BILL NUMBER: AB 1521 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 6, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 14, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)
JANUARY 18, 2012
An act to amend Section 60642.5 of, and to add Section 60640.2 to,
the Education Code, relating to pupil assessment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1521, as amended, Brownley. Standardized Testing and Reporting
Program: academic achievement: assessment instrument.
The
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, with approval of the State Board of Education, to
develop an Academic Performance Index (API), as part of the Public
School Performance Accountability Program, to measure the performance
of schools, especially the academic performance of pupils. The
Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act
requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to design and implement a statewide pupil assessment program, known
as the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program. Existing
law requires the State Department of Education to develop and adopt
primary language assessments that are aligned to the state academic
content standards, as specified. Existing law requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction , with
approval of the State Board of Education,
state board, to provide for the development of an assessment
instrument that measures the degree to which pupils are achieving the
academically rigorous content standards and performance standards,
to the extent standards have been adopted by the State Board
of Education state board . Existing law
requires these standards-based achievement tests to include certain
subject areas, as specified, and requires, at a minimum, a direct
writing assessment once in elementary school and once in middle or
junior high school and other items of applied academic skills if
deemed valid and reliable, and if resources are made available for
their use.
This bill would authorize the State Department of Education,
subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, to make
available to school districts and charter schools a primary language
assessment, as specified, that allows school districts and charter
schools to assess pupils who are enrolled in a dual
language immersion program, as specified, and who are
either nonlimited English proficient or redesignated fluent English
proficient. The bill would require that a school district or charter
school that chooses to administer the primary language assessment do
so at its own expense, and enter into an agreement, subject to the
approval of the department, with the state testing contractor, as
specified.
The bill also would delete the requirements of
the standards-based achievement tests, and would instead require the
standards-based achievement tests to include California Standards
Tests, modified assessments, alternate performance assessments, and
primary language assessments, as specified, that assess identified
subject areas in specified grades. The bill also would state the
intent of the Legislature that, in the absence of an
end-of-course assessment pursuant to these provisions, a school not
be assigned a failing performance level when calculating the school's
API score.
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. Section 60640.2 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
60640.2. (a) Subject to the approval of the state board, the
department may make available to school districts and charter schools
a primary language assessment developed pursuant to subparagraph (A)
of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 60640 for assessing
pupils who are enrolled in a dual language immersion
program that includes the primary language of the assessment and
who are either nonlimited English proficient or redesignated
fluent English proficient. The cost for the assessment shall be the
same for all school districts and charter schools, and shall not
exceed the marginal cost of the assessment.
(b) A school district or charter school that chooses to administer
a primary language assessment pursuant to this section shall do so
at its own expense, and shall enter into an agreement for that
purpose with the state testing contractor, as described in
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section
60640, subject to the approval of the department.
SEC. 2. Section 60642.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60642.5. (a) The Superintendent, with approval of the state
board, shall provide for the development of an assessment instrument
under the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program that measures
the degree to which pupils are achieving the academically rigorous
content standards and performance standards, to the extent standards
have been adopted by the state board. These standards-based
achievement tests shall include all of the following assessments:
(1) California Standards Tests that assess:
(A) English language arts in grades 2 to 11, inclusive.
(B) Mathematics in grades 2 to 8, inclusive.
(C) End-of-course mathematics assessments for algebra I, geometry,
algebra II, and summative high school mathematics.
(D) Science in grades 5, 8, and 10.
(E) End-of-course science assessments for biology, chemistry,
earth science, and physics.
(F) History-social science in grades 8 and 11.
(G) End-of-course assessments for world history.
(2) Modified assessments that assess:
(A) English language arts in grades 3 to 11, inclusive.
(B) Mathematics in grades 3 to 7, inclusive.
(C) End-of-course mathematics assessments for algebra I and
geometry.
(D) Science in grades 5, 8, and 10.
(3) Alternate performance assessments that assess:
(A) English language arts in grades 2 to 11, inclusive.
(B) Mathematics in grades 2 to 8, inclusive, and in
grades 10 and 11 , inclusive .
(C) Science in grades 5, 8, and 10.
(4) Primary language assessments, if available, pursuant to
paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 60640 that assess:
(A) Reading/language arts in grades 2 to 11, inclusive.
(B) Mathematics in grades 2 to 8, inclusive.
(C) End-of-course mathematics assessments for algebra I and
geometry.
(b) This section, as amended during the 2011-12 Regular Session,
does not require the department to develop or administer new
assessments.
(c) In approving a contract for the development or administration
of the California Standards Tests, the state board shall consider
each of the following:
(1) The ability of the contractor to produce valid, reliable
individual pupil scores.
(2) The ability of the contractor to report results pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 60643 by August 8.
(3) The ability of the contractor to ensure alignment between the
standards-based achievement test and the academically rigorous
content and performance standards as those standards are adopted by
the state board. This criterion shall include the ability of the
contractor to implement a process to establish and maintain alignment
between the test items and the standards.
(4) The per pupil cost estimates of developing and, if
appropriate, administering the proposed assessment with a system to
facilitate the determination of future per pupil cost determinations.
(5) The procedures of the contractor to ensure the security and
integrity of test questions and materials.
(6) The experience of the contractor in successfully conducting
testing programs adopted and administered by other states. For
experience to be considered, the number of grades and pupils tested
shall be provided.
(d) The standards-based achievement tests may use items from other
tests.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in the absence of an
end-of-course assessment pursuant to this section, a school not be
assigned a failing performance level when calculating its Academic
Performance Index score pursuant to Section 52052.