80R8709 SLO-D

By: Lucio S.B. No. 1403

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the administration of end-of-course assessment instruments in public schools at certain grade levels.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 18.006(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) In addition to other factors determined to be appropriate by the commissioner, the accountability system must include consideration of:

(1) student performance on the end-of-course [secondary exit-level] assessment instruments required by Section 39.023(c); and

(2) dropout rates, including dropout rates and diploma program completion rates for the grade levels served by the diploma program.

SECTION 2. Section 25.005(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) A reciprocity agreement must:

(1) address procedures for:

(A) transferring student records;

(B) awarding credit for completed course work; and

(C) permitting a student to satisfy the requirements of Section 39.025 through successful performance on comparable end-of-course or other exit-level assessment instruments administered in another state; and

(2) include appropriate criteria developed by the agency.

SECTION 3. Section 29.081(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Each district shall provide accelerated instruction to a student enrolled in the district who has taken an end-of-course [the secondary exit-level] assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(c) and has not performed satisfactorily on the assessment instrument [each section] or who is at risk of dropping out of school.

SECTION 4. Section 29.087(f), Education Code, as amended by Chapters 283 and 373, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(f) A student participating in a program authorized by this section, other than a student ordered to participate under Subsection (d)(1), must have taken the appropriate end-of-course assessment instruments under [specified by] Section 39.023(c) for courses in which the student has enrolled [39.023(a) for grade 9] before entering the program and must take each appropriate end-of-course [grade level] assessment instrument administered for courses in which the student is enrolled during the period in which the student is enrolled in the program. Except for a student ordered to participate under Subsection (d)(1), a student participating in the program may not take the high school equivalency examination unless the student has taken the assessment instruments required by this subsection.

SECTION 5. Section 30.021(e), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) The school shall cooperate with public and private agencies and organizations serving students and other persons with visual impairments in the planning, development, and implementation of effective educational and rehabilitative service delivery systems associated with educating students with visual impairments. To maximize and make efficient use of state facilities, funding, and resources, the services provided in this area may include conducting a cooperative program with other agencies to serve students who have graduated from high school by completing all academic requirements applicable to students in regular education, excluding satisfactory performance under Section 39.025 [on the exit-level assessment instrument], who are younger than 22 years of age on September 1 of the school year and who have identified needs related to vocational training, independent living skills, orientation and mobility, social and leisure skills, compensatory skills, or remedial academic skills.

SECTION 6. Section 39.023, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:

(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess essential knowledge and skills in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, and science. All students, except students assessed under Subsection (b) or (l) or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be assessed in:

(1) mathematics, annually in grades three through eight [seven] without the aid of technology [and in grades eight through 11 with the aid of technology on any assessment instruments that include algebra];

(2) reading, annually in grades three through eight [nine];

(3) writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades four and seven;

(4) [English language arts, in grade 10;

[(5)] social studies, in grade [grades] eight [and 10];

(5) [(6)] science, in grades five and [,] eight[, and 10]; and

(6) [(7)] any other subject and grade required by federal law.

(c) The agency shall also adopt end-of-course [secondary exit-level] assessment instruments for each course offered at or above the grade nine level that is a part of the foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1). A school district shall comply with State Board of Education rules regarding administration of the assessment instruments to students enrolled in the courses for which the assessment instruments were adopted and shall ensure that a student's performance on an assessment instrument for a course accounts for 25 percent of the student's final grade for the course [designed to be administered to students in grade 11 to assess essential knowledge and skills in mathematics, English language arts, social studies, and science. The mathematics section must include at least Algebra I and geometry with the aid of technology. The English language arts section must include at least English III and must include the assessment of essential knowledge and skills in writing. The social studies section must include early American and United States history. The science section must include at least biology and integrated chemistry and physics. The assessment instruments must be designed to assess a student's mastery of minimum skills necessary for high school graduation and readiness to enroll in an institution of higher education]. If a student is in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee shall determine whether any allowable modification is necessary in administering to the student an assessment instrument required under this subsection or whether the student should be exempted under Section 39.027(a)(2). The State Board of Education shall administer the assessment instruments. The State Board of Education shall adopt a schedule for the administration of end-of-course [secondary exit-level] assessment instruments. Each student who did not perform satisfactorily on any end-of-course [secondary exit-level] assessment instrument when initially tested shall be given multiple opportunities to retake that assessment instrument. [A student who performs at or above a level established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments is exempt from the requirements of Section 51.306.]

