83R2787 CAS-F

By: Ratliff H.B. No. 670

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to state and school district assessment of public school students.

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

SECTION 1. Sections 28.014(c) and (f), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(c) The agency, in consultation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, shall adopt an end-of-course assessment instrument for each course developed under this section to ensure the rigor of the course. A school district shall, in accordance with State Board of Education rules, administer the end-of-course assessment instrument to a student enrolled in a course developed under this section. [Each school district shall adopt a policy that requires a student's performance on the end-of-course assessment instrument to account for 15 percent of the student's final grade for the course.] A student's performance on an end-of-course assessment instrument administered under this subsection may be used, on a scale of 0-40, in calculating whether the student satisfies the graduation requirements established under Section 39.025.

(f) To the extent applicable, the commissioner shall draw from curricula and instructional materials developed under Section [Sections] 28.008 [and 61.0763] in developing a course and related instructional materials under this section. Not later than September 1, 2010, the State Board of Education shall adopt essential knowledge and skills for each course developed under this section. The State Board of Education shall make each course developed under this section and the related instructional materials available to school districts not later than the 2014-2015 school year. [As required by Subsection (c), a school district shall adopt a policy requiring a student's performance on an end-of-course assessment instrument administered under that subsection to account for 15 percent of the student's grade for a course developed under this section not later than the 2014-2015 school year.] This subsection expires September 1, 2015.

SECTION 2. Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The agency shall also adopt end-of-course assessment instruments for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, Algebra II, geometry, biology, chemistry, physics, English I, English II, English III, world geography, world history, and United States history. The Algebra I, Algebra II, and geometry end-of-course assessment instruments must be administered with the aid of technology. A school district shall comply with State Board of Education rules regarding administration of the assessment instruments listed in this subsection [and shall adopt a policy that requires a student's performance on an end-of-course assessment instrument for a course listed in this subsection in which the student is enrolled to account for 15 percent of the student's final grade for the course. If a student retakes an end-of-course assessment instrument for a course listed in this subsection, as provided by Section 39.025, a school district is not required to use the student's performance on the subsequent administration or administrations of the assessment instrument to determine the student's final grade for the course]. 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. 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 assessment instruments that complies with the requirements of Subsection (c-3).

SECTION 3. Section 39.025, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a-1) and adding Subsection (a-4) to read as follows:

(a-1) The commissioner [by rule] shall determine a method by which a student's satisfactory performance on an advanced placement test, an international baccalaureate examination, an SAT Subject Test, or any nationally recognized norm-referenced [another] assessment instrument used by institutions of higher education to award course credit based on satisfactory performance on the [determined by the commissioner to be at least as rigorous as an end-of-course] assessment instrument [adopted under Section 39.023(c)] may be used to satisfy [as a factor in determining whether the student satisfies] the requirements concerning an end-of-course assessment instrument in an equivalent subject as prescribed by [of] Subsection (a), including the cumulative score requirement of that subsection. The commissioner shall [by rule may] determine a method by which a student's satisfactory performance on a Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) [assessment] or a preliminary American College Test (ACT) [assessment] may be used to satisfy [as a factor in determining whether the student satisfies] the requirements concerning an end-of-course assessment instrument in an equivalent subject as prescribed by [of] Subsection (a), including the cumulative score requirement of that subsection. A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on a test or other assessment instrument authorized under this subsection, other than a Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) or a preliminary American College Test (ACT), may retake that assessment instrument for purposes of this subsection or may take the appropriate end-of-course assessment instrument. A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on a Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) or a preliminary American College Test (ACT) must take the appropriate end-of-course assessment instrument. The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this subsection.

(a-4) The commissioner shall determine a method by which a student's successful completion of a dual credit course, as determined in accordance with commissioner rule, provided through an institution of higher education, may be used to satisfy the requirements concerning an end-of-course assessment instrument in an equivalent subject as prescribed by Subsection (a), including the cumulative score requirement of that subsection. A student who fails to successfully complete a dual credit course may retake the course in an effort to successfully complete the course for purposes of this subsection or may take the appropriate end-of-course assessment instrument. The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this subsection.

SECTION 4. Section 39.026, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 39.026. LOCAL OPTION. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, in place of [In addition to] the assessment instruments adopted by the agency and administered by the State Board of Education, a school district board of trustees may adopt and provide for administration by district employees of [administer] criterion-referenced or norm-referenced assessment instruments[, or both,] at any grade level for which administration of assessment instruments is required under Section 39.023. A norm-referenced assessment instrument adopted and administered under this section must be economical, nationally recognized, and state-approved. A district shall document and report to the agency the results of assessment instruments adopted and administered under this section. The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this section, including rules for documenting and reporting results of assessment instruments adopted and administered under this section and for using the assessment instruments for purposes of this code in place of the assessment instruments otherwise required under this subchapter.

SECTION 5. Section 39.023(o), Education Code, is repealed.

SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.

SECTION 7. 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, 2013.