ARTICLE 4. California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress [60640. - 60648.5.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 4.

in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60640. Section 60640.

(a) There is hereby established the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, to be known as the CAASPP. (b) Commencing with the 2013–14 school year, the CAASPP shall be composed of all of the following: (1) (A) A consortium summative assessment in English language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11 that measures content standards adopted by the state board. (B) In the 2013–14 school year, the consortium summative assessment in English language arts and mathematics shall be a field test only, to enable the consortium to gauge the validity and reliability of these assessments and to conduct all necessary psychometric procedures and studies, including, but not necessarily limited to, achievement standard setting, and to allow the department to conduct studies regarding full implementation of the assessment system. These field tests and results shall not be used for any other purpose, including the calculation of any accountability measure. (2) (A) Science grade level assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10 that measure content standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605, until a successor assessment is implemented pursuant to subparagraph (B). (B) For science assessments, the Superintendent shall make a recommendation to the state board as soon as is feasible after the adoption of science content standards pursuant to former Section 60605.85, as that section read on June 30, 2014, regarding the assessment of the newly adopted standards. Before making recommendations, the Superintendent shall consult with stakeholders, including, but not necessarily limited to, California science teachers, individuals with expertise in assessing English learners and pupils with disabilities, parents, and measurement experts, regarding the grade level and type of assessment. The recommendations shall include cost estimates and a plan for implementation of at least one assessment in each of the following grade spans: (i) Grades 3 to 5, inclusive. (ii) Grades 6 to 9, inclusive. (iii) Grades 10 to 12, inclusive. (3) 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, which measures content standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605 until a successor assessment is implemented. The successor assessment shall be limited to the grades and subject areas assessed pursuant to paragraph (1) and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2). (4) The Early Assessment Program established by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 99300) of Part 65 of Division 14 of Title 3. (5) (A) A local educational agency may administer a primary language assessment aligned to the English language arts standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605, as it read on January 1, 2013, to pupils who are identified as limited English proficient and enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, until a subsequent primary language assessment aligned to the common core standards in English language arts adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 is developed pursuant to subparagraph (E). (B) If a local educational agency chooses to administer a primary language assessment to pupils identified as limited English proficient and enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, pursuant to subparagraph (A), it shall notify the department in a manner to be determined by the department and the costs shall be paid by the state and included as part of the testing contract, and the department shall provide the local educational agency a per pupil apportionment for administering the assessment pursuant to subdivision (l). (C) The Superintendent shall consult with stakeholders, including assessment and English learner experts, to determine the content and purpose of a stand-alone language arts summative assessment in primary languages other than English that aligns with the English language arts content standards. The Superintendent shall consider the appropriate purpose for this assessment, including, but not necessarily limited to, support for the State Seal of Biliteracy and accountability. It is the intent of the Legislature that an assessment developed pursuant to this section be included in the state accountability system. (D) The Superintendent shall report and make recommendations to the state board at a regularly scheduled public meeting no sooner than one year after the first full administration of the consortium computer-adaptive assessments in English language arts and mathematics summative assessments in grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11, regarding an implementation timeline and estimated costs of a stand-alone language arts summative assessment in primary languages other than English. (E) The Superintendent shall develop, and the state board shall adopt, a primary language assessment. The Superintendent shall administer this assessment no later than the 2016–17 school year. (F) This paragraph shall be operative only to the extent that funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute for the purpose of this section. (c) No later than March 1, 2016, the Superintendent shall submit to the state board recommendations on expanding the CAASPP to include additional assessments, for consideration at a regularly scheduled public meeting. The Superintendent shall also submit these recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and to the Director of Finance in accordance with all of the following: (1) In consultation with stakeholders, including, but not necessarily limited to, California teachers, individuals with expertise in assessing English learners and pupils with disabilities, parents, and measurement experts, the Superintendent shall make recommendations regarding assessments, including the grade level, content, and type of assessment. These recommendations shall take into consideration the assessments already administered or planned pursuant to subdivision (b). The Superintendent shall consider the use of consortium-developed assessments, various item types, computer-based testing, and a timeline for implementation. (2) The recommendations shall consider assessments in subjects, including, but not necessarily limited to, history-social science, technology, visual and performing arts, and other subjects as appropriate, as well as English language arts, mathematics, and science assessments to augment the assessments required under subdivision (b), and the use of various assessment options, including, but not necessarily limited to, computer-based tests, locally scored performance tasks, and portfolios. (3) The recommendations shall include the use of an assessment calendar that would schedule the assessments identified pursuant to paragraph (2) over several years, the use of matrix sampling, if appropriate, and the use of population sampling. (4) The recommendations shall include a timeline for test development, and shall include cost estimates for subject areas, as appropriate. (5) Upon approval by the state board and the appropriation of funding for this purpose, the Superintendent shall develop and administer approved assessments. The state board shall approve test blueprints, achievement level descriptors, testing periods, performance standards, and a reporting plan for each approved assessment. (6) The Superintendent shall convene an advisory panel, consisting of, but not necessarily limited to, secondary teachers, school administrators, school board members, parents, a student chosen from among the two finalists who were not appointed by the Governor to serve as the student member on the state board pursuant to Section 33000.5, representatives of a dropout recovery charter school operating pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 47605.1, measurement experts, and individuals with expertise in assessing English learners and pupils with disabilities, to provide recommendations to the Superintendent on the continuation of the high school exit examination, described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 60850), and on alternative pathways to satisfy the high school graduation requirements pursuant to Sections 51224.5 and 51225.3. (d) For the 2013–14 and 2014–15 school years, the department shall make available to local educational agencies Standardized Testing and Reporting Program test forms no longer required by the CAASPP. The cost of implementing this subdivision, including, but not necessarily limited to, shipping, printing, scoring, and reporting per pupil shall be the same for all local educational agencies, and shall not exceed the marginal cost of the assessment, including any cost the department incurs to implement this section. A local educational agency that chooses to administer an assessment pursuant to this subdivision shall do so at its own expense, and shall enter into an agreement for that purpose with a contractor, subject to the approval of the department. (e) The Superintendent shall make available a paper and pencil version of any computer-based CAASPP assessment for use by pupils who are unable to access the computer-based version of the assessment for a maximum of three years after a new operational