Bill Text: NY S01939 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires a study and report on the total cost of student assessments and establishes a committee to review content on standardized test items and passages; makes an appropriation therefor.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-11 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S01939 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S01939-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1939 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 11, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LATIMER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring a study and report on the total cost of developing all student assessments and to establish a content review committee to review standardized test items and passages; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 56 to read as follows: 3 56. a. The commissioner shall undertake a study to determine the total 4 cost of developing all student assessments, including the total cost of 5 preparing students for all assessments, the total cost of administering 6 all assessments, and the total cost of grading and reviewing all assess- 7 ments in the two thousand sixteen--two thousand seventeen school year. 8 b. This study required pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision 9 shall result in a report, which details all said costs and shall be 10 filed with the governor, the director of the division of the budget, the 11 speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the 12 chair of the assembly ways and means committee, the chair of the senate 13 finance committee and the chairs of the assembly and senate education 14 committees. Such report shall also be posted on the website of the 15 department by December thirty-first, two thousand seventeen and shall be 16 deemed a public document. 17 c. The commissioner's study shall include, but not be limited to, the 18 following information: 19 (1) The total number of student assessments administered in each 20 school district in the state. This shall include a count of state 21 required assessments and assessments which are locally or commercially 22 developed assessments which are administered by public school districts 23 and the total number of assessments each student cohort was administered EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00919-01-7S. 1939 2 1 on average from kindergarten through grade twelve during the two thou- 2 sand sixteen--two thousand seventeen school year; 3 (2) The total cost of student assessments administered in each school 4 district in the state. The total cost shall be disaggregated to deter- 5 mine the amount of public funds which were expended on non-school 6 district employees, vendors, and other entities with which the state and 7 school districts contract for student assessment purposes including 8 purchase and licensing costs, test development, test booklets, scoring 9 sheets and scoring costs; 10 (3) Logistical, preparation and administration costs including, but 11 not limited to, distributing and collecting assessment materials, 12 assessment directions, and storing materials; 13 (4) Cost of test preparation materials; 14 (5) Cost of data coaches; 15 (6) Cost of data analysis or dashboard systems, information technology 16 maintenance, purchase, or upgrade; 17 (7) Cost of professional development focused primarily on student 18 assessment data; 19 (8) Cost of training for test administrators and proctors; 20 (9) Per-pupil costs of any additional assessments administered to 21 student subgroups including English language learners, students receiv- 22 ing intervention or remediation services, students with disabilities, 23 and economically disadvantaged students; and 24 (10) Any other costs related to student assessments. 25 d. In addition, the study shall determine the total amount of time 26 spent by school administrators, teachers, and students on student 27 assessments and associated activities during the two thousand sixteen-- 28 two thousand seventeen school year. This shall include time spent by 29 students taking all state and district assessments; time spent by school 30 administrators and teachers for administrative tasks such as distribut- 31 ing and collecting answering sheets and giving directions, and the total 32 amount of time spent preparing students to take the assessments. Time 33 related data collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be disaggregated 34 by the following student groups: English language learners, students 35 receiving intervention or remediation services, students with disabili- 36 ties, general education students, and economically disadvantaged 37 students. 38 e. The commissioner shall submit the methodology used to calculate the 39 costs associated with student assessments to the comptroller before the 40 commissioner conducts the study pursuant to this subdivision. The comp- 41 troller shall make a written analysis of the methodology used by the 42 commissioner to determine the costs associated with student assessments. 43 The comptroller's analysis shall include a determination about the qual- 44 ity of the methodology used by the commissioner and the extent to which 45 the methodology will result in an analysis that properly accounts for 46 the actual costs incurred by school districts on student assessments and 47 related activities. 48 § 2. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 49 subdivision 57 to read as follows: 50 57. a. The commissioner shall undertake a state-wide survey of school 51 administrators and teachers about the time they spend on test prepara- 52 tion for each student assessment and the impact of test preparation on 53 the quality of instruction. The survey shall provide school administra- 54 tors and teacher respondents anonymity. The survey shall include: the 55 impact that student assessments have on curriculum; the amount of time a 56 teacher spends on test-taking strategies, simulating the testing envi-S. 1939 3 1 ronment, and aligning curriculum content to assessments; the extent to 2 which assessments affect instruction time for different student 3 subgroups; and any other relevant questions about the impact of student 4 assessments on the school learning environment. In addition the survey 5 shall solicit recommendations from school administrators and teachers 6 regarding making student assessments cost effective, time efficient, 7 supportive of teaching and learning, aligned with the curriculum and 8 focused on student and teacher growth. 9 b. This survey shall result in a report which details the results and 10 conclusions from the survey and shall be filed with the governor, the 11 director of the division of the budget, the speaker of the assembly, the 12 temporary president of the senate, the chair of the assembly ways and 13 means committee, the chair of the senate finance committee and the 14 chairs of the assembly and senate education committees by December thir- 15 ty-first, two thousand seventeen. Such report shall also be posted on 16 the website of the department and shall be deemed a public document. The 17 report shall not include any information which specifically identifies 18 any individual school administrator, teacher or pupil. 19 § 3. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 20 subdivision 51-b to read as follows: 21 51-b. On or before June first, two thousand seventeen, and each year 22 thereafter, the commissioner shall release a significant amount of test 23 questions and corresponding correct answers from each of the most 24 recently administered English language arts and mathematics examinations 25 in grades three through eight of that year. The number of questions and 26 answers released shall not be so significant as to hinder or impair the 27 validity and/or reliability of future examinations but shall provide 28 enough of an overview of each examination so that teachers, administra- 29 tors, principals, parents and students can be provided with sufficient 30 feedback on the types of questions administered and, by July first, two 31 thousand seventeen, and each year thereafter, the commissioner shall 32 release the general student success rate in answering such questions 33 correctly. 34 § 4. The sum of eight million four hundred thousand dollars 35 ($8,400,000), or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appro- 36 priated to the department of education out of any moneys in the state 37 treasury in the general fund to the credit of the state purposes 38 account, not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for 39 the purpose of carrying out the provisions of subdivision 51-b of 40 section 305 of the education law, as added by section three of this act 41 and for creating and printing more forms of state standardized assess- 42 ments in order to eliminate stand-alone multiple choice field tests and 43 release a significant amount of test questions. Such moneys shall be 44 payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certi- 45 fied or approved by the commissioner of education in the manner 46 prescribed by law. 47 § 5. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 48 subdivision 58 to read as follows: 49 58. The commissioner is authorized and directed to establish a content 50 review committee for the purpose of reviewing any standardized test 51 items and/or selected passages for use on state assessments in grades 52 three through eight to ensure that they are grade appropriate and that 53 the complexity of the items and passages are within grade-level expecta- 54 tions. Such committee shall also ensure that any test items and/or 55 selected passages are fair and appropriately measure the learning stand- 56 ards approved by the board of regents applicable to such subject and/orS. 1939 4 1 grade level. Such committee shall also ensure that adequate and appro- 2 priate time is given to students for the administration of such assess- 3 ments, provided however that subdivision forty-nine of this section must 4 be complied with. The content review committee shall include classroom 5 teachers and experienced educators in the content area and/or grade 6 level of the items/passages being reviewed, including teachers of 7 students with disabilities and English language learners. 8 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
