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.