BILL NUMBER: AB 2001INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonilla FEBRUARY 23, 2012 An act to add Section 60604.6 to the Education Code, relating to pupil assessment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2001, as introduced, Bonilla. Pupil assessment. The Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act states the intent of the Legislature to provide a system of individual assessment of pupils that has the primary purpose of assisting teachers, administrators, and pupils and their parents to improve teaching and learning. Existing law establishes the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program pursuant to which each school district, charter school, and county office of education is required to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, the standards-based achievement tests. These provisions are inoperative on July 1, 2014, and as of January 1, 2015, are repealed. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment program include specified plans to reform that program as it relates to grades 7 to 12, inclusive. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with various groups of individuals and entities, to develop and present to the State Board of Education, by May 30, 2013, recommendations to effectuate those reforms. The bill would require the state board to adopt, or modify and adopt, the recommendations by September 30, 2013. The bill would require Superintendent and the state board to present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan. The bill would authorize the State Department of Education to use specified federal carryover funds and any other available state and federal funds to implement these provisions. 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. It is the intent of the Legislature that the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment program pursuant to Section 60604.5 of the Education Code include all of the following: (a) A plan to streamline and reduce state-mandated middle and high school testing, including, but not limited to, eliminating redundant assessments, reducing or minimizing testing time for pupils, teachers, and administrators in order to restore instructional time, and minimizing assessments that are not directly connected to teaching and learning in the classroom. (b) A plan to bring together elementary and secondary school policy leaders, the community colleges, the California State University, the University of California, private colleges and universities, and postsecondary career technical and vocational programs to develop criteria and create pathways in which assessments taken by middle and high school pupils are aligned with college and career readiness and are recognized as one of a number of multiple measures for entry into college and career training. (c) A plan for transitioning to a system of high-quality assessments that has tangible meaning to individual middle and high school pupils, including, but not limited to, recognition and rewards for demonstrating mastery of subject matter and progress toward mastery of subject matter. SEC. 2. Section 60604.6 is added to the Education Code, to read: 60604.6. (a) For purposes of developing a plan to streamline and reduce pupil time devoted to pupil testing and to restore instructional time to pupils, the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, school administrators, teachers, members of the governing board of school districts, and parents, shall develop and recommend a plan to the state board that accomplishes all of the following: (1) Reduces the number of minutes annually devoted to the administration of state assessments in schools serving pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and greater balances the time spent on assessment across grade levels. (2) Eliminates redundant or overlapping assessments. (3) Eliminates assessments used solely for the purpose of federal or state accountability that do not assess the content learned in that school year by the pupil. (4) Eliminates the current state practice of assigning a failing score to pupils who do not take particular courses and, therefore, do not take the end-of-course assessment. (5) Eliminates statewide end-of-course assessments that are unnecessary for the purposes of state and federal accountability requirements. (6) More quickly turns around assessment results so that pupils, parents, teachers, and schools receive them within the same school year in which the assessments are administered. (b) For purposes of developing a plan to strengthen the pupil relevance of assessments and to strengthen the alignment between state-mandated middle and high school assessments and the entry requirements of public and private colleges and universities and postsecondary career and technical training institutions, the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, the segments of public and private higher education, career technical and training institutions, administrators of elementary and secondary schools, teachers, members of the governing board of school districts, and parents, shall develop and recommend to the state board all of the following: (1) Principles among elementary and secondary schools, public and private colleges and universities, and postsecondary career and technical training institutions that would strengthen the alignment of assessments of pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to the requirements for entry into college or career opportunities. (2) Options for equating, if practicable, statewide assessments in grade 11 English language arts, including a strengthened writing component, algebra I, algebra II, and summative mathematics to college admission tests. (3) A plan and timeline to expand and strengthen the Early Assessment Program to provide information to postsecondary institutions, secondary schools, and pupils about pupil preparedness for all California public institutions of postsecondary education, including the community colleges, the California State University, the University of California, private colleges and universities, and postsecondary career training institutions. (c) For purposes of developing a plan to make statewide assessments more meaningful to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, administrators, teachers, members of the governing board of school districts, and parents, shall develop multiple methods to provide for pupil recognition, reward, and incentives that a local educational agency may adopt. These options may include, but shall not be limited to, the following: (1) Assessment performance as one component of a pupil's grade point average. (2) Assessment performance as one component of a final course grade or course passage as determined by the teacher. (3) Assessment performance as one criterion for eligibility for merit-based scholarships. (4) The right of a pupil to be exempted from the requirement to take and pass the California high school exit examination if he or she can demonstrate proficiency on other assessments that are found to be equivalent in terms of content assessed. (5) The right of a pupil to be exempted from other required statewide assessments if equivalent or more rigorous exams are taken and equivalent or sufficiently comparable subject matter proficiency is shown. (6) Making the Early Assessment Program available to all pupils at all schools. (d) The Superintendent shall present recommendations to the state board on or before May 30, 2013. After the Superintendent presents the recommendations, two public hearings shall be held during regularly scheduled state board meetings to ensure public input and participation. (e) On or before September 30, 2013, the state board shall adopt, or modify and adopt, the recommendations. (f) The Superintendent and the state board shall present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan that meets the intent of this section. (g) The department may use federal carryover funds received pursuant to Title I of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), available funds received pursuant to Title VI of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), and any other available state and federal funds to implement this act.