test is first administered. (f) (1) From the funds available for that purpose, each local educational agency shall administer assessments to each of its pupils pursuant to subdivision (b). These assessments shall include the use of accessibility resources, as may be determined by the department, and those determinations shall not be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). As allowable by federal statute, recently arrived English learner pupils are exempted from taking the assessment in English language arts. The state board shall establish a testing period to provide that all schools administer these tests to pupils at approximately the same time during the instructional year. The testing period established by the state board shall take into consideration the need of local educational agencies to provide makeup days for pupils who were absent during testing, as well as the need to schedule testing on electronic computing devices. (2) For the 2013–14 school year, each local educational agency shall administer the field tests in a manner described by the department in consultation with the president or executive director of the state board. Additional participants in the field test beyond the representative sample may be approved by the department, and the department shall use existing contract savings to fund local educational agency participation in one or more tests per participant. Funds for this purpose shall be used to allow for maximum participation in the field tests across the state. To the extent savings in the current contract are not available to fully fund this participation, the department shall prorate available funds by test. Local educational agencies shall bear any additional costs to administer these assessments that are in excess of the contracted amount. With the approval of the state board and the Director of Finance, the department shall amend the existing assessment contract to accommodate field testing beyond the representative sample, and to allow for special studies using information collected from the field tests. (g) From the funds available for that purpose, each local educational agency shall administer assessments as determined by the state board pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (c). (h) As feasible, the CAASPP field tests shall be conducted in a manner that will minimize the testing burden on individual schools. The CAASPP field tests shall not produce individual pupil scores unless it is determined that these scores are valid and reliable. (i) The governing board of a school district may administer achievement tests in grades other than those required by this section as it deems appropriate. (j) Subject to the approval of the state board, the department may make available to local educational agencies a primary language assessment aligned to the English language arts standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605, as it read on January 1, 2013, for assessing pupils who are enrolled in a dual language immersion program that includes the primary language of the assessment and who are either nonlimited English proficient or redesignated fluent English proficient until a subsequent primary language assessment aligned to the common core standards in English language arts adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 is developed pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b). The cost for the assessment shall be the same for all local educational agencies and shall not exceed the marginal cost of the assessment, including any cost the department incurs to implement this section. A local educational agency that elects to administer a primary language assessment pursuant to this subdivision shall do so at its own expense and shall enter into an agreement for that purpose with the state testing contractor, subject to the approval of the department. (k) Pursuant to Section 1412(a)(16) of Title 20 of the United States Code, individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, shall be included in the testing requirement of subdivision (b) with appropriate accommodations in administration, where necessary, and the individuals with exceptional needs who are unable to participate in the testing, even with accommodations, shall be given an alternate assessment. ( l ) (1) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated for these purposes to local educational agencies to enable them to meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c). (A) For the CAASPP field tests administered in the 2013–14 school year or later school years, the Superintendent shall apportion funds to local educational agencies if funds are specifically provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act. (B) The Superintendent shall apportion funds to local educational agencies to enable them to administer assessments used to satisfy the voluntary Early Assessment Program in the 2013–14 school year pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b). (2) The state board annually shall establish the amount of funding to be apportioned to local educational agencies for each test administered and annually shall establish the amount that each contractor shall be paid for each test administered under the contracts required pursuant to Section 60643. The amounts to be paid to the contractors shall be determined by considering the cost estimates submitted by each contractor each September and the amount included in the annual Budget Act, and by making allowance for the estimated costs to local educational agencies for compliance with the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c). The state board shall take into account changes to local educational agency test administration activities under the CAASPP, including, but not limited to, the number and type of tests administered and changes in computerized test registration and administration procedures, when establishing the amount of funding to be apportioned to local educational agencies for each test administered. (3) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned per test shall not be valid without the approval of the Director of Finance. A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned per test shall be submitted in writing to the Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature with accompanying material justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of Finance is authorized to approve only those adjustments related to activities required by statute. The Director of Finance shall approve or disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the request and shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature of the decision. (m) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation for the apportionments made pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (l), and the payments made to the contractors under the contracts required pursuant to Section 60643 or subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60605 between the department and the contractor, are “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the applicable fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for that fiscal year. (n) As a condition to receiving an apportionment pursuant to subdivision (l), a local educational agency shall report to the Superintendent all of the following: (1) The pupils enrolled in the local educational agency in the grades in which assessments were administered pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c). (2) The pupils to whom an achievement test was administered pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) in the local educational agency. (3) The pupils in paragraph (1) who were exempted from the test pursuant to this section. (o) The Superintendent and the state board are authorized and encouraged to assist postsecondary educational institutions to use the assessment results of the CAASPP, including, but not necessarily limited to, the grade 11 consortium summative assessments in English language arts and mathematics, for academic credit, placement, or admissions processes. (p) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget Act for this purpose, and exclusive of the consortium assessments, the Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, annually shall release to the public test items from the achievement tests pursuant to Section 60642.5 administered in previous years. Where feasible and practicable, the minimum number of test items released per year shall be equal to 25 percent of the total number of test items on the test administered in the previous year. (q) On or before July 1, 2014, Sections 850 to 868, inclusive, of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations shall be revised by the state board to conform to the changes made to this section in the first year of the 2013–14 Regular Session. The state board shall adopt initial regulations as emergency regulations to immediately implement the CAASPP assessments, including, but not necessarily limited to, the administration, scoring, and reporting of the tests, as the adoption of emergency regulations is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare within the meaning of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. The emergency regulations shall be followed by the adoption of permanent regulations, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60641. Section 60641.

