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SB-637 Pupil assessment: high school exit examination.(2007-2008)

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SB637:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 637

Introduced  by  Senator Wyland

February 22, 2007

An act to amend Sections 60850 and 60851 of the Education Code, relating to pupil assessment.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 637, as introduced, Wyland. Pupil assessment: high school exit examination.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to develop a high school exit examination in English language arts and mathematics in accordance with state academic content standards. Existing law requires, commencing with the 2003–04 school year and each school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 to successfully pass the exit examination as a condition of graduation from high school. Existing law requires that each pupil take the high school exit examination in grade 10 beginning in the 2001–02 school year and allows each pupil to take the examination during each subsequent administration, until each section of the examination has been passed.
This bill would require the Superintendent, with the approval of the State Board, to develop an additional section to be included in the high school exit examination that tests United States history and government in accordance with the statewide academically rigorous content standards for history/social science adopted by the State Board, as specified. The bill would require the Superintendent to subject the United States history and government section to specified field testing and review requirements prior to adoption by the State Board. The bill would require the State Board, by January 1, 2009, to adopt a United States history and government section developed by the Superintendent for inclusion in the high school exit examination. The bill would require, commencing with the 2012–13 school year and each school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12, in addition to successfully passing the English language arts and mathematics sections of the high school exit examination, to successfully pass the United States history and government section adopted by the state board. The bill would require, commencing with the 2010–11 school year, each pupil to take the high school exit examination, including the United States history and government section, in grade 10 and would allow each pupil to take the examination during each subsequent administration, until each section of the examination has been passed.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 60850 of the Education Code is amended to read:

60850.
 (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, shall develop a high school exit examination in English language arts and mathematics in accordance with the statewide academically rigorous content standards adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 60605. To facilitate the development of the examination, the superintendent Superintendent shall review any existing high school subject matter examinations that are linked to, or can be aligned with, the statewide academically rigorous content standards for English language arts and mathematics adopted by the State Board of Education. By October 1, 2000, the State Board of Education shall adopt a high school exit examination that is aligned with statewide academically rigorous content standards.
(b) The Superintendent, with the approval of the State Board, shall develop an additional section to be included in the high school exit examination that tests United States history and government in accordance with the statewide academically rigorous content standards for history/social science adopted by the State Board pursuant to Section 60605. Prior to adoption by the State Board, the Superintendent shall subject the United States history and government section to the field testing and review requirements specified in subdivisions (d) and (e). By January 1, 2009, the State Board shall adopt a United States history and government section developed pursuant to this subdivision for inclusion in the high school exit examination.

(b)

(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, shall establish a High School Exit Examination Standards Panel to assist in the design and composition of the exit examination and to ensure that the examination is aligned with statewide academically rigorous content standards. Members of the panel shall include, but are not limited to, teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, and the general public. Members of the panel shall serve without compensation for a term of two years and shall be representative of the state’s ethnic and cultural diversity and gender balance. The superintendent Superintendent shall also make the best effort to ensure representation of the state’s diversity relative to urban, suburban, and rural areas. The State Department of Education department shall provide staff to the panel.

(c)

(d) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall require that the examination be field tested before actual implementation to ensure that the examination is free from bias and that its content is valid and reliable.

(d)

(e) Before the State Board of Education adopts the exit examination, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall submit the examination to the Statewide Pupil Assessment Review Panel established pursuant to Section 60606. The panel shall review all items or questions to ensure that the content of the examination complies with the requirements of Section 60614.

(e)

(f) The exit examination prescribed in subdivision (a) subdivisions (a) and (b) shall conform to the following standards or it shall not be required as a condition of graduation:
(1) The examination may not be administered to a pupil who did not receive adequate notice as provided for in paragraph (1) (2) of subdivision (f) (g) regarding the test.
(2) The examination, regardless of federal financial participation, shall comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d et seq.), its implementing regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 100), and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1701).
(3) The examination shall have instructional and curricular validity.
(4) The examination shall be scored as a criterion referenced examination.

(f)

(g) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Accommodations” means any variation in the assessment environment or process that does not fundamentally alter what the test measures or affect the comparability of scores. “Accommodations” may include variations in scheduling, setting, aids, equipment, and presentation format.
(2) “Adequate notice” means that the pupil and his or her parent or guardian have received written notice, at the commencement of the pupil’s 9th grade, and each year thereafter through the annual notification process established pursuant to Section 48980, or if a transfer pupil, at the time the pupil transfers. A pupil who has taken the exit examination in the 10th grade is deemed to have had “adequate notice” as defined in this paragraph.
(3) “Curricular validity” means that the examination tests for content found in the instructional textbooks. For the purposes of this section, any textbook or other instructional material adopted pursuant to this code and consistent with the state’s adopted curriculum frameworks shall be deemed to satisfy this definition.
(4) “Instructional validity” means that the examination is consistent with what is expected to be taught. For the purposes of this section, instruction that is consistent with the state’s adopted curriculum frameworks for the subjects tested shall be deemed to satisfy this definition.
(5) “Modification” means any variation in the assessment environment or process that fundamentally alters what the test measures or affects the comparability of scores.

