Bill Text: TX HB1740 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the administration to public school students in certain grades of state-administered assessment instruments.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-10 - Referred to Public Education [HB1740 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB1740-Introduced.html
87R2231 GCB-F | ||
By: Huberty | H.B. No. 1740 |
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relating to the administration to public school students in certain | ||
grades of state-administered assessment instruments. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 39.023(a), Education Code, effective | ||
until September 1, 2021, is amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate | ||
criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess | ||
essential knowledge and skills in reading, writing, mathematics, | ||
social studies, and science. Except as provided by Subsection | ||
(a-2), all students, other than students assessed under Subsection | ||
(b), (b-1), or (l) or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be | ||
assessed in: | ||
(1) mathematics, [ |
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(2) reading, [ |
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(3) writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades | ||
five and eight [ |
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(4) social studies, in grade eight; and | ||
(5) science, in grades five and eight[ |
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SECTION 2. Section 39.023(a), Education Code, effective | ||
September 1, 2021, is amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate | ||
criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess | ||
essential knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics, social | ||
studies, and science. Except as provided by Subsection (a-2), all | ||
students, other than students assessed under Subsection (b), (b-1), | ||
or (l) or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be assessed in: | ||
(1) mathematics, [ |
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(2) reading, [ |
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(3) social studies, in grade eight; and | ||
(4) science, in grades five and eight[ |
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SECTION 3. Section 39.023, Education Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-12), (a-13), (b), (c-1), | ||
(c-3), (c-8), (e), (l), (m), (n), and (p) and adding Subsections | ||
(a-5), (a-6), (a-7), (a-8), (a-9), (a-10), and (a-17) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a-1) The agency shall develop assessment instruments | ||
required under Subsections (a), (a-6), (a-7), and (a-8) [ |
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(1) the score a student receives to provide reliable | ||
information relating to a student's satisfactory performance for | ||
each performance standard under Section 39.0241; and | ||
(2) an appropriate range of performances to serve as a | ||
valid indication of growth in student achievement. | ||
(a-2) Except as required by a provision of federal law that | ||
has not been waived, a student is not required to be assessed in a | ||
subject otherwise assessed at the student's grade level under | ||
Subsection (a) if the student: | ||
(1) is enrolled in a course in the subject intended for | ||
students above the student's grade level and will be administered | ||
an assessment instrument adopted or developed under Subsection (a), | ||
(a-6), (a-7), or (a-8) that aligns with the curriculum for the | ||
course in which the student is enrolled; or | ||
(2) is enrolled in a course in the subject for which | ||
the student will receive high school academic credit and will be | ||
administered an end-of-course assessment instrument adopted under | ||
Subsection (c) for the course. | ||
(a-5) For each assessment instrument administered under | ||
Subsection (a) or (a-7), the agency shall determine, based on | ||
available information for that assessment instrument, the minimum | ||
satisfactory adjusted scale score. The minimum satisfactory | ||
adjusted scale score is the sum of the scale score that indicates | ||
satisfactory performance on that assessment instrument, as | ||
determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a), plus the | ||
minimum number of points that when added to the scale score produces | ||
a score that, within a three percent margin of error, is predictive | ||
that a student achieving that score would achieve satisfactory | ||
performance on an assessment instrument in the same subject | ||
administered to the student during the following school year. | ||
(a-6) A student shall be assessed in grade four in a subject | ||
for which an assessment instrument is administered under Subsection | ||
(a) in grade three if, on the final assessment instrument in that | ||
subject administered under Subsection (a) to the student in grade | ||
three during the preceding school year, the student did not achieve | ||
a score equal to or greater than the minimum satisfactory adjusted | ||
scale score for that assessment instrument, as determined under | ||