(a) The department shall ensure that local educational agencies comply with each of the following requirements: (1) The achievement tests provided for in Section 60640 are scheduled to be administered to all pupils, inclusive of pupils enrolled in charter schools and exclusive of pupils exempted pursuant to Section 60640, during the period prescribed in subdivision (b) of Section 60640. (2) For assessments that produce valid individual pupil results, the individual results of each pupil tested pursuant to Section 60640 shall be reported, in writing, to the parent or guardian of the pupil. The report shall include a clear explanation of the purpose of the test, the score of the pupil, and the intended use by the local educational agency of the test score. This subdivision does not require teachers or other local educational agency personnel to prepare individualized explanations of the test score of each pupil. It is the intent of the Legislature that this section does not preclude a school or school district from meeting the reporting requirement by the use of electronic media formats that secure the confidentiality of the pupil and the pupil’s results. State agencies or local educational agencies shall not use a comparison resulting from the scores and results of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) assessments and the assessment scores and results from assessments that measured previously adopted content standards. (3) (A) For assessments that produce valid individual pupil results, the individual results of each pupil tested pursuant to Section 60640 also shall be reported to the school and teachers of a pupil. The local educational agency shall include the test results of a pupil in the pupil’s records. However, except as provided in this section and Section 60607, personally identifiable pupil test results only may be released with the permission of either the pupil’s parent or guardian if the pupil is a minor, or the pupil if the pupil has reached the age of majority or is emancipated. (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 60607, a pupil or the pupil’s parent or guardian may authorize the release of individual pupil results to a postsecondary educational institution for purposes of credit, placement, determination of readiness for college-level coursework, or admission. (4) The districtwide, school-level, and grade-level results of the CAASPP in each of the grades designated pursuant to Section 60640, but not the score or relative position of any individually ascertainable pupil, shall be reported to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting, and the countywide, school-level, and grade-level results for classes and programs under the jurisdiction of the county office of education shall be similarly reported to the county board of education at a regularly scheduled meeting. (b) The state board shall adopt regulations that outline a calendar for delivery and receipt of summative assessment results at the pupil, school, grade, district, county, and state levels. The calendar shall include delivery dates to the department, consistent with the deadline specified in subdivision (c), and to local educational agencies. The calendar for delivery shall provide for the timely return of assessment results, and consider the amount of paper-and-pencil administered assessments and number of items requiring hand scoring. The calendar shall also ensure that individual assessment results are reported to local educational agencies within eight weeks of receipt by the contractor for scoring. (c) The department shall make statewide summative assessment results publicly available on or before October 15 each year. (d) Aggregated, disaggregated, or group scores or reports that include the results of the CAASPP assessments, inclusive of the reports developed pursuant to Section 60630, shall not be publicly reported to any party other than the school or local educational agency where the pupils were tested, if the aggregated, disaggregated, or group scores or reports are comprised of 10 or fewer individual pupil assessment results. Exclusive of the reports developed pursuant to Section 60630, in no case shall any group score or report be displayed that would deliberately or inadvertently make the score or performance of any individual pupil or teacher identifiable. (e) The department shall ensure that pupils in grade 11, or parents or legal guardians of those pupils, may request results from grade 11 assessments administered as part of the CAASPP for purposes of determining credit, placement, or readiness for college-level coursework be released to a postsecondary educational institution.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60642.5. Section 60642.5.