(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student in grade eight who is enrolled in a secondary-level course for which an end-of-course assessment instrument has been adopted under Subsection (c) shall be administered the end-of-course assessment instrument for that course instead of the assessment instrument for the related subject area under Subsection (a).

(c-2) The commissioner shall establish committees composed of classroom teachers to develop the end-of-course assessment instruments required under Subsection (c). A classroom teacher serving on a committee must teach the subject assessed by the end-of-course assessment instrument developed by the committee. The agency shall adopt, in the manner provided by Subsection (c), the end-of-course assessment instrument developed by a committee if the commissioner determines that the assessment instrument adequately assesses the essential knowledge and skills of the course and subject for which the assessment instrument is developed. In establishing the committee, the commissioner shall ensure that the committee's membership reflects the ethnic and geographic diversity of the state.

SECTION 7. Section 39.025, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 39.025. SECONDARY-LEVEL [EXIT-LEVEL] PERFORMANCE REQUIRED. (a) The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a student to receive, in each subject in the foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1), an average score of at least 70 on a scale of 100 on the end-of-course assessment instruments administered to the student under Section 39.023(c) in grade nine and above. For purposes of this subsection, a student's average score for each subject in the foundation curriculum is determined by averaging the student's highest score on each end-of-course assessment instrument administered to the student for a course considered a part of that subject, as determined by commissioner rule. Except as provided by Subsection (c-1), a [A] student may not receive a high school diploma until the student has performed satisfactorily on the end-of-course [secondary exit-level] assessment instruments in the manner provided under this subsection [for English language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science administered under Section 39.023(c)]. This subsection does not require a student to demonstrate readiness to enroll in an institution of higher education.

(b) Each time an end-of-course [a secondary exit-level] assessment instrument is administered, a student who has not been given a high school diploma because of a failure to perform satisfactorily on the assessment instrument [for that subject area] may retake the assessment instrument.

(c) A student who has been denied a high school diploma under this section [Subsections (a) and (b)] and who subsequently performs at the level necessary to comply with the requirements of this section [satisfactorily on each secondary exit-level assessment instrument] shall be issued a high school diploma.

(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student who fails to perform at the level necessary to comply with the requirements of that subsection after receiving opportunities to retake one or more end-of-course assessment instruments may receive a high school diploma if the school district determines that extenuating circumstances, as defined by commissioner rule, prevented the student from performing at that level.

(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commissioner by rule shall adopt one or more alternative nationally recognized norm referenced assessment instruments under this section to administer to a student to qualify for a high school diploma if the student enrolls after January 1 of the school year in which the student is otherwise eligible to graduate:

(1) for the first time in a public school in this state; or

(2) after an absence of at least four years from any public school in this state.

(e) The commissioner shall establish a required performance level for an assessment instrument adopted under Subsection (d) that is at least as rigorous as the performance level required to be met under Subsection (a) [for the secondary exit-level assessment instrument for the same subject].

(f) The commissioner shall by rule adopt a transition plan to implement the amendments made by __.B. No. __, Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, to this section and Sections 39.023 and 39.051. The rules must provide for the end-of-course assessment instruments adopted under Section 39.023(c) to be administered beginning with students entering the ninth grade during the 2008-2009 school year. During the period under which the transition to end-of-course assessment instruments is made:

(1) for students entering a grade above the ninth grade during the 2008-2009 school year, the commissioner shall retain, administer, and use for campus and district ratings under Subchapter D the assessment instruments required by Section 39.023(a) or (c), as that section existed before amendment by __.B. No. __, Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007;

(2) as required by Section 39.023(c-1), a student enrolled at grade level eight during the 2008-2009 school year who enrolls in a secondary-level course for which an end-of-course assessment instrument has been adopted under Section 39.023(c) must be administered the end-of-course assessment instrument for that course instead of the assessment instrument for the related subject area under Section 39.023(a); and

(3) the agency may defer releasing assessment instrument questions and answer keys as required by Section 39.023(e) to the extent necessary to develop additional assessment instruments.

