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	Amend CSHB 3 (house committee printing) as follows:                          

(1)  On page 22, lines 14 and 15, strike "39.0241 and 	39.0242" and substitute "39.0237, 39.0241, and 39.0242".
	(2)  On page 22, between lines 15 and 16, insert the 
following:              
	Sec. 39.0237.  ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT METHODS PILOT 
PROJECT.  (a)  In this section, "alternative assessment" means a 
method of assessment in which a student is required to solve a 
problem or demonstrate a skill but is not required to answer 
questions from a list of possible answers.  The term includes 
assessment through short-answer questions, an essay, a 
performance, an oral presentation, a demonstration, an experiment, 
or an exhibition.
	(b)  The agency shall establish a pilot project to use 
alternative assessment as provided by this section in assessing the 
performance of students.
	(c)  The agency shall select six public schools to 
participate in the pilot project.  The selected schools must 
include two schools located in urban areas, two schools located in 
suburban areas, and two schools located in rural areas.  The agency 
may not select to participate in the pilot project a school that has 
been rated as academically unacceptable during any of the five 
years preceding the initial year of the pilot project.  
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter:
		(1)  the academic performance of students in the sixth, 
seventh, and eighth grade levels in the schools selected to 
participate in the pilot project shall be assessed in mathematics, 
science, reading, writing, and social studies using an alternative 
assessment method rather than any assessment instrument that would 
otherwise be required under Section 39.023; and
		(2)  the performance of each school selected to 
participate in the pilot project shall be measured based on student 
performance using an alternative assessment method rather than any 
assessment instrument that would otherwise be required under 
Section 39.023.
	(d)  Each alternative assessment shall be administered under 
this section to students near the end of each school year.
	(e)  The agency shall adopt rules as necessary to administer 
this section, including, notwithstanding any other provision of 
this chapter, rules for determining the level of performance 
considered to be satisfactory on the alternative assessments.
	(f)  The agency shall implement the pilot project beginning 
with the 2010-2011 school year.  The agency may consult with an 
institution of higher education in implementing, administering, or 
evaluating the pilot project.
	(g)  Not later than December 1, 2012, the agency shall report 
to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of 
representatives, and presiding officer of the standing committee of 
each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over public 
education concerning:
		(1)  based in part on assessment instrument results and 
other performance of fifth grade students before participating in 
the pilot project and of ninth grade students after participating 
in the project, any impact of alternative assessment under this 
section on:
			(A)  student academic performance;                                    
			(B)  student performance on assessments;                              
			(C)  school attendance by or retention of 
students;                 
			(D)  curriculum enhancement; and                                      
			(E)  teacher professional satisfaction; and                           
		(2)  any recommendation concerning retaining, 
modifying, or expanding the alternative assessment project under 
this section.
	(h)  This section expires September 1, 2013.