Subsection (a-5). | ||
(a-7) A student shall be assessed in grade six in a subject | ||
for which an assessment instrument is administered under Subsection | ||
(a)(1) or (2) in grade five if, on the final assessment instrument | ||
in that subject administered under Subsection (a)(1) or (2) to the | ||
student in grade five during the preceding school year, the student | ||
did not achieve a score equal to or greater than the minimum | ||
satisfactory adjusted scale score for that assessment instrument, | ||
as determined under Subsection (a-5). | ||
(a-8) A student shall be assessed in grade seven in a | ||
subject for which an assessment instrument was administered under | ||
Subsection (a-7) to the student in grade six if, on the final | ||
assessment instrument in that subject administered to the student | ||
in grade six during the preceding school year, the student did not | ||
achieve a score equal to or greater than the minimum satisfactory | ||
adjusted scale score for that assessment instrument, as determined | ||
under Subsection (a-5). | ||
(a-9) A student assessed in mathematics under Subsection | ||
(a-6), (a-7), or (a-8) shall be assessed without the aid of | ||
technology. | ||
(a-10) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
may, for its own use in determining whether students are performing | ||
at a satisfactory level, administer to a student at the appropriate | ||
grade level, other than a student required to be assessed, an | ||
assessment instrument developed for purposes of Subsection (a-6), | ||
(a-7), or (a-8). At the request of a district or open-enrollment | ||
charter school, the agency shall provide, allow for the | ||
administration of, and score each assessment instrument | ||
administered under this subsection in the same manner and at the | ||
same cost as for assessment instruments required to be administered | ||
under the applicable subsection. The results of an assessment | ||
instrument administered under this subsection may not be included | ||
as an achievement indicator under Section 39.053 or any other | ||
provision. | ||
(a-12) An assessment instrument adopted or developed under | ||
Subsection (a), (a-6), (a-7), or (a-8) may not have more than three | ||
parts. A part of an assessment instrument must be designed so | ||
that: | ||
(1) if administered to students in grades three and | ||
four, 85 percent of students will be able to complete that part | ||
within 60 minutes; and | ||
(2) if administered to students in grades five through | ||
eight, 85 percent of students will be able to complete that part | ||
within 75 minutes. | ||
(a-13) The amount of time allowed for administration of an | ||
assessment instrument adopted or developed under Subsection (a), | ||
(a-6), (a-7), or (a-8) may not exceed eight hours, and the | ||
administration may occur in multiple parts over more than one day. | ||
(a-17) If there is a conflict between this section and a | ||
federal law or regulation as a result of forgoing under this section | ||
certain administration of assessment instruments to students who | ||
have recently performed successfully on assessment instruments | ||
assessing the same subject, the commissioner shall seek a waiver | ||
from the application of the conflicting federal law or regulation. | ||
In seeking a waiver, the commissioner shall submit all relevant | ||
data, including data relating to: | ||
(1) the likelihood that a student who achieves a score | ||
on an assessment instrument equal to or greater than the minimum | ||
satisfactory adjusted scale score for that assessment instrument, | ||
as determined under Subsection (a-5), will, in subsequent years, | ||
perform satisfactorily on assessment instruments in the same | ||
subject; | ||
(2) the costs associated with ongoing assessment of | ||
students who have proven likely to perform successfully on | ||
subsequent assessment instruments; and | ||
(3) the benefit of redirecting resources from | ||
assessment of students who have proven likely to perform | ||
successfully on subsequent assessment instruments toward enabling | ||
lower performing students to perform successfully on assessment | ||
instruments after one school year. | ||
(b) The agency shall develop or adopt appropriate | ||
criterion-referenced alternative assessment instruments to be | ||
administered to a [ |
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under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, for whom an assessment instrument | ||
adopted under Subsection (a) or, to the extent applicable, | ||
Subsection (a-6), (a-7), or (a-8), even with allowable | ||
accommodations, would not provide an appropriate measure of student | ||
achievement, as determined by the student's admission, review, and | ||
dismissal committee, including assessment instruments approved by | ||
the commissioner that measure growth. The assessment instruments | ||
developed or adopted under this subsection, including the | ||
assessment instruments approved by the commissioner, must, to the | ||
extent allowed under federal law, provide a district with options | ||
for the assessment of students under this subsection. The agency | ||
may not adopt a performance standard that indicates that a | ||