(g) Rules adopted under Subsection (f) must require that each student who will be subject to the requirements of Subsection (a) is entitled to notice of the specific requirements applicable to the student. Notice under this subsection must be provided not later than the date the student enters:

(1) the ninth grade; or

(2) in the case of an eighth grade student required to be administered an end-of-course assessment instrument under Section 39.023(c-1), the eighth grade.

(h) Subsections (f), (g), and this subsection expire September 1, 2012.

SECTION 8. Section 39.034(d), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) The agency shall determine the necessary annual improvement required each year for a student to be prepared to perform satisfactorily on [pass] the end-of-course assessment instruments [exit-level assessment instrument] required under this subchapter for graduation. The agency shall report the necessary annual improvement required to the district. Each year, the report must state whether the student fell below, met, or exceeded the necessary target for improvement.

SECTION 9. Section 39.051(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Performance on the indicators adopted under this section shall be compared to state-established standards. The degree of change from one school year to the next in performance on each indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered. The indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status and must include:

(1) the results of assessment instruments required under Sections 39.023(a), (c), (c-1), and (l), aggregated by grade level and subject area;

(2) dropout rates, including dropout rates and district completion rates for grade levels 9 through 12, computed in accordance with standards and definitions adopted by the National Center for Education Statistics of the United States Department of Education;

(3) high school graduation rates, computed in accordance with standards and definitions adopted in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. No. 107-110);

(4) student attendance rates;

(5) the percentage of graduating students who attain scores on the end-of-course [secondary exit-level] assessment instruments required under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score on the assessment instrument required under Section 51.3062;

(6) the percentage of graduating students who meet the course requirements established for the recommended high school program by State Board of Education rule;

(7) the results of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), articulated postsecondary degree programs described by Section 61.852, and certified workforce training programs described by Chapter 311, Labor Code;

(8) the percentage of students, aggregated by grade level, provided accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211(c), the results of assessments administered under that section, the percentage of students promoted through the grade placement committee process under Section 28.0211, the subject of the assessment instrument on which each student failed to perform satisfactorily, and the performance of those students in the school year following that promotion on the assessment instruments required under Section 39.023;

(9) for students who have failed to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required under Section 39.023(a) or (c), the numerical progress of those students grouped by percentage on subsequent assessment instruments required under those sections, aggregated by grade level and subject area;

(10) the percentage of students exempted, by exemption category, from the assessment program generally applicable under this chapter;

(11) the percentage of students of limited English proficiency exempted from the administration of an assessment instrument under Sections 39.027(a)(3) and (4);

(12) the percentage of students in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, assessed through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section 39.023(b);

(13) the measure of progress toward preparation for postsecondary success; and

(14) the measure of progress toward dual language proficiency under Section 39.034(b), for students of limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052.

SECTION 10. Section 51.3062(q), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(q) A student who has achieved scores [a score] set by the board on end-of-course assessment instruments [an exit-level assessment instrument] required under Section 39.023 is exempt from the requirements of this section. The exemption is effective for the three-year period following the date a student takes the last assessment instrument required for purposes of this section and achieves the standard set by the board. This subsection does not apply during any period for which the board designates the end-of-course assessment instruments [exit-level assessment instrument] required under Section 39.023 as the primary assessment instrument under this section, except that the three-year period described by this subsection remains in effect for students who qualify for an exemption under this subsection [section] before that period.

SECTION 11. Section 39.023(j), Education Code, is repealed.

SECTION 12. A reference in the Education Code to an end-of-course assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(c), Education Code, includes an exit-level assessment instrument administered under that section as provided by Section 39.025(f), Education Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.