(a) The Superintendent, with approval of the state board, shall provide for the development of an assessment instrument, to be called the California Standards Tests, that measures the degree to which pupils are achieving the academically rigorous content standards and performance standards, to the extent standards have been adopted by the state board. These standards-based achievement tests shall contain the subject areas specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 60603 for grades 2 to 8, inclusive, and shall include an assessment in history/social science in at least one elementary or middle school grade level selected by the state board and science in at least one elementary or middle school grade level selected by the state board, and the core curriculum areas specified in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 60603 for grades 9 to 11, inclusive, except that history-social science shall not be included in the grade 9 assessment unless the state board adopts academic content standards for a grade 9 history-social science course, and shall include, at a minimum, a direct writing assessment once in elementary school and once in middle or junior high school and other items of applied academic skill if deemed valid and reliable and if resources are made available for their use. (b) In approving a contract for the development or administration of the California Standards Tests, the state board shall consider each of the following criteria: (1) The ability of the contractor to produce valid, reliable individual pupil scores. (2) The ability of the contractor to report results pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 60643 by August 8. (3) The ability of the contractor to ensure alignment between the standards-based achievement test and the academically rigorous content and performance standards as those standards are adopted by the state board. This criterion shall include the ability of the contractor to implement a process to establish and maintain alignment between the test items and the standards. (4) The per pupil cost estimates of developing and, if appropriate, administering the proposed assessment with a system to facilitate the determination of future per pupil cost determinations. (5) The procedures of the contractor to ensure the security and integrity of test questions and materials. (6) The experience of the contractor in successfully conducting testing programs adopted and administered by other states. For experience to be considered, the number of grades and pupils tested shall be provided. (c) The standards-based achievement tests may use items from other tests.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60642.6. Section 60642.6.

