BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1940 (Holden) - As Amended: March 17, 2014
SUBJECT : Advanced placement pilot grant program: STEM courses
SUMMARY : Establishes a pilot program to expand science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) advanced
placement (AP) programs in high schools. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Establishes a pilot program for the purpose of establishing
and expanding STEM AP curriculum in high schools.
2)Requires a high school to meet the following conditions in
order to be eligible to receive funding from the California
Department of Education (CDE) under this grant program:
a) Offers no AP courses in mathematics or science or, if
such courses are offered, these courses are sufficiently
oversubscribed; and
b) Demonstrates, through the Preliminary Scholastic
Aptitude Test (PSAT), that the school's students have a
high potential to be successful in one or more of the STEM
AP courses.
3)Requires the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)
and the College Board to submit a report to the Legislature
that describes the effectiveness of this pilot program.
4)Requires the report to do all the following:
a) Include the number of pupils who have access to the STEM
AP courses;
b) Include the success rates in STEM AP courses, including
the demographics of student participants that includes, but
is not limited to, gender and race; and
c) Be submitted in accordance with existing law.
1)Makes this measure inoperative on July 1, 2017 and repeals
this measure, unless otherwise extended, on January 1, 2018.
EXISTING LAW
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1)Declares the Legislature's intent that certain state funding
currently provided to school districts be made available to
provide financial assistance to economically disadvantaged
pupils in the payment of AP examination fees.
2)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that a competitive
grant program be established for the purpose of awarding
grants to economically disadvantaged pupils to cover the costs
of AP examination fees, thereby creating a second source of
financial assistance for economically disadvantaged pupils
taking AP examinations.
3)Requires the SPI to annually update information on the AP
programs posted on the CDE's Web site and specifies that this
information include the various means available to school
districts to offer or access AP courses, including online
courses.
4)Requires the SPI to annually communicate with high schools
that offer less than 5 AP courses in fewer than 5 subjects,
and inform those schools of the various options for making AP
courses and other rigorous courses available to pupils who may
benefit from them.
5)Defines "advanced placement examinations" and "economically
disadvantaged pupil" for the purposes of the chapter.
FISCAL EFFECT : unknown
COMMENTS :
According to the author, this bill is intended to increase
participation of pupils in underserved communities in AP STEM
programs by offering schools a one-time grant. The author
estimates that based on data that includes PSAT scores,
approximately 90 schools would be eligible to participate in
this grant program. While there is a data reporting and analysis
component to this bill, it does not necessarily rise to the
level of a pilot program in which a program will be evaluated to
determine whether it should continue. Therefore, to more
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accurately reflect the author's intentions, staff recommends an
amendment to remove the word "pilot." Staff also recommends
technical, non-substantive amendments throughout the bill to
increase clarity.
AP Courses and Exams
The College Board is a not-for-profit organization that fosters
students' transitions to college through programs and services
in college readiness and college success - including the
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the AP Program. The College
Board's AP courses are college-level classes offered at the high
school level. The AP exam program has been administered by the
College Board since 1955. More than 30 AP courses and
examinations covering multiple subject areas are currently
offered to high school students. Exams are administered every
May and are scored on a scale from 1 to 5. Students earning
qualifying scores, typically scores of 4 or 5, on AP
examinations may obtain course credit and/or placement from
colleges and universities. The recently-enacted Local Control
Accountability Plan (LCAP) includes AP scores among several
outcomes used to measure student achievement. Specifically,
student achievement will be measured, in part, by the percentage
of students who score a 3 or higher on AP exams.
STEM
Currently, there are 10 AP courses and examinations in the
following STEM areas: Calculus, Computer Science, Statistics,
Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Physics. In the
fall of 2013, the College Board implemented a nation-wide AP
STEM Access Program. This program focuses on expanding AP
course offerings to typically underrepresented minority and
female students who have demonstrated strong academic potential
to enroll in and explore these areas of study and related
careers. The College Board estimates that by 2016, this program
will have provided "36,000 students the opportunity to study
college-level STEM course work in these newly offered AP
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classes."<1> Research shows that students who take AP math and
science were more likely than non-AP students to earn degrees in
physical science, engineering, and life science disciplines.<2>
While the AP STEM Access Program focuses on increasing
opportunity for female and minority students, this bill offers a
similar program to a broader range of schools with limited AP
course offerings, but still making this available to those
schools who for one reason or another, did not participate in
the AP STEM Access Program.
The United States Department of Commerce estimates that STEM
jobs are expected to grow by 17 percent during the 2008-2018
period, nearly double the rate of non-STEM jobs. In order to
stimulate interest in these fields and encourage students to
pursue careers in these areas, this bill would encourage
districts to expand their course offerings to include these
rigorous programs.
Grant Eligibility Criteria
This bill identifies those high schools that offer no AP courses
in mathematics or science as eligible to participate in this
program. Staff recommends an amendment to replace the phrase
"mathematics or science" with the phrase "STEM curriculum
areas." This amendment ensures all of the STEM fields are
represented, which includes computer science. Additionally,
staff recommends an amendment that defines the phrase "STEM
curriculum areas," for the purpose of this section, as "courses
in the following subject areas: calculus, computer science,
statistics, biology, chemistry, environmental science, and
physics." These subject areas reflect the current College Board
AP exam subjects offered in STEM.
