Legislation that would move California assessments into an era of critical thinking and deeper learning received state Senate and Assembly approval Wednesday, according to a press release by the California Department of Education.
Assembly Bill 484, sponsored by State Superintendent Tom Torlakson and authored by Assemblymember Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, now needs the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown, who has already indicated his support for the measure, as have education leaders around the state.
“AB 484 is supported by thousands of California superintendents and principals because it helps ensure a smooth transition for students and schools to Common Core State Standards,” said Wes Smith, former Morgan Hill Unified School District Superintendent who left his post in July to take over as the Executive Director of the Association of California School Administrators.
The legislation suspends most Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) assessments and authorizes new Common Core-aligned assessments known as the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress (MAPP). It marks a major step forward in the state’s transition to the Common Core State Standards, a new set of educational guidelines that close to 50 states nationwide have adopted. California adopted the CCSS in 2010.
“It just makes sense to give schools and teachers the opportunity to fully implement our recently adopted standards, rather than focus on the California Standards Tests, which are not aligned to the instruction we are implementing in our classrooms,” Smith continued
Torlakson sponsored AB484, which passed the California state Assembly on concurrence vote Wednesday after Senate passage Tuesday.
“California’s shift to the Common Core is about helping students meet the challenges of a changing world, and AB 484 recognizes that updating the way we teach students also means updating the way we test them,” Torlakson said. “Lawmakers see that our students must graduate with more than knowledge, but with the ability to apply that knowledge to work collaboratively and solve problems.”
The MAPP testing program is comprised of assessments being designed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, one of two multistate organizations formed to create the next generation of assessments aligned to the Common Core.
Field tests of the new assessments, set for the spring of 2014, are designed as “tests of the tests.” The consortium developing the assessments recently announced that the field tests will be widely available, allowing states to offer them to more than a representative sampling of students.
“We urge lawmakers to approve AB 484 because it allows our students, teachers and school communities to focus on what matters to them now,” Smith concluded.
