enrollment of approximately 115,000 students. Because
these schools serve highly mobile student populations, the
actual number of students served by these 1,000 schools is more
than twice the census day enrollment count.
In July 2000, the SBE approved the framework for the alternative
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accountability system developed by the PSAA Advisory Committee.
Based on that framework, the resulting ASAM included
SBE-approved performance measures that assessed a school's
ability to serve high-risk students. From 2001-02 to 2008-09,
schools participating in the ASAM selected three of fifteen
indicators, and those three indicators comprised their
school-level ASAM report. The ASAM school-level reports were
publicly posted each year on the CDE web page. The 15
indicators include academic and non-academic indicators.
Non-academic indicators include measures of student behavior,
suspension, punctuality, attendance, and persistence. In
addition to test scores, academic indicators include
course/credit completion, grade promotion, high school
graduation, and GED completion.
In 2008 the SBE approved a conceptual framework for redesigning
ASAM. A goal was to develop a more rigorous system that was
academically centered and placed greater emphasis on statewide
assessment indicators. In addition, another goal was to require
all schools to use the same indicators, instead of selecting
three from a list of 15, in order to create consistency across
schools and allow for inter-school comparisons.
The framework called for ASAM to incorporate three types of
indicators:
Learning Readiness Indicators - The Learning Readiness
Indicators would provide a measure of student engagement
(short-term) and preparedness to benefit from school-based
instruction. Given the nature of the student population served
by ASAM schools, a primary purpose of these schools is to
promote learning readiness, improve behavior, and ensure
student safety and attendance.
Academic Achievement Indicators - The Academic Achievement
Indicators would provide a measure of student achievement
(status) and academic progress (growth). The primary proposed
academic achievement indicators are the English-language arts
(ELA) and mathematics components of the CAHSEE at the high
school level and the STAR grade-specific tests at the
elementary and middle school levels.
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Transition Indicators - The Transition Indicators would
provide a measure of whether a student graduated or remained
in school. Successful transition would include graduation,
re-enrollment at a traditional or other alternative school, or
continued enrollment at the student's current school.
The framework responded, in part, to a 2007 report by the
Legislation Analyst's Office (LAO) that concluded that ASAM
fails to provide accountability because:
Most indicators do not measure academic performance.
The ability of schools to choose measures thwarts school
comparisons.
Some indicators are not comparable across districts.
Less than half of alternative school students are "long
term," so most are unaccounted for in the evaluation
system.
School performance on chosen indicators is
self-reported.
There are no consequences for poor performance.
In 2010 Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the Budget Act
appropriation for ASAM-related data collection and reporting and
for identifying and disseminating best practices of alternative
schools. As a result, work on the revised ASAM ceased. Since
then, ASAM schools have been held accountable under the Academic
Performance Index (API) and receive growth targets as all other
schools. (During the transition to the Smarter Balanced
assessment, the calculation of the API has been suspended for
one year.) ASAM schools do not receive API ranks and are no
longer required to collect and report data to the California
Department of Education on ASAM performance measures as required
in previous years. Under federal requirements, ASAM schools
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must meet the same Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) criteria as
all other schools. As for all schools, ASAM schools may be
identified for Program Improvement (PI) if the school misses AYP
for two consecutive years.
This bill is based on the framework adopted by the SBE in 2008
and requires ASAM to be comprised of three categories: learning
readiness (10% of the total), academic achievement (60% of the
total), and save rate (30% of the total), which is comparable to
the transition category adopted by the board. Whereas ASAM is
voluntary, this bill requires SAVE for all alternative education
programs, beginning the 2016-17 school year. The primary focus
of this bill is continuation schools and opportunity
schools/programs.
Continuation schools. Continuation education is an alternative
high school diploma program. It is for students who are sixteen
years of age or older, have not graduated from high school, are
still required to attend school, and who are at risk of not
graduating.
Many students in continuation education are behind in high
school credits. Others may need a flexible school schedule
because they have jobs outside of school. Some students choose
continuation education because of family needs or other
circumstances.
Students who attend continuation high schools must spend at
least 15 hours per week or three hours per day at school. They
take courses that are required for graduation and receive
guidance and career counseling. Some programs offer independent
study, job-placement services, and concurrent enrollment in
community college.
Opportunity schools. Opportunity education schools, classes,
and programs are established to provide additional support for
students who are habitually truant from instruction, irregular
in attendance, insubordinate, disorderly while in attendance, or
unsuccessful academically.
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Districts or county offices of education may operate opportunity
education for students in grades one through twelve. However,
the Pupil Retention Block Grant, established by AB 825
(Firebaugh, Chapter 871, Statutes of 2004) repealed the
authority for school districts to establish new opportunity
education.
Opportunity education schools, classes, and programs provide a
supportive environment with specialized curriculum, instruction,
guidance and counseling, psychological services, and tutorial
assistance to help students overcome barriers to learning.
Opportunity education should not be viewed as a holding place
for resistant learners, but as an intervention to ensure student
success. It provides comprehensive academic programs that
facilitate positive self-esteem, confidence, resilience and
personal growth with the goal of helping students return to
traditional classes and programs for grades one through twelve.
Recommended amendments . Many of the elements for SAVE have
already been approved by the SBE; however that action took place
before the adoption of the common core state standards.
Therefore, staff recommends that the bill be amended to
authorize the SPI and the SBE to include additional academic
achievement indicators if needed. In addition, the alternative
accountability system adopted by the SBE did not include the
weights that this bill includes. In order to ensure that the
weights reflect the best professional judgment, staff recommends
that the bill be amended to delete the weights and instead
require that they be recommended by the SPI and adopted by the
SBE.
Finally, staff recommends that the bill be amended to delete the
requirement that additional information be added to CALPADS.
The first new element is the total number of daily instructional
minutes offered to pupils enrolled at each continuation school
and whether pupils attending the school district's continuation
schools are also able to access career technical education and
vocational courses. The instructional minutes requirement
reflects the author's concern that too many continuation schools
offer only the minimum required number of instructional minutes
per day (180 minutes). However, after completing the minimum
day, some continuation school pupils continue instruction
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through independent study or at another location, such as a
regional occupational center. Reporting only the minutes at the
school would not capture any additional instructional time. If
this information is important, it can be obtained simply by
asking the continuation schools to provide it, and does not need
to become a permanent part of CALPADS. The second new element
is whether continuation school pupils have access to career
technical education and vocational courses. It is not clear
what "able to access" means or how it could be coded for CALPADS
purposes.
Arguments in support. According to the author's office
alternative schools have not had a fair and robust
accountability system for the past 15 years, and existing
accountability models are not sufficient to determine whether
students are making progress.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None received
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087