The PSAT is a practice SAT that also serves as a qualifying exam
---------------------------
<1> Computing Education Blog.
http://computinged.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/college-board-program
-to-provide-funding-to-districts-to-start-ap-courses/ . Accessed
on March 17, 2014.
<2> College Board: AP STEM Access Program.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/html/ap-stem-access-program
/ap-stem-access-program.html . Accessed on March 10, 2014.
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for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation program.
However, because this is a voluntary exam and requires pupils to
pay a fee, staff recommends an amendment that will permit a high
school to use any means it deems appropriate in order to
identify pupils for this program. This amendment is also
intended to allow schools to use their own expertise,
relationships, and tools to best identify students for this
program without unnecessarily limiting the criteria to a single
exam.
This bill identifies "oversubscribed courses in AP mathematics
or science" as one of the criteria for participation in the
grant program. This committee may wish to consider whether the
term "sufficiently oversubscribed" should be further defined in
statute. For example, while some schools may allow 40 students
in a single AP class, another may cap its enrollment at 20
students. Therefore, it may be helpful to further refine this
criterion by referencing a particular student to teacher ratio
or a ratio as it relates to the school's other courses. This
would ensure the grant funds are being used in the neediest
schools.
Report to the Legislature
This bill requires the SPI and the College Board to report to
the Legislature the number of pupils who have access to AP
courses in STEM and the success rates in these AP STEM courses.
Staff recommends an amendment that instead would encourage the
SPI to consult with the College Board in preparing this report
rather than requiring a private entity to produce this report.
This bill also requires this report to be submitted by July 1,
2017. AP courses require schools and districts to undertake
intensive professional development, tailored instructional
materials, scheduling accommodations, and other logistical
considerations before the course is actually offered. As such,
grant recipients may not actually enroll pupils in these courses
until the 2017 - 18 school year or beyond. In order to
recognize this delay in implementation and to give the SPI
sufficient time to collect, analyze, and report this data, staff
recommends changing the reporting date and corresponding sunset
and repeal dates to 2021 and 2022, respectively,
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Arguments in Support
According to the author, by expanding AP course offerings, this
bill will help make college a reality for thousands of
California students who think college is out of reach.
Qualifying AP Exam scores are recognized by more than 90% of
colleges and universities across the country for college credit,
advanced placement, or both, thereby potentially saving students
and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition,
fees, and textbook costs. Increasing access to AP courses in
the STEM fields, ensures that California's workforce will be
well-prepared for the technological developments that drive
innovation and spur the economy.
Prior legislation:
AB 1854 (Linder) of 2014, re-establishes, subject to an
appropriation in the annual Budget Act for this purpose, a grant
program to award grants to cover the costs of AP examination
fees or International Baccalaureate (IB) examination fees, or
both, for eligible economically disadvantaged high school pupils
or foster youth, and requires the CDE to administer the program.
This bill passed out of the Assembly Education Committee on
March 26, 2014, by a vote of 6 - 0.
SB 413 (Knight) of 2013, enacts a $1,000 or $1,500 annual tax
credit for teachers of STEM teachers. This bill died in the
Senate Committee on Governance and Finance.
SB 421 (Hern�ndez) of 2013, re-establishes a grant program to
award grants to cover the costs of AP examination fees or
International Baccalaureate (IB) examination fees, or both, for
eligible economically disadvantaged high school pupils. The
grant program was established in 1998 for a period of 5 years
and reauthorized until its expiration in 2013. This bill was
passed out of the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 7 -
0, but died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2088 (Bonilla) of 2012, enacts a $1,000 or $1,500 annual tax
credit for teachers of STEM teachers. This bill died in the
Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation.
HR 34 (Hill) of 2012, urges the development of summer camps,
workshops, and after school programs, and the extension of
current grant and fellowship programs at the state and local
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levels, to further the advancement of female students and
workers in the STEM fields. This bill passed out of the
Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 8 - 1.
ACR 88 (Torlakson), Resolution Chapter 84, Statutes of 2010,
establishes the eleven member California Task Force on STEM
Education for the purpose of promoting and improving
mathematics, science, engineering, and technology education
across the state and that the task force be funded through
private funding or donations. This bill passed out of the
Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 9 - 0.
ACR 116 (Hill) Resolution Chapter 77, Statutes of 2010,
proclaims May 12, 2010, as California Lab Day, in conjunction
with the National Lab Day, and extends the Legislature's support
to students of all ages who are interested in STEM education.
SB 1444 (Hancock) of 2010, defines STEM education and specifies
that STEM education for grades 1 - 12, inclusive, may include
but is not limited to, specified courses. SB 1444 was passed
out of the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 7 - 3, but
was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger with the following veto
message:
"While I strongly support science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) education, this bill does nothing to promote
real opportunities for STEM education. This bill could create
unintended, potential barriers by preventing California from
applying for and receiving funds for STEM-related programs, if
grant requirements or competitive priorities are not consistent
with the definition outlined in the bill. This bill could create
confusion and limit future STEM education efforts."
SB 507 (Torlakson) of 2007, establishes the Science Instruction
Augmentation Grant program, administered by the SPI, to provide
grants to K - 12 school districts for the purpose of providing
greater access to science education and promoting knowledge,
curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, and interest in all
aspects of science. The Assembly Education committee passed
this committee by a vote of 7 - 3, but SB 507 was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support
California Federation of Teachers
College Board
The Women's Foundation of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087