CTA's bill to simplify and combine competing mandates to test California students into one overall strategy is beginning to move through the legislative process.
Assembly Bill 356, introduced by Assembly Member Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Assembly Member Gene Mullin (D-San Francisco), would align three testing imperatives under which California schools now operate:
- The High School Exit Examination (HSEE);
- The Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program;
- Mandated assessments in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
In addition, the bill would eliminate the flawed rewards and sanctions provisions in state law and protect funding needed to support the state's High Priority Schools Grant Program.
By limiting the amount of class time that can be devoted to testing in the second grade and below, AB 356 would increase instructional time for California's youngest students. The emphasis would be placed on helping students master the knowledge and skills required to meet the state's academic content standards for their grade level rather than drilling the state's youngest students on test-taking strategies.
Under the bill's provisions, the high school exit exam would be used as a primary testing instrument but not a graduation requirement. Instead, there would be multiple measures of how well students nearing graduation are meeting California's standards for academic achievement. Districts would retain the option of using the high school exit exam passage as a graduation requirement.
CTA believes the measure would save instructional time and maximize tax dollars, which could be allocated to other Proposition 98 education programs that directly impact the classroom.
The measure has been sent to the Assembly Education Committee for its first consideration.
Len Feldman