Bill Text: NY S03912 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to truth in testing for the common core.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-06 - PRINT NUMBER 3912A [S03912 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S03912-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ S. 3912--A A. 3702--A 2017-2018 Regular Sessions SENATE - ASSEMBLY January 30, 2017 ___________ IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sens. LAVALLE, GALLIVAN, MARCHIONE, SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Educa- tion in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. NOLAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Educa- tion in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to assess, bi-sect and critique through truth in testing The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 7-B to 2 read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 7-B 4 TRUTH IN TESTING FOR THE COMMON CORE 5 Section 349-a. Definitions. 6 349-b. Disclosure. 7 349-c. Reporting. 8 349-d. Appeals process. 9 349-e. Students with disabilities. 10 349-f. English language learners. 11 349-g. Extenuating circumstances. 12 349-h. Independent audit. 13 349-i. State-wide survey. 14 § 349-a. Definitions. As used in this article: 1. "Test" or "common 15 core state test" means any state created, developed or administered test EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07982-02-8S. 3912--A 2 A. 3702--A 1 given in New York state to students in English language arts and math- 2 ematics that test students' knowledge and skills relating to common core 3 standards. 4 2. "Common core" means the New York state P-12 common core learning 5 standards (CCLS) for English language arts and mathematics on which New 6 York state common core tests will be based. 7 3. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of education of the state of 8 New York. 9 4. "Test subject" means any individual to whom a test is administered. 10 5. "Test agency" means organization, association, corporation, part- 11 nership or individual that develops, sponsors or administers a test 12 provided however that the department shall not be included within the 13 definition of a test agency for purposes of this article. 14 6. "Test year" means the twelve-month period commencing September 15 first during which the test agency administers a particular test. 16 7. "Child with a disability" or a "student with a disability" shall be 17 defined in section forty-four hundred one of this chapter. 18 8. "English language learner" means a test subject whose native 19 language is not English. 20 9. "Anchor items" or "linking items" means items based on the same 21 material in different forms on a test or multiple tests given in the 22 same year to different grade levels or in different years to the same 23 grade level that are scaled in such a way to ensure that a given score 24 represents the same level of performance, regardless of the test form or 25 year, that are used to link different forms of a test and equate them; 26 and to ensure that such items represent a stable level of difficulty 27 over time. 28 10. "Field test items" means un-scored items that are used to gather 29 data for use on future scored tests. 30 § 349-b. Disclosure. 1. Thirty days after the administration of any 31 common core state test in English language arts and mathematics given to 32 test subjects, fifty percent of the test items, after excluding anchor 33 items or linking items, and field test items shall be released to the 34 public. 35 2. After the second year of administration of a common core state 36 test, full disclosure of all test items that are the basis for test 37 subjects' scores, shall be released to the public. Posting of test items 38 and correct answers on the department's website shall constitute full 39 disclosure required by this section. 40 § 349-c. Reporting. The commissioner, beginning July first, two thou- 41 sand twenty and annually thereafter, shall report to the governor, the 42 speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the 43 chair of the assembly higher education committee and the chair of the 44 senate higher education committee on: 45 1. the effectiveness of common core state tests in enhancing student 46 learning and performance; 47 2. the fairness and appropriateness of test items for each grade 48 level, including the percentage of test items found to be above grade 49 level; 50 3. the correlation between test scores and grade point averages of 51 test subjects taking common core state tests; 52 4. a statistical analysis of student performance based on socioeconom- 53 ic, gender, race and ethnicity, and regional factors; 54 5. the effectiveness of the test agency as the test development 55 vendor; andS. 3912--A 3 A. 3702--A 1 6. factors to be considered in determining whether to continue with 2 the current test agency, or other vendor as a test agency, or utilize 3 partnership for assessment of readiness for college and careers (PARCC) 4 tests in two thousand twenty-one. 5 § 349-d. Appeals process. The commissioner shall develop guidelines 6 and procedures for parental appeals of test subjects' scores based on 7 clear proof that such test subjects' scores are not reflective of such 8 test subjects' abilities. Such proof may include but not be limited to 9 grades received on classroom work during the test year or scores 10 received on past common core state tests given to the test subject in 11 previous years. 12 § 349-e. Students with disabilities. Students with disabilities shall 13 be provided with the testing accommodations specified in their individ- 14 ual education programs (IEPs) or their section five hundred four accom- 15 modation plans (504 Plans). 16 § 349-f. English language learners. The commissioner shall develop 17 testing accommodation guidelines for English language learners that may 18 include time extensions, separate test locations, translated editions, 19 bilingual dictionaries and glossaries, oral translations for lower-inci- 20 dent languages and written responses in native languages. 21 § 349-g. Extenuating circumstances. The commissioner shall develop a 22 procedure to allow a test subject to receive a one-time waiver from 23 taking a common core state test based on extenuating circumstances or 24 good cause shown pursuant to the commissioner's regulations. 25 § 349-h. Independent audit. Not later than May first, two thousand 26 twenty the commissioner shall undertake to have a comprehensive inde- 27 pendent audit performed by an independent contractor, not affiliated 28 with a test agency. Such contractor shall have a background and exper- 29 tise in educational testing. The audit shall review and evaluate the 30 common core testing program in the state. The scope of the audit shall 31 include but not be limited to test preparation; whether tests were fair, 32 unbiased, properly pre-tested and grade appropriate, including the 33 percentage of test items found to be above grade level; whether the 34 tests were properly administered and scored; and, how the department 35 dealt with teacher, student and parent concerns, complaints and appeals. 36 Such audit shall be completed by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty 37 and a copy shall be transmitted to the governor, the temporary president 38 of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs of the higher 39 education committees in each house. 40 § 349-i. State-wide survey. 1. The commissioner shall conduct a state- 41 wide survey of school administrators, teachers and the deans of teacher 42 education at New York state colleges and universities relating to the 43 amount of time spent on common core state test preparation and the 44 impact of such preparation on the quality of instruction. Respondents to 45 such survey may choose to remain anonymous. The survey shall include, 46 but not be limited to questions related to student and teacher morale, 47 test preparation time and the impact on curriculum, the amount of time 48 teachers spend aligning curriculum to common core state tests, the over- 49 all impact testing has on the classroom environment, the effects that 50 the common core testing program in New York state has on the ability of 51 teacher education programs to place student teachers in surrounding 52 school districts, and any other relevant questions regarding the impact 53 of common core state exams, including the percentage of test items found 54 to be above grade level. 55 2. This survey shall result in a report by the department that 56 compiles the data received from the survey and that details the resultsS. 3912--A 4 A. 3702--A 1 and provides conclusions. Such report shall be submitted to the gover- 2 nor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, 3 the chair of the assembly higher education committee and the chair of 4 the senate higher education committee by December thirty-first, two 5 thousand nineteen. 6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that any rules 7 or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act shall be 8 promulgated and take effect 180 days after its enactment.
