Assemblywoman Bonilla’s Bill Overhauling Student Assessments Heads to Governor

SACRAMENTO – The Assembly today gave bipartisan approval to Assembly Bill 484, introduced by Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla (D-Concord), which will improve educational testing methods to measure students’ academic progress.

“We can’t delay our students’ progress and their workforce readiness, just because we are not up to the challenge of facing a difficult obstacle,” said Bonilla. “This is the right educational policy at the right time, and California is the right state to lead this way forward.”

“AB 484 eliminates outdated tests and allows students and teachers to be better prepared for the new computer based assessments aligned to the common core standards,” said Bonilla. “This bill is essential in giving students and teachers more time in the classroom for valuable instruction instead of obsolete tests.”

The bill heads to the Governor who has until October 13 to sign.

Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla was first elected to the Assembly in November 2010, and represents California’s 14th Assembly District, which is comprised of the north and central portions of Contra Costa County and southern portion of Solano County.

Here is a look at the Legislative Digest

AB 484, as amended, Bonilla. Pupil assessments: Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress (MAPP).

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to develop an Academic Performance Index (API) to measure the performance of schools and school districts, especially the academic performance of pupils.

Existing law, the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act, requires the Superintendent to design and implement a statewide pupil assessment program, and requires school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, certain achievement tests, including a standards-based achievement test pursuant to the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program and the California Standards Tests. Existing law makes the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act inoperative on July 1, 2014, and repeals it on January 1, 2015.

Existing federal law, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, contains provisions generally requiring states to adopt performance goals for their public elementary and secondary schools, and to demonstrate that these public schools are making adequate yearly progress, as measured by pupil performance on standardized tests as well as other measures, to satisfy those goals.

Existing law requires the Superintendent, with approval of the state board, to develop the California Standards Tests, to measure the degree to which pupils are achieving academically rigorous content standards and performance standards, as provided.

Existing law, the Early Assessment Program, establishes a collaborative effort, headed by the California State University, to enable pupils to learn about their readiness for college-level English and mathematics before their senior year of high school.

This bill would, for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 school years, upon approval of the state board, authorize the Superintendent to not provide an API score to a school or school district due to a determination by the Superintendent that a transition to new standards-based assessments would compromise comparability of results across schools or school districts.

The bill would extend the duration of the provisions of the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act by 6 years so that they would become inoperative on July 1, 2020, and be repealed on January 1, 2021.

The bill would delete the provisions establishing the STAR Program, and instead establish the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress (MAPP), commencing with the 2013–14 school year, for the assessment of certain elementary and secondary pupils. The bill would specify that the MAPP would be composed of: a consortium summative assessment in English language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11, as specified; science grade level assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10, measuring specified content standards; the California Alternate Performance Assessment in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, in English language arts and mathematics and science in grades 5, 8, and 10, as specified; and the Early Assessment Program. The bill would specify numerous policies and procedures with respect to the development and the implementation of the MAPP by the Superintendent, the state board, and affected local educational agencies.

This bill would, commencing with the 2014–15 school year and for purposes of the Early Assessment Program, authorize the replacement of the California Standards Test and the augmented California Standards Tests in English language arts and mathematics with the grade 11 consortium computer-adaptive assessments in English language arts and mathematics, as provided.

This bill would make conforming and other related changes and nonsubstantive changes.

This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 52052 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 344, to be operative only if SB 344 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is chaptered last.

This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 99301 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 490, to be operative only if SB 490 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is chaptered last.

To read the full bill: Click here