Bill Text: GA SB364 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Educational Programs; use of standards base grading in grades 4 through 12; prohibit

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-07 - Senate Third Read Lost [SB364 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2011-SB364-Introduced.html

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12 LC 33 4469

Senate Bill 364

By: Senators Ligon, Jr. of the 3rd, Albers of the 56th, Rogers of the 21st, Carter of the 1st and Williams of the 19th

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To amend Part 3 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to educational programs, so as to prohibit the use of standards based grading in grades four through 12; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for a definition; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

The General Assembly finds:

(1) The weakness of the standards based grading system is its failure to differentiate among students who excel academically and those who merely meet minimal standards;

(2) The assessment focus is on equal outcomes for all students, referred to as mastery of minimal standards, in which students can take as long as they need through the school year to meet standards without incurring grading penalties, and further, it removes grade averaging for all students, with a sole outcome based focus on meeting minimum standards;

(3) Students who master a standard early in the academic year conclude the school year with the same assessment grade as a student who takes all year to master the standards, resulting in equalized outcomes that can reduce the individual incentive to excel;

(4) This grading system penalizes students who excel academically, and in some cases, schools do not include an assessment scale that recognizes students who have mastered a standard above the proficient level;

(5) This assessment system can place additional pressure on a teacher with a class of differentiated learners of all ability levels to disproportionately focus classroom time, attention, and resources on the students who have not meet the minimum proficiency levels, leaving little instructional attention for students who quickly master the standards;

(6) When used in higher grades, standards based grading is often accompanied by the elimination of academic honors programs, academic societies, and academic awards and recognitions, including class rankings and valedictorian designations;

(7) This lack of academic recognition and grade point averages can inhibit the competitiveness of Georgia students in college admissions;

(8) The assessment includes the use of unreliable subjective measures, including peer judgments of a student's work and other collaborative models; and

(9) When used in higher grade levels, standards based grading can also create confusion and difficulty for Georgia students transferring into other school districts or states with traditional grading, as well as with standards-based grading that utilizes a different scale or that is based on another state's curriculum standards.

SECTION 2.

Part 3 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to educational programs, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:

"20-2-159.6.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'standards based grading system' means a multilayered process of measuring student progress and performance solely based on a checklist of curriculum content and performance standards representing only student mastery of minimum learning outcomes. Such grading system typically includes the replacement of traditional report cards by an assessment that is typically based on either a three-point or four-point scale. Such grading system is also known under alternate names, including, but not limited to, 'nongraded integrated education model,' a '3-2-1 report card,' 'skills based grading,' a 'standards based achievement report,' 'formative assessment,' or 'assessment for learning.'

(b) Local school systems shall not utilize a standards based grading system in grades four through 12.

(c) The State Board of Education shall establish consistent measures for use in standards based reporting in grades one through three for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of students between local school systems in Georgia.

(d) The State Board of Education shall not be authorized to waive the provisions of this Code section pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82, 20-2-244, or 20-2-2065.

(e) This Code section shall be effective beginning in school year 2012-2013."

SECTION 3.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.