Selected Assessment Laws and Policies


California Laws and Policies
Federal Assessment Laws and Policies

California, like many other states, has a dynamic, evolving, and complex set of legislation governing assessment. The laws and polices described here were chosen because they either framed the current system or are shaping its future. Although most of these laws are still on the books, they may look different in implementation due to administrative realities or subsequent legislation. The following summaries are based on the actual legislation passed, or policy adopted, with references to help you find out more. Although EdSource continually updates this page, it may still be necessary to contact the Legislature for recent changes in the laws and policies presented.

Whenever possible, links to full text or government website summaries follow the abstract.

California Laws and Policies

Since 1995, California has passed a series of laws aimed at creating a statewide system for assessing student skills and knowledge. At the center of this system is California's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program. To find out more about how the STAR program has evolved in California, see The Star Program.

California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act (Assembly Bill 265, 1995) The California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act, enacted in 1995, is a seminal piece of legislation in California because it created a framework for the design and implementation of California’s statewide content and performance standards. Subsequent laws have had an impact on which portions of Assembly Bill 265 have actually been implemented. The original law set a time line for the creation of statewide academically rigorous content and performance standards in various curriculum areas. Two panels were created under this law to develop and recommend standards for State Board of Education (SBE) approval and to review proposed assessment materials. For the full text of this law, go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/95-96/bill/asm/ab_0251-0300/ab_265_bill_951016_chaptered.html.

Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR) (Senate Bill 376, 1997; Senate Bill 233, 2001) The Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR) legislation requires districts to administer an achievement test to every student in second through 11th grade, including Limited English Proficient and Special Education students not exempted by their Individualized Education Program (IEP). According to the law, the test must produce valid, reliable, and comparable scores for individual students, as well as group scores (e.g., grade-by-grade, for all schools, school districts, counties, and the state). The law mandates that a commercially published, nationally normed test be used. SB 376, passed in 1997, was amended and STAR was reauthorized by SB 233 in 2001. For the full text of SB 376, go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/97-98/bill/sen/sb_0351-0400/sb_376_bill_19971010_chaptered.html. SB 233 extended the current STAR program until January 2005, while allowing for changes to the program before that. The guiding principles for this extension were to emphasize tests based on state standards and minimize the disruption of instructional time. In furthering these goals, the new law laid the groundwork for a number of changes to the STAR system. These include: Creating new standards-based tests in history/social science and in science at one upper-elementary or middle-school grade, and in mathematics for 8th and 9th graders who have not taken Algebra 1 or Integrated Math 1; Consolidating, at the high-school level, the Standards Tests and Golden State Exams as appropriate; Eliminating the history/social science component of the Stanford-9 at the high school level by 2003; As appropriate, allowing adoption of a different national norm-referenced test than the Stanford-9 Form T currently in use; and conducting technical evaluations to ensure the coherence and quality of the testing system. For the full text of SB 233, go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/01-02/bill/sen/sb_0201-0250/sb_233_bill_20011011_chaptered.html.

High School Exit Exam (Senate Bill 2x, 1999) SB 2x, enacted in April 1999, requires California high school seniors to pass an exam in order to receive a diploma. Developed to align with the state’s rigorous academic content standards, the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) tests students in English language arts and mathematics. In order to give districts time to align their curriculum to the state’s standards, SB 2X postponed the implementation of the exam requirement until the class of 2004. But legislation enacted in October 2001 (AB 1609) authorized the State Board of Education to delay the requirement to pass the exam as a condition of graduation. The board had to wait until it received an independent evaluation of the exam in May 2003 to decide. Based partially on the evaluation by Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), the board decided to postpone implementation of the exam requirement until the class of 2006. In reaction to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Special Education students, lawmakers enacted SB 517 in January 2006. The law exempts Special Education students in the class of 2006 from having to take the exit exam to graduate as long as they meet certain requirements. The law also required the state to gather data from the class of 2006 to inform long-term policy that could affect Special Education students in the class of 2007 and beyond. For the full text of SB 2X, go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/99-00/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx1_2_bill_19990329_chaptered.html. For more information on the High School Exit Exam, visit the California Department of Education’s CAHSEE webpage: www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs.

Governor's Scholarship Programs (Senate Bill 1688, 2000) Senate Bill (SB) 1688 established the Governor’s Scholars Program and the Governor’s Distinguished Mathematics and Science Scholars Program, providing incentives for student achievement through financial rewards directly to students. The state only funded the program for students who qualified on tests taken in 2001 and 2002. Legislators decided to no longer fund the program when they faced a fiscal crisis in 2002–03. For exam year 2001, the deadline for claiming the scholarships is June 30, 2006. For exam year 2002, the deadline is June 30, 2007. The Governor’s Scholarship Program awards $1,000 scholarships to 9th, 10th, and 11th graders who scored well in reading and math exams on the state achievement test. Students’ awards are held and invested in their name until they are ready to use them toward tuition and fees at any qualifying post-secondary institution nationwide. To be eligible, students must have been in the top 5% of test takers in their grade level statewide or in the top 10% of test takers in their grade level in the high schools they attend. Students could earn one award annually. To be eligible for the Governor’s Distinguished Mathematics and Science Scholars Program, students must have earned a governor’s scholarship and demonstrate high achievement in math and science, as measured by their performance on Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate exams. (If a school didn't offer those exams, a student could have qualified by scoring well on Golden State exams in the subjects before Dec. 31, 2001. The state no longer offers Golden State exams.) Students may earn a single scholarship of $2,500 for their achievement. To read the full text of Senate Bill 1688, go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/99-00/bill/sen/sb_1651-1700/sb_1688_bill_20000912_chaptered.html.

Federal Assessment Laws and Policies

Title I (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965) Title I is a subsection of the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. It was revised and reauthorized by Congress in December 2001 and signed into law in January 2002. Title I provides funding to those schools with the highest percentages of children from low-income families. Schools receiving Title I funds for the most part must use this money to aid pupils who are failing or at risk of failing to meet state standards. Beginning in 1998, to qualify for these funds states must have developed and adopted challenging content and performance standards and have an assessment system with multiple measures of student performance in place. The Title I legislation also calls for the adopted assessments to be aligned to the state standards and requires the inclusion of all pupils, including Special Education and bilingual students, in the statewide assessment. Many states have had difficulty fully complying with Title I legislation. The 2001 reauthorization, included in the law called the "No Child Left Behind Act," increased the federal focus on disadvantaged students. As of fall 2002, every teacher paid for with Title I funding must be "highly qualified." Part of the increase in funding goes for targeted and incentive grants for programs for low-performing students. Districts may transfer other federal funds into (but not out of) Title I programs. Schools that have not improved for at least three years must use some Title I money to pay for supplementary education if parents request it. Some of the Title I funds come in a block grant to be administered by the California Department of Education, which then sets guidelines. California has submitted for approval by the federal government a Title I spending plan that will determine the eventual impact on local schools. For the EdSource summary of the new law, go to About The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 . To find out more about the multiple programs and requirements of Title I, see the full text at: www.ed.gov/nclb (click on Law-P.L. 107-110 to locate Title I in the table of contents). To link to a summary page on the assessment requirements in Title I (1996), go to: www.ed.gov/pubs/IASA/newsletters/assess/pt2.html.