Amended in Senate August 4, 2014

Amended in Senate July 2, 2014

Amended in Senate June 11, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 3, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2057

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 20, 2014

An act to amend Section 60640 of the Education Code, relating to pupil assessment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2057, as amended, Bonilla. Pupil assessment: consortium alternate performance assessments.

Existing law establishes the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), commencing with the 2013-14 school year, for the assessment of certain elementary and secondary pupils. The CAASPP is composed of (1) a consortium summative assessment in English language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11, as specified, (2) science grade level assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10, measuring specified content standards, (3) the California Alternate Performance Assessment in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, in English language arts and mathematics and science in grades 5, 8, and 10, as specified, and (4) the Early Assessment Program. Existing law specifies numerous policies and procedures with respect to the development and the implementation of the CAASPP by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education, and affected local educational agencies.

This bill would require the CAASPP to include a consortium alternate performance assessment in English language arts and mathematics that measures specified content standards to be administered in grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11 instead of the California Alternate Performance Assessment being administered in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, in English language arts and mathematics. The bill would further provide that, in the 2014-15 school year begin insert and subject to approval by the United States Department of Education, as specified end insert , the consortium alternate performance assessment in English language arts and mathematics would be a field test only, as specified. The bill would require the state board to adopt begin delete new end delete begin insert consortium end insert alternate performance assessments in English language arts and mathematics for full implementation in the 2015-16 school year. The bill would require the State Department of Education to notify the appropriate committees of the Legislature, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools if there is a change in the timeline or status of the consortium alternate performance assessments in English language arts and mathematics or in the consortium. The bill also would require the department to submit, no later than February 1, 2015, a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools on the consortium alternate performance assessment in English language arts and mathematics, as specified.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 60640 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

60640.  

(a) There is hereby established the California
Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, to be known as
the CAASPP.

(b) Commencing with the 2013-14 school year, the CAASPP
shall be composed of all of the following:

(1) (A) A consortium summative assessment in English
language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and
grade 11 that measures content standards adopted by the state
board.

(B) In the 2013-14 school year, the consortium summative
assessment in English language arts and mathematics shall be a
field test only, to enable the consortium to gauge the validity and
reliability of these assessments and to conduct all necessary
psychometric procedures and studies, including, but not necessarily
limited to, achievement standard setting, and to allow the
department to conduct studies regarding full implementation of
the assessment system. These field tests and results shall not be
used for any other purpose, including the calculation of any
accountability measure.

(2) (A) Science grade level assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10
that measure content standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605,
until a successor assessment is implemented pursuant to
subparagraph (B).

(B) For science assessments, the Superintendent shall make a
recommendation to the state board as soon as is feasible after the
adoption of science content standards pursuant to Section 60605.85
regarding the assessment of the newly adopted standards. Before
making recommendations, the Superintendent shall consult with
stakeholders, including, but not necessarily limited to, California
science teachers, individuals with expertise in assessing English
learners and pupils with disabilities, parents, and measurement
experts, regarding the grade level and type of assessment. The
recommendations shall include cost estimates and a plan for
implementation of at least one assessment in each of the following
grade spans:

(i) Grades 3 to 5, inclusive.

(ii) Grades 6 to 9, inclusive.

(iii) Grades 10 to 12, inclusive.

(3) (A) A consortium alternate performance assessment in
English language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive,
and grade 11 that measures content standards adopted pursuant to
Sections 60605.8 and 60605.11.

