Selected Standards Laws and Policies

California Laws and Policies
State Testing System Prior to 1995
Today's Statewide Testing System
Federal Laws and Policies

California, like many other states, has a dynamic, evolving, and complex set of legislation governing standards and 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 additional 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

State Testing System Prior to 1995
The first mandated state tests of student achievement were administered in 1961 through the California Assessment Program (CAP). Over the next 30 years, the program was expanded and refined to measure the performance of schools. In 1991, Governor Pete Wilson signed legislation creating the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS), an ambitious effort to develop a new kind of testing system to meet changing expectations and—for the first time—also provide individual student scores. The legislation called for the test to be developed over five years.

In 1993, after two years of development, CLAS was administered to virtually all California students in grades 4, 8, and 10, in reading, writing, and mathematics. The scores were reported in the spring of 1994. Controversy centered on the content of the reading assessments themselves and the reliability of the sampling and scoring process in all subject areas. The reactions and subsequent debates were emotional and sometimes acrimonious. Wilson subsequently vetoed CLAS reauthorization and funding.

Today's Statewide Testing System
It is important to note that California's Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR) is not the state's first attempt at assessing student skills and knowledge. Much of the older legislation remains in effect. 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.

Pupil Testing (Senate Bill 366, 1999) The Pupil Testing bill, passed into law in February 1999, called for a six-month extension for the adoption of performance standards by the State Board of Education as outlined in Assembly Bill 265. This law required that the performance standards system be aligned to the state’s academically rigorous content standards. For the full text of this law, go to: www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset2text.htm

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.

AP Challenge Grant Program (Senate Bill 1689, 2000) Senate Bill 1689, enacted in July 2000, created the Advanced Placement (AP) Challenge Grant Program, which is intended to increase access to AP courses for all California public high school students. Beginning in 2000–01, the state will award non-renewable four-year grants to no more than 550 public high schools to establish, train, and support teacher teams focused on helping students undertake AP coursework. Funds may also be used for instructional materials, equipment, and student support programs related to AP courses. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis with priority going to those schools that offer fewer than four AP courses prior to 2000–01 For the full text of this law, go to: www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset2text.htm

Federal 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.