BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2057
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2057 (Bonilla) - As Amended: April 3, 2014
Policy Committee: EducationVote:4-1
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes local education agencies (LEAs) to
administer, for the 2013-14 school year only, either the
consortium alternative assessment or the existing California
Alternative Performance Assessment (CAPA) in order to avoid
double-testing. This bill also makes the consortium alternative
assessment consistent with the regular California Assessment of
Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) with regard to grade
levels tested. Specifically, this bill:
1)Repeals the requirement to administer assessments in English
language arts and mathematics to pupils in grades 2, 9, and 10
who have significant cognitive disabilities.
2)Authorizes, for the 2013-14 school year only, a local
education agency (LEA) to administer either the pilot tests of
the consortium alternate performance assessment in English
language arts and mathematics or the California Alternative
Performance Assessment (CAPA) in order to avoid
double-testing. This authority is made contingent upon
approval from the federal Department of Education.
3)Provides that, if an LEA administers the pilot test, the
assessment shall be a pilot test only, to enable the
consortium to gauge the validity and reliability of the
assessments and to conduct all necessary psychometric
procedures and studies.
4)Provides that the results of the pilot test shall not be used
for any other purpose, including the calculation of an
accountability measure.
AB 2057
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FISCAL EFFECT
Minor/absorbable costs to LEAs to reconvene Individual
Educational Plan (IEP) teams and modify IEP plans that include
administration of the CAPA.
COMMENTS
1)Background. Existing law requires CAPA to be administered
until a successor assessment is implemented. CAPA is
administered to pupils whose significant cognitive
disabilities prevent them from taking other assessments with
accommodations or modifications. It is being discontinued,
because it is not aligned to the Common Core State Standards
(CCSS). California has joined with 23 other states through
the National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) to develop
a consortium alternative assessment to replace CAPA.
2)Urgency . This bill includes an urgency clause so that the
measure could take effect during the current test-taking
period. The CAPA testing window runs from February to June,
however, according to CDE, most LEAs administer the CAPA in
late May in order to provide more instructional time before
the assessment.
The consortium alternative assessment will be pilot tested
this spring and fall with approximately 7,000 pupils scheduled
to take the test. Though 7,000 pupils could potentially be
affected by this bill, the actual number will likely be less,
depending on the number who will have already taken the CAPA
by the time the bill is chaptered.
3)Federal Waiver. In November 2013, California requested a
one-year waiver from certain federal testing and reporting
requirements in order to allow for the field testing of the
new Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium assessments. In
March 2014, the U. S. Department of Education (USDOE) approved
the waiver. The waiver was granted with several conditions,
including the requirement that California administer the CAPA.
As such, in order to ensure the federal waiver (and federal
funds) are not at risk, the bill makes non-administration of
the CAPA contingent upon approval from USDOE.
4)Opposition. EdVoice opposes the bill with concerns that the
metrics used to measure a pupil's progress are specified in
AB 2057
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each pupil's Individualized Education Program (IEP) and that
changing those metrics must be done in consultation with the
pupil's parents or guardians.
Analysis Prepared by : Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081