BILL ANALYSIS
By: Brown, Betty
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently the Texas Education Agency releases test and answer keys to each assessment instrument administered in this state every other year. This creates problems for school districts and individual schools when trying to determine if it is a particular child that is having difficulty with a concept or if a teacher is having difficulty teaching a concept. Releasing test results on a yearly basis will aid schools in determining how to best serve their students when it comes to teaching them the concepts contained in the tests
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the State Board of Education in SECTION 1 of this bill.
ANALYSIS
CSHB 849 states that under rules adopted by the State Board of Education the agency is required to release to each school district the questions and answer keys of each assessment instrument administered under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (1) of the adoption and administration of instruments section not later than the 30th day after the date the results are released under subsection (h) and every other year the agency shall release the question and answer keys to each assessment instrument administered under subsection (d) after the last time the instrument is administered for that school year. In order to ensure a valid bank of questions are used in administering assessment instruments, the agency is not required under subsection (e) to release a question that was being field-tested and was not used in computing a student's score. The agency, under board rule, is required to release, after the last time an assessment instrument is administered for that school year, each question that is no longer being field-tested and that was not used to compute a student's score.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act applies beginning with 2006 - 2007 school year.
This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
CSHB 849 clarifies that the agency shall release to each school district the questions and answer keys to each assessment instrument administered not later than the 30th day after the date the results are released and changes the subsections that apply. The substitute also states that in order to ensure a valid bank of question for use in assessment instruments, the agency is not required, under subsection (e), to release a question that is being field-tested and that was not used in computing the student's score. The substitute designates that the agency, under board rule, shall release, after the last time an assessment instrument is administered for that school year, each question that is no longer being field-tested and was not used to compute a student's score.