(g)

(h) The examination shall be offered to individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, in accordance with paragraph (17) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 794 and following of Title 29 of the United States Code. Individuals with exceptional needs shall be administered the examination with appropriate accommodations, where necessary.

(h)

(i) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit prohibits a school district from requiring pupils to pass additional exit examinations approved by the governing board of the school district as a condition for graduation.

SEC. 2.

 Section 60851 of the Education Code is amended to read:

60851.
 (a) Commencing with the 2003–04 school year and each school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 shall successfully pass the high school exit examination as a condition of receiving a diploma of graduation or a condition of graduation from high school. Commencing with the 2012–13 school year and each school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 shall, in addition to successfully passing the English language arts and mathematics sections of the high school exit examination, successfully pass the United States history and government section of the high school exit examination adopted by the State Board pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 60850. Funding for the administration of the high school exit examination shall be provided for in the annual Budget Act. The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated for this purpose to enable school districts to meet the requirements of this subdivision and subdivisions (b), (c), and (d). The state board State Board shall establish the amount of funding to be apportioned per test administered, based on a review of the cost per test.
(b) Each pupil shall take the high school exit examination in grade 10 beginning in the 2001–02 school year and may take the examination during each subsequent administration, until each section of the examination has been passed. Commencing with the 2010–11 school year, each pupil shall take the high school exit examination, including the United States history and government section adopted by the State Board pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 60850, in grade 10 and may take the examination during each subsequent administration, until each section of the examination has been passed.
(c) (1) At the parent or guardian’s request, a school principal shall submit a request for a waiver of the requirement to successfully pass the high school exit examination to the governing board of the school district for a pupil with a disability who has taken the high school exit examination with modifications that alter what the test measures and has received the equivalent of a passing score on one or both, two, or all subject matter parts of the high school exit examination. A governing board of a school district may waive the requirement to successfully pass one or both subject matter parts of the high school exit examination for a pupil with a disability if the principal certifies to the governing board of the school district that the pupil has all of the following:
(A) An individualized education program adopted pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) or a plan adopted pursuant to Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794(a)) in place that requires the accommodations or modifications to be provided to the pupil when taking the high school exit examination.
(B) Sufficient high school level coursework either satisfactorily completed or in progress in a high school level curriculum sufficient to have attained the skills and knowledge otherwise needed to pass the high school exit examination.
(C) An individual score report for the pupil showing that the pupil has received the equivalent of a passing score on the high school exit examination while using a modification that fundamentally alters what the high school exit examination measures as determined by the state board State Board.
(2) A school district shall report to the state board State Board, in a manner and by a date determined by the Superintendent, the number and characteristics of waivers reviewed, granted, and denied under this subdivision and any additional information determined to be in furtherance of this subdivision.
(d) The high school exit examination shall be offered in each public school and state special school that provides instruction in grades 10, 11, or 12, on the dates designated by the Superintendent. An exit examination may not be administered on any date other than those designated by the Superintendent as examination days or makeup days.
(e) The results of the high school exit examination shall be provided to each pupil taking the examination within eight weeks of the examination administration and in time for the pupil to take any section of the examination not passed at the next administration. A pupil shall take again only those parts of the examination he or she has not previously passed and may shall not retake any portion of the exit examination that he or she has previously passed.
(f) Supplemental instruction shall be provided to any pupil who does not demonstrate sufficient progress toward passing the high school exit examination. To the extent that school districts have aligned their curriculum with the state academic content standards adopted by the state board State Board, the curriculum for supplemental instruction shall reflect those standards and shall be designed to assist the pupils to succeed on the high school exit examination. This chapter does not require the provision of supplemental services using resources that are not regularly available to a school or school district, including summer school instruction provided pursuant to Section 37252. In no event shall any action taken as a result of this subdivision cause or require reimbursement by the Commission on State Mandates. Sufficient progress shall be determined on the basis of either of the following:
(1) The results of the assessments administered pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33 and the minimum levels of proficiency recommended by the state board State Board pursuant to Section 60648.
(2) The grades of the pupil and other indicators of academic achievement designated by the school district.