CSBA co-sponsored bill proposes replacing 11th-grade standardized testing with SAT, ACT
Published: February 28, 2018
At CSBA’s Legislative Committee last week, the committee voted to support and co-sponsor Assembly Bill 1951 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach), also known as the Pathways to College Act, which calls for approval of an alternate 11th-grade assessment, as specified. If an alternative test is approved by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, school boards would have the option to replace the 11th-grade Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC) test with one that is more meaningful to 11th grade students, such as the SAT or ACT.
“As proposed, AB 1951 would provide school boards the authority to make testing decisions for their students based on their specific needs,” said Erika Hoffman, CSBA legislative advocate. “If completing the SAT or ACT is going to benefit students more so than completing a Smarter Balanced exam, this bill would allow board members the flexibility to make that testing experience more valuable to high school juniors.”
In addition to expanding local control, the bill is also an attempt to improve equity and help students, especially low-income students, prepare for college. The SAT and ACT each cost around $60 in registration fees, and while low-income students can obtain fee waivers, other barriers such as transportation and scheduling issues can keep students from completing the exams. The ability to potentially provide nationally-recognized college entrance testing at no cost during the school day in a familiar location is expected to increase college enrollment.
More than 30 California school districts already have plans to proctor the SAT for free this year during the school day. At present, a handful of states across the nation, including Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and Maine, use the SAT as their federally mandated 11th-grade test or require completion of the SAT or ACT for high school graduation.
AB 1951 would allow school districts to allocate funds regularly used for the SBAC assessment to this new test so long as accommodations for EL students and students with exceptional needs are met. If passed, the bill will go into effect for the 2019–20 school year.