(B) (i) In the 2014-15 school year, local educational agencies
shall administer the field tests of the consortium alternate
performance assessment in English language arts and mathematics
begin insert and shall not administer the California Alternate Performance
Assessment in English language arts and mathematics for grades
3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11 end insert . The assessment shall be a field test
only, to enable the consortium to gauge the validity and reliability
of these assessments and to conduct all necessary psychometric
procedures and studies, including, but not necessarily limited to,
achievement standard setting, and to allow the department to
conduct studies regarding full implementation of the assessment
system. The field test and results shall not be used for any other
purpose, including the calculation of an accountability measure. begin insert end insert

(ii) The state board shall adopt begin delete new end delete begin insert consortium end insert alternate
performance assessments in English language arts and mathematics
for full implementation in the 2015-16 school year.

begin insert

(iii) For purposes of clause (i), the department shall apply for
a federal waiver from the United States Department of Education
for pupils who participate in the field tests of the consortium
alternate performance assessment in English language arts and
mathematics.

end insert

(C) The department shall notify the appropriate committees of
the Legislature, school districts, county offices of education, and
charter schools if there is a change in the timeline or status of the
consortium alternate performance assessments in English language
arts and mathematics or in the consortium described in this
paragraph.

(4) The California Alternate Performance Assessment in science
in grades 5, 8, and 10, which measures content standards adopted
pursuant to Section 60605 until a successor assessment for this
subject matter is implemented.

(5) The Early Assessment Program established by Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 99300) of Part 65 of Division 14 of
Title 3.

(6) (A) A local educational agency may administer a primary
language assessment aligned to the English language arts standards
adopted pursuant to Section 60605, as it read on January 1, 2013,
to pupils who are identified as limited English proficient and
enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, until a subsequent
primary language assessment aligned to the common core standards
in English language arts adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 is
developed pursuant to subparagraph (E).

(B) If a local educational agency chooses to administer a primary
language assessment to pupils identified as limited English
proficient and enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, pursuant
to subparagraph (A), it shall notify the department in a manner to
be determined by the department and the costs shall be paid by the
state and included as part of the testing contract, and the department
shall provide the local educational agency a per pupil
apportionment for administering the assessment pursuant to
subdivision (l).

(C) The Superintendent shall consult with stakeholders,
including assessment and English learner experts, to determine
the content and purpose of a stand-alone language arts summative
assessment in primary languages other than English that aligns
with the English language arts content standards. The
Superintendent shall consider the appropriate purpose for this
assessment, including, but not necessarily limited to, support for
the State Seal of Biliteracy and accountability. It is the intent of
the Legislature that an assessment developed pursuant to this
section be included in the state accountability system.

(D) The Superintendent shall report and make recommendations
to the state board at a regularly scheduled public meeting no sooner
than one year after the first full administration of the consortium
computer-adaptive assessments in English language arts and
mathematics summative assessments in grades 3 to 8, inclusive,
and grade 11, regarding an implementation timeline and estimated
costs of a stand-alone language arts summative assessment in
primary languages other than English.

(E) The Superintendent shall develop, and the state board shall
adopt, a primary language assessment. The Superintendent shall
administer this assessment no later than the 2016-17 school year.

(F) This paragraph shall be operative only to the extent that
funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute
for the purpose of this section.

(c) (1) No later than March 1, 2016, the Superintendent shall
submit to the state board recommendations on expanding the
CAASPP to include additional assessments, for consideration at
a regularly scheduled public meeting. The Superintendent shall
also submit these recommendations to the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the Legislature and to the Director of Finance
in accordance with all of the following:

(A) In consultation with stakeholders, including, but not
necessarily limited to, California teachers, individuals with
expertise in assessing English learners and pupils with disabilities,
parents, and measurement experts, the Superintendent shall make
recommendations regarding assessments including the grade level,
content, and type of assessment. These recommendations shall
take into consideration the assessments already administered or
planned pursuant to subdivision (b). The Superintendent shall
consider the use of consortium-developed assessments, various
item types, computer-based testing, and a timeline for
implementation.

(B) The recommendations shall consider assessments in subjects,
including, but not necessarily limited to, history-social science,
technology, visual and performing arts, and other subjects as
appropriate, as well as English language arts, mathematics, and
science assessments to augment the assessments required under
subdivision (b), and the use of various assessment options,
including, but not necessarily limited to, computer-based tests,
locally scored performance tasks, and portfolios.

