California is in the midst of a major K-12 reform effort. In 2010, the state adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which outline what students should know in mathematics and English. In 2013, it adopted tests of the new standards developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Collaborative (SBAC). These tests will be administered beginning…

All students, including students with disabilities, must be included in state accountability systems as required by law. In April 2007, federal regulations provided states the flexibility to offer another assessment option--an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) for some students with disabilities. The AA-MAS is…

In April 2007, Federal No Child Left Behind regulations were finalized that provided states with additional flexibility for assessing some students with disabilities. The regulations allowed states to offer another assessment option, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to have…

This book presents the perspectives of experts from the fields of history, economics, political science, and psychology on what is known about accountability, what still needs to be learned, what should be done right now, and what should be avoided in devising accountability systems. The common myths about accountability are dispelled and how it…

Federal regulations (U.S. Department of Education, 2007a) provide states with the flexibility to offer an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress, but may not reach grade-level achievement within the…

The progress of students and schools in California is examined by reviewing the state's recent test history and the state's progress in creating a sound, standards-based assessment system. The story about California is mixed. Overall performance on the Stanford Achievement Test, ninth edition (SAT-9) shows that the state average, overall grades…

The document presents the final report of a project to develop mainstreaming workshops to help vocational administrators in California include handicapped students in their programs. Following a needs assessment survey of approximatey 500 vocational administrators, guides to material resources and support services were prepared and distributed at…

A 2-year study of California's programs for elementary and secondary school students with limited English proficiency (LEP) found that the state's explosion of LEP students has led to significant classroom innovations. Some elementary schools with large numbers of students from one non-English language have developed bilingual programs allowing…

This legislative report presents the results of a pilot project conducted in eight suburban California school districts as part of an effort to develop a testing program identifying kindergartners with potential reading problems. The project was also intended to evaluate the program's effectiveness and gauge the feasibility of statewide…

Guidelines address California's procedures for the operation of programs for handicapped infants and preschool children. Legal requirements of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and the California State Plan are reviewed. Program guidelines focus on eligibility, child assessment, placement in the least restrictive…

In an attempt to include more students with disabilities in large-scale assessments, 12 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) allowed out-of-level testing during the 2000-2001 school year. This report discusses the context of state assessment…

This program advisory provides direction to school districts and providers of preschool and early primary programs in California who are implementing the recommendations of the School Readiness Task Force Report, "Here They Come: Ready or Not!" The Task Force Report addressed the issue of what kind of education would be necessary during…

Responding to a call to action by California's state leaders to make reading instruction in the early grades a top priority in the public schools, this booklet discusses California's new K-3 reading program. It begins with a discussion of what prompted this new focus on reading, and then discusses the four major elements of a balanced reading…

This document provides an overview of the history and current uses of student testing in California and a brief summary of some of the issues on the debate over assessment. In recent years, student testing has increasingly become a high-stakes enterprise in California. Today, policymakers are looking anew at various forms of testing to measure how…

The first year of implementation of the California Bilingual Education Act of 1976 is documented and evaluated. The legislation is designed to provide bilingual education for limited-English-speaking and non-English-speaking students. It is concluded that the restrictive nature of the bill caused major delays in the first year of implementation…