New California Law Changes School Performance Reports
SACRAMENTO (CBS / AP) -- Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation to reduce the use of standardized tests in calculating the annual rankings for California schools.
Brown announced Wednesday that he had signed SB1458 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.
Under the bill, standardized test results could not make up more than 60 percent of the Academic Performance Index results for schools. It requires the state superintendent of public instruction to develop other ways to measure student achievement, such as subject mastery, graduation rates and technical skills.
Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, says in a news release that the legislation will fundamentally change what California teaches and how accomplishment is measured.
Brown vetoed similar Steinberg legislation last year, saying it was loaded with "turgid mandates" and that the reforms were better handled by local reviews.
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