Finding a Common Yardstick: Implementing a National Student Assessment and School Accountability Plan through State-Federal Collaboration

Abstract

Copyright ? 2010 California Law Review, Inc. California Law Review, Inc. (CLR) is a California nonprofit corporation. CLR and the authors are solely responsible for the content of their publications. t J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2009; M.Ed., University of California, Los Angeles, 2005; B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 2001.1 would like to thank Professor Goodwin Liu for his guidance and support. I also appreciate the careful editing and insightful suggestions of Jennifer Kim, Ben Sitter, and the staff members of the California Law Review. 1. California students take annual subject tests from second to eleventh grade. Cal. Dep't of Educ, California Assessment System, http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/caassessment.asp (last visited Sept. 14, 2009). Mathematics and English-language arts are tested in each grade, writing in grades four and seven, history-social science in grades eight through eleven, and science in grade five and grades eight through eleven. Id. These tests, in addition to the California High School Exit Examination, make up thirty-two tests. See id.; Cal. Dep't of Educ, California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/ (last visited Apr. 13,2010). 2. A school's testing period must occur "10 days before and 10 days after the day on which 85 percent of the instructional year is completed." See Cal. Dep't of Educ, 2009-10 Student Testing Dates, http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/0910testdates.asp (last visited Sept. 14, 2009). This testing period typically falls in May for schools on a traditional academic calendar that runs from September to June. See, e.g., Memorandum from the L.A. Unified Sch. Dist. on 2008-2009 Testing Calendar for Single-Track Schools 3 (Oct. 17, 2008), available at http://www.lausd.kl2.ca.us/lausd/offices/ bulletins/2008m4251.1 .pdf. 3. The Los Angeles Unified School District, among others, uses standardized test scores as a factor in placing students in Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) classes. See L.A. Unified Sch. Dist. Gifted/Talented Programs, Major Categories of Identification, http://www.lausd.net/