(C) The recommendations shall include the use of an assessment
calendar that would schedule the assessments identified pursuant
to subparagraph (B) over several years, the use of matrix sampling,
if appropriate, and the use of population sampling.

(D) The recommendations shall include a timeline for test
development, and shall include cost estimates for subject areas, as
appropriate.

(E) Upon approval by the state board and the appropriation of
funding for this purpose, the Superintendent shall develop and
administer the approved assessments. The state board shall approve
test blueprints, achievement level descriptors, testing periods,
performance standards, and a reporting plan for each approved
assessment.

(2) (A) No later than February 1, 2015, the department shall
report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature, school
districts, county offices of education, and charter schools on all of
the following:

(i) The status of the field tests of the consortium alternate
performance assessment in English language arts and mathematics
identified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).

(ii) Any concerns with the consortium identified in paragraph
(3) of subdivision (b).

(iii) Recommendations for moving forward if different from
the timelines in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).

(B) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
paragraph shall become inoperative on February 1, 2019.

(d) For the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years, the department
shall make available to local educational agencies Standardized
Testing and Reporting Program test forms no longer required by
the CAASPP. The cost of implementing this subdivision, including,
but not necessarily limited to, shipping, printing, scoring, and
reporting per pupil shall be the same for all local educational
agencies, and shall not exceed the marginal cost of the assessment,
including any cost the department incurs to implement this section.
A local educational agency that chooses to administer an
assessment pursuant to this subdivision shall do so at its own
expense, and shall enter into an agreement for that purpose with
a contractor, subject to the approval of the department.

(e) The Superintendent shall make available a paper and pencil
version of any computer-based CAASPP assessment for use by
pupils who are unable to access the computer-based version of the
assessment for a maximum of three years after a new operational
test is first administered.

(f) (1) From the funds available for that purpose, each local
educational agency shall administer assessments to each of its
pupils pursuant to subdivision (b). As allowable by federal statute,
recently arrived English learner pupils are exempted from taking
the assessment in English language arts. The state board shall
establish a testing period to provide that all schools administer
these tests to pupils at approximately the same time during the
instructional year. The testing period established by the state board
shall take into consideration the need of local educational agencies
to provide makeup days for pupils who were absent during testing,
as well as the need to schedule testing on electronic computing
devices.

(2) For the 2013-14 school year, each local educational agency
shall administer the field tests in a manner described by the
department in consultation with the president or executive director
of the state board. Additional participants in the field test beyond
the representative sample may be approved by the department, and
the department shall use existing contract savings to fund local
educational agency participation in one or more tests per
participant. Funds for this purpose shall be used to allow for
maximum participation in the field tests across the state. To the
extent savings in the current contract are not available to fully fund
this participation, the department shall prorate available funds by
test. Local educational agencies shall bear any additional costs to
administer these assessments that are in excess of the contracted
amount. With approval of the state board and the Director of
Finance, the department shall amend the existing assessment
contract to accommodate field testing beyond the representative
sample, and to allow for special studies using information collected
from the field tests.

(g) From the funds available for that purpose, each local
educational agency shall administer assessments as determined by
the state board pursuant to subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c).

(h) As feasible, the CAASPP field tests shall be conducted in
a manner that will minimize the testing burden on individual
schools. The CAASPP field tests shall not produce individual pupil
scores unless it is determined that these scores are valid and
reliable.

(i) The governing board of a school district may administer
achievement tests in grades other than those required by this section
as it deems appropriate.

(j) Subject to the approval of the state board, the department
may make available to local educational agencies a primary
language assessment aligned to the English language arts standards
adopted pursuant to Section 60605, as it read on January 1, 2013,
for assessing pupils who are enrolled in a dual language immersion
program that includes the primary language of the assessment and
who are either nonlimited English proficient or redesignated fluent
English proficient until a subsequent primary language assessment
aligned to the common core standards in English language arts
adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 is developed pursuant to
paragraph (6) of subdivision (b). The cost for the assessment shall
be the same for all local educational agencies and shall not exceed
the marginal cost of the assessment, including any cost the
department incurs to implement this section. A local educational
agency that elects to administer a primary language assessment
pursuant to this subdivision shall do so at its own expense and
shall enter into an agreement for that purpose with the state testing
contractor, subject to the approval of the department.

