Schwarzenegger vetoes bill allowing rewards for school scores

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

Schwarzenegger vetoes bill allowing rewards for school scores
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By Peter Hecht - phecht@sacbee.com

Published in The Sacramento Bee Saturday, July 26, 2008
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A3

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said "no" Friday to a proposed new law seeking to
reward middle and high school students with prizes and other perks for earning
good scores on standardized tests.

In a veto message, the governor didn't reject the idea of doling out nonmonetary
payola to kids who score high marks or show significant improvement on state
tests. But he said no new law is needed.

Sen. Elaine Alquist, a Santa Clara Democrat, said she wanted to provide
"recognition and motivation and incentive to achieve" on state Standardized
Testing and Reporting (STAR) exams.

Alquist pushed Senate Bill 1709 to authorize and encourage school districts to
provide non-cash rewards in response to suggestions from a statewide student
council group. She said students argued that many don't take the STAR exams
seriously because the test scores have no impact on their grades or graduation.

But the tests are a significant concern for schools and school districts, which
are ranked and judged on STAR scores.

So Alquist succeeded in getting SB 1709 passed by the Legislature. She said it
would encourage school districts to offer incentives ? potentially by asking
businesses to fund student rewards such as movie and restaurant coupons or
tickets to concerts or sporting events.

But Schwarzenegger said Friday he was refusing to sign SB 1709 into law because
no legislation was needed.

"This bill is unnecessary since nothing in the current law prohibits a district
from creating their own nonmonetary incentives for students today, even in the
absence of this measure," Schwarzenegger said in his veto message.

Alquist's bill originally proposed placing a special mark on student diplomas for
high test scores and offering vacations from class of up to three days at the end
of the school year. She later dropped the three-day break plan as the measure was
passed largely along party lines, with most Republicans opposed.

"This bill sparked the type of debate we need to have on the paradox with the
STAR testing program ? which is that schools, but not students, are held
accountable based on the results," Alquist said in a statement Friday. "While I
am disappointed the governor vetoed the bill, I plan to continue looking at ways
to ensure that STAR tests are meaningful to both students and schools."


George Sheridan