BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 2057 (Bonilla)
          As Amended  April 3, 2014
          2/3 vote. Urgency 

           EDUCATION           4-1         APPROPRIATIONS      12-4        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Buchanan, Gonzalez,       |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra,         |
          |     |Nazarian, Williams        |     |Bradford,                 |
          |     |                          |     |Ian Calderon, Campos,     |
          |     |                          |     |Eggman, Gomez, Holden,    |
          |     |                          |     |Pan, Quirk,               |
          |     |                          |     |Ridley-Thomas, Weber      |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Ch�vez                    |Nays:|Bigelow, Allen, Donnelly, |
          |     |                          |     |Wagner                    |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  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, and  
          authorizes districts, subject to approval from the U.S.  
          Department of Education, to avoid double-testing in the 2013-14  
          school year of pupils in grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11  
          who have significant cognitive disabilities.  Specifically,  this  
          bill  :  

          1)Provides that a consortium alternative performance assessment  
            in English language arts and mathematics aligned to the Common  
            Core State Standards (CCSS) shall be administered in grades 3  
            to 8, inclusive.

          2)Provides that, for the 2013-14 school year only, a local  
            education agency (LEA) may administer either the pilot tests  
            of the consortium alternate performance assessment in English  
            language arts and mathematics or the California Alternative  
            Performance Assessment (CAPA).

          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, including, but not necessarily limited  








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            to, achievement standard setting, and to allow the California  
            Department of Education (CDE) to conduct studies regarding  
            full implementation of the assessment system.  

          4)Provides that the results of the pilot test shall not be used  
            for any other purpose, including the calculation of an  
            accountability measure.

          5)Changes the name of the Measurement of Academic Performance  
            and Progress (MAPP) to the California Assessment of Student  
            Performance and Progress (CAASPP).

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Establishes MAPP, to be composed of the following:

             a)   A consortium summative assessment in English language  
               arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and  
               grade 11 aligned to the CCSS;

             b)   Science grade level assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10  
               aligned to content standards adopted by the State Board of  
               Education (SBE);

             c)   The CAPA in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, in English  
               language arts, mathematics, and science in grades 5, 8, and  
               10;

             d)   The Early Assessment Program; and

             e)   A primary language assessment.

          1)Requires the 2013-14 assessment in English language arts and  
            mathematics to 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,  
            including, but not necessarily limited to, achievement  
            standard setting, and to allow the CDE to conduct studies  
            regarding full implementation of the assessment system.  

          2)Provides that the results of the pilot test shall not be used  
            for any other purpose, including the calculation of an  
            accountability measure.









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          3)Requires CAPA to be administered until a successor assessment  
            is implemented.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, minor absorbable costs to local education agencies to  
          reconvene Individual Educational Plan (IEP) teams and modify IEP  
          plans that include administration of the CAPA.  

           COMMENTS  :   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.  The consortium alternative  
          assessment will be pilot tested in spring 2014.

          This bill does two things:  

          1)Makes the consortium alternative assessment consistent with  
            the regular CCSS-related assessments with regard to the grades  
            assessed in English language arts and mathematics.  Whereas  
            CAPA assesses pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, the other  
            assessments are administered in grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and  
            grade 11.  This bill requires the consortium alternative  
            assessment to be administered in those same grade levels.

          2)Authorizes LEAs, in 2013-14 only, and subject to approval from  
            the U. S. Department of Education, to administer either the  
            consortium alternative assessment pilot test or CAPA.  In  
            other words, LEAs that are participating in the pilot test  
            would not be required to also administer CAPA.  The purpose is  
            to avoid double-testing of pupils.

          Federal approval is needed for districts to opt out of CAPA to  
          avoid violating the terms of a waiver California received from  
          the federal government to suspend our statewide testing program  
          for one year.  Specifically, 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,  
          which are aligned to the CCSS.  In particular, California sought  








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          a waiver from the requirement to calculate annual Adequate  
          Yearly Progress (AYP) for schools and LEAs.  California's waiver  
          request included an assurance that CAPA would be administered  
          this year if the waiver was granted.  In March 2014, the U. S.  
          Department of Education granted the waiver request with certain  
          conditions.  One of the conditions is that California administer  
          CAPA in 2013-14.  Hence, the need for federal approval.

          Change from MAPP to CAASPP.  AB 484 (Bonilla), Chapter 489,  
          Statutes of 2013, established MAPP.  The CDE subsequently  
          learned that MAPP is a registered trademark, and cannot be used.  
           Accordingly, the name has been changed to CAASPP.  This bill  
          makes statutory changes to conform to the new name.

          Urgency measure.  This bill is an urgency measure in order to  
          take effect during the current test-taking period.  However, the  
          CAPA testing window, which runs from February to June, has  
          already opened.  According to the CDE, however, most LEAs  
          actually administer the CAPA in late May in order to provide  
          more instructional time before the assessment.  The pilot test  
          of the consortium alternative assessment will begin this April,  
          and a little more than 7,000 pupils will take it.  That is the  
          maximum number of pupils who will be affected by this bill.  The  
          actual number will be less than that, depending on the number  
          who will have already taken CAPA by the time the bill is  
          chaptered.


           Analysis prepared by  :  Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087


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