Implementing AB 705 (Irwin, 2017) to Serve the Needs of All Community College Students

Whereas, The recent passage of AB 705 (Irwin, 2017)[1] and the language in the Common Assessment Initiative Reset memo on October 24, 2017[2] from Chancellor Eloy Oakley suspending the development of the common assessment test have shifted the focus from assessment testing to the use of high school transcript data to make placement decisions, but the requirement to use multiple measures for assessment remains in place as indicated by §78213(d)(1)(C) which states that: Multiple measures shall apply in the placement of all students in such a manner so that either of the following may occur: (i) Low performance on one measure may be offset by high performance on another measure. (ii) The student can demonstrate preparedness and thus bypass remediation based on any one measure;

Whereas, While the use of high school transcript data has shown promise for students with complete high school transcripts, it has not been effective in placing English language learners, and many community college students will not be well served by using high school transcript data, including students that do not have access to complete high school transcripts (homeless or international students) and students whose high school transcripts are not accurate reflections of their abilities, skills and knowledge (adult students or veterans); and

Whereas, California community colleges must be able to serve the needs of all students and must have a variety of assessment and placement tools available to assist colleges with the accurate and appropriate student placement;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to ensure that the implementation of AB 705 is flexible enough to allow the colleges to effectively place all students into courses in mathematics, English, English as a Second Language, and reading and that the requirement that colleges apply a minimum of two measures when placing students is maintained;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with local senates to ensure that there is appropriate professional development around the implementation of AB 705 and the application of multiple measures to determine the optimal placement for each student; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges continue to explore additional multiple measures beyond high school transcript data to ensure that colleges have a wide range of assessment tools that will serve the needs of all community college students.

Acclamation