(k) Pursuant to Section 1412(a)(16) of Title 20 of the United
States Code, individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in
Section 56026, shall be included in the testing requirement of
subdivision (b) with appropriate accommodations in administration,
where necessary, and the individuals with exceptional needs who
are unable to participate in the testing, even with accommodations,
shall be given an alternate assessment.

(l) (1) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated
for these purposes to local educational agencies to enable them to
meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c).

(A) For the CAASPP field tests administered in the 2013-14
school year or later school years, the Superintendent shall apportion
funds to local educational agencies if funds are specifically
provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.

(B) The Superintendent shall apportion funds to local
educational agencies to enable them to administer assessments
used to satisfy the voluntary Early Assessment Program in the
2013-14 school year pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b).

(2) The state board annually shall establish the amount of
funding to be apportioned to local educational agencies for each
test administered and annually shall establish the amount that each
contractor shall be paid for each test administered under the
contracts required pursuant to Section 60643. The amounts to be
paid to the contractors shall be determined by considering the cost
estimates submitted by each contractor each September and the
amount included in the annual Budget Act, and by making
allowance for the estimated costs to local educational agencies for
compliance with the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c). The
state board shall take into account changes to local educational
agency test administration activities under the CAASPP, including,
but not limited to, the number and type of tests administered and
changes in computerized test registration and administration
procedures, when establishing the amount of funding to be
apportioned to local educational agencies for each test
administered.

(3) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned
per test shall not be valid without the approval of the Director of
Finance. A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount
of funding to be apportioned per test shall be submitted in writing
to the Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal
committees of both houses of the Legislature with accompanying
material justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of
Finance is authorized to approve only those adjustments related
to activities required by statute. The Director of Finance shall
approve or disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the
request and shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees
of both houses of the Legislature of the decision.

(m) For purposes of making the computations required by
Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the
appropriation for the apportionments made pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (l), and the payments made to the contractors
under the contracts required pursuant to Section 60643 or
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
60605 between the department and the contractor, are “General
Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the applicable fiscal year,
and included within the “total allocations to school districts and
community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes
appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision
(e) of Section 41202, for that fiscal year.

(n) As a condition to receiving an apportionment pursuant to
subdivision (l), a local educational agency shall report to the
Superintendent all of the following:

(1) The pupils enrolled in the local educational agency in the
grades in which assessments were administered pursuant to
subdivisions (b) and (c).

(2) The pupils to whom an achievement test was administered
pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) in the local educational agency.

(3) The pupils in paragraph (1) who were exempted from the
test pursuant to this section.

(o) The Superintendent and the state board are authorized and
encouraged to assist postsecondary educational institutions to use
the assessment results of the CAASPP, including, but not
necessarily limited to, the grade 11 consortium summative
assessments in English language arts and mathematics, for
academic credit, placement, or admissions processes.

(p) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget Act
for this purpose, and exclusive of the consortium assessments, the
Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, annually shall
release to the public test items from the achievement tests pursuant
to Section 60642.5 administered in previous years. Where feasible
and practicable, the minimum number of test items released per
year shall be equal to 25 percent of the total number of test items
on the test administered in the previous year.

(q) On or before July 1, 2014, Sections 850 to 868, inclusive,
of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations shall be revised
by the state board to conform to the changes made to this section
in the first year of the 2013-14 Regular Session. The state board
shall adopt initial regulations as emergency regulations to
immediately implement the CAASPP assessments, including, but
not necessarily limited to, the administration, scoring, and reporting
of the tests, as the adoption of emergency regulations is necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety,
or general welfare within the meaning of Section 11346.1 of the
Government Code. The emergency regulations shall be followed
by the adoption of permanent regulations, in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code).