BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 915|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 915
Author: Hill (D), et al.
Amended: 6/30/14
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/24/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Galgiani, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Monning
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 5/1/14 (Consent)
AYES: Anderson, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley, Roth,
Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beall, Calderon, Jackson, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/7/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Standardized testing: inadequate or improper test
conditions
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill imposes specified requirements on test
agencies and schools when they learn of a complaint or notice of
inadequate or improper test conditions in the administration of
the Advanced Placement (AP) test.
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Assembly Amendments require the test agency, upon a
determination that inadequate or improper test conditions will
prevent it from reporting valid test scores, to notify the
school in charge of the test site of the decision within two
business days and requires the school in charge to notify
affected test subject within two business days and provide all
affected test subjects with at least five business days prior
notice of the opportunity to retest; and make various technical
and clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law imposes a number of requirements on
test sponsors or test agencies (defined as any individual,
partnership, corporation, association, company, firm,
institution, society, trust, or joint stock company) that
develop, sponsor or administer standardized tests (defined as
any test administered in California at the expense of the test
subject and used for purposes of admission to, or class
placement in, postsecondary institutions or their programs, or
preliminary preparation for those tests).
Existing law also specifies that whenever the test agency
determines that substantial evidence exists to support
cancellation or invalidation of a test score, the test agency
shall provide the test subject with a choice of the following
options:
1. A cancellation of the test scores in question, with full
refund of all test fees.
2. Opportunity to take the test again privately and without
charge.
3. Opportunity to seek judicial review of the matter.
However, these options are not applicable in instances of
inadequate or improper test conditions.
Finally, existing law also provides that a test sponsor who
violates any of these provisions is liable for a civil penalty
not to exceed $750 per violation.
This bill:
1. Requires the test agency to initiate an investigation upon
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learning of a complaint or a notice of inadequate or improper
test conditions relating to an administration of the AP test
within two business days.
2. Requires the school in charge of the test site to cooperate
with the test agency's investigation by providing information
requested by the test agency within five business days.
3. Requires the test agency, upon a determination that
inadequate or improper test conditions will prevent it from
reporting valid test scores, to notify the school in charge
of the test site of the decision within two business days and
requires the school in charge to notify affected test subject
within two business days and provide all affected test
subjects with at least five business days prior notice of the
opportunity to retest.
4. Requires the retest to be administered within 30 calendar
days of the completion of the investigation.
5. Requires test proctors of an administration of an AP test to
create a seating chart, including the seat location of each
test subject, for each AP test administered at the site.
6. Requires the test agency to provide a seating chart template
for use by each test site.
7. Requires the school in charge of the test site to retain and
preserve each chart created for at least one year after the
administration of the AP test to which that chart applies.
8. Requires the school in charge of the test site to submit the
seating charts to the test agency upon request to assist with
an investigation of a complaint or notice of inadequate or
improper test conditions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/7/14)
California School Boards Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/7/14
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AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan,
Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fox, Vacancy
PQ:d 8/8/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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