BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1200
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Date of Hearing: June 10, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
SB 1200 (Padilla) - As Amended: April 22, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Public postsecondary education: academic standards.
SUMMARY : Requires the California State University (CSU) and
requests the University of California (UC) to develop guidelines
for high school computer science courses that may be approved
for recognition of admission. Encourages UC, for computer
science courses deemed to satisfy mathematics subject area
requirements, to ensure courses build upon fundamental
mathematics content provided in courses that align with the
academic content standards developed by the Academic Content
Standards Commission (ACSC).
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires CSU and requests UC establish a model uniform set of
academic standards for high school courses for the purposes of
recognition for admission; and to develop and implement a
speedy process whereby high schools may obtain approval of
their courses to satisfy specified admissions requirements.
2)Establishes the ACSC to develop academic content standards
that are internationally benchmarked and build toward college
and career readiness by the time of high school graduation,
consistent with the common core curriculum.
FISCAL EFFECT : The Senate Appropriations Committee determined,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill has a negligible fiscal
impact.
COMMENTS : Background . To be considered for admission to UC and
CSU, high school students must take a minimum of 15 academic
courses from a list of established common high school course
requirements ("a-g"). This course pattern is intended to ensure
students have achieved a basic level of academic preparation for
university level coursework. The a-g requirements are as
follows:
SB 1200
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---------------------------------------------------
| Area | Subject | Years |
|--------+---------------------------------+--------|
| (a) | History/Social Science | 2 |
|--------+---------------------------------+--------|
| (b) | English | 4 |
|--------+---------------------------------+--------|
| (c) | Mathematics | 3 |
|--------+---------------------------------+--------|
| (d) | Laboratory Science | 2 |
|--------+---------------------------------+--------|
| (e) | Language Other than English | 2 |
|--------+---------------------------------+--------|
| (f) | Visual and Performing Arts | 1 |
|--------+---------------------------------+--------|
| (g) | College Preparatory Elective |1 |
---------------------------------------------------
California high schools submit their courses to UC for a-g
review during the annual a-g cycle. Once approved, courses are
added to the school's official A-G course list maintained by UC,
which is available to the public online. The CSU generally
defers recommendations of additions or revisions to the a-g
requirements to the UC.
Computer science courses . According to the Status Report on
High School Computer Science Courses, issued by UC in January of
2014, in the 2013-14 academic year, over 400 high schools
(approximately 20%) offered at least one UC-approved computer
science course to their students. The majority of currently
approved computer science courses satisfy the college
preparatory elective (requirement g).
In March 2013, the UC Board of Admissions & Relations with
Schools (BOARS) convened six faculty advisory workgroups to
review and update course criteria for the A-G requirements. A
focus of the mathematics working group was to establish
parameters for courses that use mathematical concepts to meet
the mathematics requirements. The revised a-g requirements,
applicable beginning in the 2015-16 school year, explicitly
mention computer science courses as able to satisfy the math
subject requirement. UC indicates that courses which include a
mathematics prerequisite and are intended for 11th and 12th
grade students, "such as discrete mathematics or computer
science", may be deemed to satisfy the mathematics requirement.
SB 1200
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Purpose of this bill . According to the author, the majority of
high schools only require students to use computers for basic
typing or essay assignments and seldom provide students
opportunities to develop coding skills. Additionally, the
author notes that high schools are not encouraged to establish
advanced computer courses for college bound students because
courses generally do not satisfy core a-g requirements for
college admissions, and are only counted toward electives. This
bill will require CSU, and request UC, to establish guidelines
to help high schools design advanced computer science courses
that will meet mathematics requirements for undergraduate
admissions.
UC position . UC is neutral on this bill. According to UC, if
enacted, BOARS will work to develop guidelines for advanced
computer science courses. However, these courses should be seen
as a supplement to, and not a replacement for, the three years
of mathematics that serve as the cornerstone of the "c"
requirement. Additionally, UC notes support for full
implementation of the Common Core State Standards and is pleased
to see that SB 1200 calls for new computer science guidelines to
be aligned with Common Core.
Related legislation . AB 1764 (Olsen and Buchanan) would allow a
school district to award mathematics credit for completion of a
CSU and UC approved "Category C" computer science course, if the
district requires more than two years of mathematics courses for
graduation. AB 1764 is currently pending in the Senate
Education Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Chamber of Commerce
California Federation of Teachers
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
SB 1200
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