(a) The department shall acquire, and offer at no cost to local educational agencies, interim and formative assessment tools for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided through the consortium membership pursuant to Section 60605.7. The interim assessments shall be designed to provide timely feedback to teachers that they may use, in combination with other sources of information they have about their pupils’ progress, to continually adjust instruction to improve learning. (b) A local educational agency that elects to use the interim assessments provided for under this section shall ensure that teachers who administer the assessments have access to all functions and information, which are designed for teacher use, relating to the assessments and pupil performance on the assessments. (c) All interim assessments offered pursuant to this section shall be developed in close consultation with current classroom teachers at each grade level assessed for the purpose of soliciting feedback regarding the capacity of the interim assessments to provide timely feedback to allow teachers to continually adjust instruction to improve learning.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60642.7. Section 60642.7.

(a) Interim assessments offered by the department to local educational agencies, including those offered pursuant to Section 60642.6, are intended for the purposes of improving teaching and pupil learning. Results of the assessments may be used to provide timely feedback to teachers that they may use to continually adjust instruction to improve learning, for communication with pupils’ parents or guardians, and for use by teachers in identifying professional development goals. (b) Results from the interim assessments offered by the department, including those offered pursuant to Section 60642.6, shall not be used for any high-stakes purpose, including, but not limited to, teacher or other school staff evaluation, accountability, pupil grade promotion or retention, graduation, course or class placement, identification for gifted or talented education, reclassification of English learners, or identification as an individual with exceptional needs.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60643. Section 60643.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the contractor or contractors of the achievement tests provided for in Section 60640 shall comply with all of the conditions and requirements of the contract to the satisfaction of the Superintendent and the state board. (b) (1) The department shall develop, and the Superintendent and the state board shall approve, a contract or contracts to be entered into with a contractor in connection with the tests provided for in Sections 60640 and 60810. The department may develop the contract through negotiations. In approving a contract amendment to the contract authorized pursuant to this section, the department, in consultation with the state board, may make material amendments to the contract that do not increase the contract cost. Contract amendments that increase contract costs may only be made with the approval of the department, the state board, and the Department of Finance. (2) For purposes of the contracts authorized pursuant to this subdivision, the department is exempt from the requirements of Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code and from the requirements of Article 6 (commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code. The department shall use a competitive and open process utilizing standardized scoring criteria through which to select a potential administration contractor or contractors for recommendation to the state board for consideration. The state board shall consider each of the following criteria: (A) The ability of the contractor to produce valid and reliable scores. (B) The ability of the contractor to report accurate results in a timely fashion. (C) Exclusive of the consortium assessments, the ability of the contractor to ensure technical adequacy of the tests, inclusive of the alignment between the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress tests and the state-adopted content standards. (D) The cost of the assessment system. (E) The ability and proposed procedures to ensure the security and integrity of the assessment system. (F) The experience of the contractor in successfully conducting statewide testing programs in other states. (3) The contracts shall include provisions for progress payments to the contractor for work performed or costs incurred in the performance of the contract. Not less than 10 percent of the amount budgeted for each separate and distinct component task per test administration provided for in each contract shall be withheld pending final completion of all component tasks by that contractor. The total amount withheld pending final completion shall not exceed 10 percent of the total contract price for that test administration. (4) The contracts shall require liquidated damages to be paid by the contractor in the amount of up to 10 percent of the total cost of the contract for any component task per test administration that the contractor through its own fault or that of its subcontractors fails to substantially perform as specified in the agreement. (5) The contracts shall establish the process and criteria by which the successful completion of each component task shall be recommended by the department and approved by the state board. (6) The contractors shall submit, as part of the contract negotiation process, a proposed budget and invoice schedule, that includes a detailed listing of the costs for each component task and the expected date of the invoice for each completed component task. (7) The contract or contracts subject to approval by the Superintendent and the state board under paragraph (1) and exempt under paragraph (2) shall specify the following component tasks, as applicable, that are separate and distinct: (A) Development of new tests or test items. (B) Test materials production or publication. (C) Delivery or electronic distribution of test materials to local educational agencies. (D) Test processing, scoring, and analyses. (E) Reporting of test results to the local educational agencies, including, but not necessarily limited to, all reports specified in this section. (F) Reporting of valid and reliable test results to the department, including, but not necessarily limited to, the following electronic files: (i) Scores aggregated statewide, and by county, school district, school, and grade. (ii) Disaggregated scores based on English proficiency status, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic disadvantage, foster care status, and special education designation. (G) All other analyses or reports required by the Superintendent to meet the requirements of state and federal law and set forth in the agreement. (H) Technology services to support the activities listed in subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive. (I) Perform regular performance checks and load simulations to ensure the integrity and robustness of the technology system used to support the activities listed in subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60643.6. Section 60643.6.

