Florida Senate - 2017                                     SB 926
       
       
        
       By Senator Flores
       
       
       
       
       
       39-00510A-17                                           2017926__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to K-12 student assessments; requiring
    3         the Commissioner of Education to review specified
    4         college entrance examinations to determine their
    5         alignment with the core curricular content for high
    6         school level English Language Arts and mathematics
    7         established in state standards; requiring the
    8         commissioner to submit a report on the results of such
    9         review to the Governor, Legislature, and State Board
   10         of Education by a specified date; amending s. 1008.22,
   11         F.S.; revising provisions relating to achievement
   12         levels for certain statewide, standardized
   13         assessments; providing requirements for administration
   14         of the statewide, standardized English Language Arts
   15         and mathematics assessments in specified grades;
   16         revising provisions relating to reporting requirements
   17         for local assessments required by school districts;
   18         providing reporting requirements for certain student
   19         assessment results; providing an effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. The Commissioner of Education shall review the
   24  SAT and ACT to determine their alignment with the core
   25  curricular content for high school level English Language Arts
   26  and mathematics established in the Next Generation Sunshine
   27  State Standards pursuant to s. 1003.41, Florida Statutes. The
   28  commissioner shall submit a report containing the results of
   29  such review to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
   30  Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the State Board of
   31  Education by December 1, 2017.
   32         Section 2. Present paragraphs (c) through (f) and paragraph
   33  (g) of subsection (7) of section 1008.22, Florida Statutes, are
   34  redesignated as paragraphs (e) through (h) and paragraph (j),
   35  respectively, paragraph (e) of subsection (3) and paragraph (b)
   36  and present paragraph (f) of subsection (7) are amended, and new
   37  paragraphs (c), (d), and (i) are added to subsection (7) of that
   38  section, to read:
   39         1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.—
   40         (3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The
   41  Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a
   42  statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core
   43  curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine
   44  State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select
   45  and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
   46  used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state.
   47  These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content
   48  established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.
   49  Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all
   50  school districts and all students attending public schools,
   51  including adult students seeking a standard high school diploma
   52  under s. 1003.4282 and students in Department of Juvenile
   53  Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law.
   54  If a student does not participate in the assessment program, the
   55  school district must notify the student’s parent and provide the
   56  parent with information regarding the implications of such
   57  nonparticipation. The statewide, standardized assessment program
   58  shall be designed and implemented as follows:
   59         (e) Assessment scores and achievement levels.—
   60         1. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments and ELA,
   61  mathematics, and Science assessments shall use scaled scores and
   62  achievement levels. Achievement levels shall range from 1
   63  through 5, with level 1 being the lowest achievement level,
   64  level 5 being the highest achievement level, and level 3
   65  indicating satisfactory performance on an assessment. Beginning
   66  with any new contract for the ELA assessment and the mathematics
   67  assessment entered into after July 1, 2017, achievement level 3
   68  shall be defined as proficient for each new assessment.
   69         2. The state board shall designate by rule a passing score
   70  for each statewide, standardized assessment.
   71         3. If the commissioner seeks to revise a statewide,
   72  standardized assessment and the revisions require the state
   73  board to modify performance level scores, including the passing
   74  score, the commissioner shall provide a copy of the proposed
   75  scores and implementation plan to the President of the Senate
   76  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least 90 days
   77  before submission to the state board for review. Until the state
   78  board adopts the modifications by rule, the commissioner shall
   79  use calculations for scoring the assessment that adjust student
   80  scores on the revised assessment for statistical equivalence to
   81  student scores on the former assessment. The state board shall
   82  adopt by rule the passing score for the revised assessment that
   83  is statistically equivalent to the passing score on the
   84  discontinued assessment for a student who is required to attain
   85  a passing score on the discontinued assessment. The commissioner
   86  may, with approval of the state board, discontinue
   87  administration of the former assessment upon the graduation,
   88  based on normal student progression, of students participating
   89  in the final regular administration of the former assessment. If
   90  the commissioner revises a statewide, standardized assessment
   91  and the revisions require the state board to modify the passing
   92  score, only students taking the assessment for the first time
   93  after the rule is adopted are affected.
   94         (7) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTING OF RESULTS.—
   95         (b) By August of each year, beginning in 2016, the
   96  commissioner shall publish on the department’s website a uniform
   97  calendar that includes the assessment and reporting schedules
   98  for, at a minimum, the next 2 school years. The uniform calendar
   99  must be provided to school districts in an electronic format
  100  that allows each school district and public school to populate
  101  the calendar with, at minimum, the following information for
  102  reporting the district assessment schedules under paragraph (e)
  103  (c):
  104         1. Whether the assessment is a district-required assessment
  105  or a state-required assessment.
  106         2. The specific date or dates that each assessment will be
  107  administered.
  108         3. The time allotted to administer each assessment.
  109         4. Whether the assessment is a computer-based assessment or
  110  a paper-based assessment.
  111         5. The grade level or subject area associated with the
  112  assessment.
  113         6. The date that the assessment results are expected to be
  114  available to teachers and parents.
  115         7. The type of assessment, the purpose of the assessment,
  116  and the use of the assessment results.
  117         8. A glossary of assessment terminology.
  118         9. Estimates of average time for administering state
  119  required and district-required assessments, by grade level.
  120         (c)Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the ELA
  121  assessment in grades 3 through 10 and the mathematics assessment
  122  in grades 3 through 8 shall be administered:
  123         1.With the exception of the grade 3 Reading assessment, no
  124  earlier than during the last 3 weeks of the school year as
  125  determined by a district school board’s policy pursuant to s.
  126  1001.42(4)(f).
  127         2.Within a testing window not to exceed 3 weeks.
  128         (d)Beginning with any new contract for the ELA assessment
  129  in grades 3 through 10 and the mathematics assessment in grades
  130  3 through 8 entered into after July 1, 2017, each new assessment
  131  shall be made available once per quarter for students who the
  132  school district has identified through competency-based
  133  education as having mastered the content and who are prepared to
  134  take the applicable assessment.
  135         (h)(f) A school district must provide a student’s
  136  performance results on district-required local assessments to
  137  the student’s teachers within 1 week and to the student’s
  138  parents no later than 30 days after administering such
  139  assessments, unless the superintendent determines in writing
  140  that extenuating circumstances exist and reports the extenuating
  141  circumstances to the district school board.
  142         (i)The results of statewide, standardized ELA and
  143  mathematics assessments shall be reported in an easy-to-read and
  144  understandable format to each student’s current teacher of
  145  record and to each student’s teacher of record for the
  146  subsequent school year before the start of that school year. A
  147  report of student assessment results must, at a minimum,
  148  contain:
  149         1.A clear explanation of the student’s performance on the
  150  applicable statewide, standardized assessments.
  151         2.Information identifying the student’s areas of strength
  152  and areas in need of improvement.
  153         3.Specific actions that may be taken, and the available
  154  resources that may be used, by the student’s parent to assist
  155  his or her child based on the student’s areas of strength and
  156  areas in need of improvement.
  157         4.Longitudinal information, if available, on the student’s
  158  progress in each subject area based on previous statewide,
  159  standardized assessment data.
  160         5.Comparative information showing the student’s score
  161  compared to other students in the school district, in the state,
  162  or, if available, in other states.
  163         6.Predictive information, if available, showing the
  164  linkage between the scores attained by the student on the
  165  statewide, standardized assessments and the scores he or she may
  166  potentially attain on nationally recognized college entrance
  167  examinations.
  168         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.