The Assessment Choice Act Exposed

Model Bill Info
Bill Title	The Assessment Choice Act
Date Introduced	July 28, 2016
Date Finalized	September 12, 2016
Date Accessed	May 1, 2018
Type	Model Policy
Status	Final
Task Forces	Education and Workforce Development
Keywords	Academic Testing, Education

Summary

The Assessment Choice Act proposes that the State Board of Education give local education agencies a menu of nationally norm-referenced tests to select from when assessing their students’ academic achievement, rather than one test chosen by the state.

The Assessment Choice Act

Be it enacted by the Legislature of [STATE]:

{Section 1. Menu of locally procured achievement assessments; requirements; rules}

A. THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL ADOPT A MENU OF LOCALLY PROCURED ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENTS TO MEASURE PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE STATE ACADEMIC STANDARDS. BEGINNING IN THE XXXX –XXXX SCHOOL YEAR, EACH LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY THAT OFFERS INSTRUCTION IN GRADES THREE THROUGH TWELVE MAY SELECT FROM THAT MENU AN ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENT THAT IS LOCALLY PROCURED TO ADMINISTER TO THE PUPILS IN ONE OR MORE SCHOOLS AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE RULES AND PROCEDURES OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION IN THAT LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY INSTEAD OF THE TEST TO MEASURE PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT ADOPTED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION PURSUANT TO [SECTION].

B. A LOCALLY PROCURED ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENT IN USE BY A LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY THAT IS NOT ON THE MENU OF ASSESSMENTS MAY BE ADDED TO THE MENU AT THE REQUEST OF THE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY AND APPROVAL BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL EVALUATE LOCALLY PROCURED ASSESSMENTS NOT ON THE MENU PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION ANNUALLY.

C. A LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY THAT SELECTS A LOCALLY PROCURED ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS PRESCRIBED IN [SECTION]. THE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY SHALL INCLUDE THE NAME OF THE ASSESSMENT IT ADMINISTERS IN THE SCHOOL REPORT CARD REQUIRED IN [SECTION] AND ADMINISTER THE ASSESSMENT FOR A MINIMUM PERIOD OF TIME PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

D. ANY RULE OR PROCEDURE ADOPTED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBSECTION MAY NOT REQUIRE A LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL APPROVAL FROM THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION OR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO SELECT AN ASSESSMENT FROM THE MENU OF ASSESSMENTS PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.

E. THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL REQUIRE THAT THE PROVIDER OF A LOCALLY PROCURED ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENT THAT IS PROPOSED TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE MENU OF LOCALLY PROCURED ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENTS SHALL DO ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT THE ASSESSMENT IS A HIGH QUALITY ASSESSMENT.
2. DEMONSTRATE THAT THE ASSESSMENT MEETS OR EXCEEDS THE STATE BOARD’S ADOPTED ACADEMIC STANDARDS.
3. DEMONSTRATE THAT THE ASSESSMENT SCORES CAN BE EQUATED FOR STATE ACCOUNTABILITY PROGRAMS INCLUDING ESTABLISHING COMPARABLE STUDENT ASSESSMENT SCORES AND PERFORMANCE LEVELS FOR ACHIEVEMENT PROFILES AND LETTER GRADE CLASSIFICATIONS ISSUED PURSUANT TO [SECTION].
4. SUBMIT AN EVALUATION FROM A THIRD PARTY APPROVED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION THAT SHOWS THE ASSESSMENT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS PRESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPHS 1, 2 AND 3 OF THIS SUBSECTION.
5. PROVIDE A COPY OF ASSESSMENT SCORES TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WHEN SCORES ARE PROVIDED TO THEIR PARTNERING LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY.

{Section 2. Report; menu of assessments; state board of education}

The state board of education shall submit a report on or before [DATE] to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the chairs of the standing education committees and provide a copy of the report to the secretary of state on the progress of the implementation of the menu of assessments for local education agencies that offer instruction in grades three through eight.

{Section 3. Legislative intent.}

It is the intent of the legislature that the state allow local education agencies to use assessments procured at the local level, if they meet the requirements outlined in this act, in order to limit duplicative testing and to save local resources currently spent administering multiple assessments. If local learning goals and state accountability requirements can be met with one assessment, the state should relieve students, teachers and schools of unnecessary duplicative testing and maximize instructional time.