A local educational agency shall be reimbursed by the contractor selected pursuant to this article for any unexpected expenses incurred due to scheduling changes that resulted from the late delivery of testing materials in connection with the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60644. Section 60644.

(a) By November 1, 2014, the department shall identify and make available to school districts information regarding existing assessments in language arts and mathematics that are aligned to the common core academic content standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 and appropriate for pupils in grade 2 for diagnostic use by classroom teachers. The purpose of these assessments shall be to aid teachers and to gain information about the developing language arts and computational skills of pupils in grade 2. (b) The savings realized from the elimination of the grade 2 standards-based achievement testing shall be used by local educational agencies to administer the assessments identified pursuant to subdivision (a). (c) The department shall ensure that the selected grade 2 diagnostic assessments are valid for purposes of identifying particular knowledge or skills a pupil has or has not acquired in order to inform instruction and make educational decisions. The selected grade 2 diagnostic assessments shall not be valid measures for purposes of pupil, personnel, or local educational agency accountability.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60647. Section 60647.

An action to challenge a provision of this article or a determination made by the state board under this article, shall be filed and adjudicated pursuant to Sections 860 to 870, inclusive, of the Code of Civil Procedure. No exercise of discretion by the state board in its administration of this article or exercise of its discretion pursuant to Section 60605 shall be overturned absent a finding that the state board acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60648. Section 60648.

Exclusive of consortium summative assessments, the Superintendent shall recommend, and the state board shall adopt, performance standards on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress summative tests administered pursuant to this article. The performance levels shall identify and establish the minimum performance required for meeting a particular achievement level expectation. Once adopted, these standards shall be reviewed by the state board every five years to determine whether adjustments are necessary.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 60648.5. Section 60648.5.

(a) The first full administration of assessments aligned to the common core standards in English language arts and mathematics shall occur in the 2014–15 school year unless the state board determines that the assessments cannot be fully implemented. (b) The department shall determine how school districts are progressing toward implementation of a technology-enabled assessment system, and the extent to which the assessments aligned to the common core standards in English language arts and mathematics can be fully implemented. The department shall provide a report and recommendations to the state board, the Department of Finance, and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on or before October 1, 2014. (c) Based on the information in the report required under this section, the state board shall determine whether the state shall fully implement the operational consortium computer-adaptive summative assessments in English language arts and mathematics in grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11 for the 2014–15 school year.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026