student's performance on the alternate assessment does not meet | ||
standards if the lowest level of the assessment accurately | ||
represents the student's developmental level as determined by the | ||
student's admission, review, and dismissal committee. | ||
(c-1) To the greatest extent practicable, the [ |
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shall develop any assessment instrument required under this section | ||
in a manner that allows for the measurement of annual improvement in | ||
student achievement as required by Sections 39.034(c) and (d). | ||
(c-3) Except as provided by Subsection (c-7), in adopting a | ||
schedule for the administration of assessment instruments under | ||
this section, the State Board of Education shall ensure | ||
that assessment instruments administered under Subsection (a), | ||
(a-6), (a-7), (a-8), or (c) are not administered on the first | ||
instructional day of a week. | ||
(c-8) Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, an | ||
assessment instrument developed under Subsection (a), (a-6), | ||
(a-7), (a-8), or (c) may not present more than 75 percent of the | ||
questions in a multiple choice format. | ||
(e) Under rules adopted by the State Board of Education, | ||
every third year, the agency shall release the questions and answer | ||
keys to each assessment instrument administered under Subsection | ||
(a), (a-6), (a-7), (a-8), (b), (c), (d), or (l), excluding any | ||
assessment instrument administered to a student for the purpose of | ||
retaking the assessment instrument, after the last time the | ||
instrument is administered for that school year. To ensure a valid | ||
bank of questions for use each year, the agency is not required to | ||
release a question that is being field-tested and was not used to | ||
compute the student's score on the instrument. The agency shall | ||
also release, under board rule, each question that is no longer | ||
being field-tested and that was not used to compute a student's | ||
score. [ |
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(l) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the | ||
administration of the assessment instruments adopted under | ||
Subsection (a) and, to the extent applicable, the assessment | ||
instruments adopted under Subsection (a-6) in Spanish to students | ||
in grades three, four, and [ |
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proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052, whose primary language | ||
is Spanish, and who are not otherwise exempt from the | ||
administration of an assessment instrument under Section | ||
39.027(a)(1) or (2). Each student of limited English proficiency | ||
whose primary language is Spanish, other than a student to whom | ||
Subsection (b) applies, may be assessed using assessment | ||
instruments in Spanish under this subsection for up to three years | ||
or assessment instruments in English under Subsection (a) and, as | ||
applicable, Subsection (a-6). The language proficiency assessment | ||
committee established under Section 29.063 shall determine which | ||
students are administered assessment instruments in Spanish under | ||
this subsection. | ||
(m) The commissioner by rule shall develop procedures under | ||
which the language proficiency assessment committee established | ||
under Section 29.063 shall determine which students are exempt from | ||
the administration of the assessment instruments under Section | ||
39.027(a)(1) or (2). The rules adopted under this subsection shall | ||
ensure that the language proficiency assessment committee provides | ||
that the exempted students are administered the assessment | ||
instruments under Subsections (a) and (c) and, to the extent | ||
applicable, Subsections (a-6), (a-7), and (a-8) at the earliest | ||
practical date. | ||
(n) This subsection applies only to a student who is | ||
determined to have dyslexia or a related disorder and who is an | ||
individual with a disability under 29 U.S.C. Section 705(20) and | ||
its subsequent amendments. The agency shall adopt or develop | ||
appropriate criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed | ||
to assess the ability of and to be administered to each student to | ||
whom this subsection applies for whom the assessment instruments | ||
adopted under Subsection (a) and, to the extent applicable, the | ||
assessment instruments adopted under Subsections (a-6), (a-7), and | ||
(a-8), even with allowable modifications, would not provide an | ||
appropriate measure of student achievement, as determined by the | ||
committee established by the board of trustees of the district to | ||
determine the placement of students with dyslexia or related | ||
disorders. The committee shall determine whether any allowable | ||
modification is necessary in administering to a student an | ||
assessment instrument required under this subsection. The | ||
assessment instruments required under this subsection shall be | ||
administered on the same schedule as the assessment instruments | ||
administered under Subsections (a), (a-6), (a-7), and (a-8), as | ||
applicable [ |
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(p) On or before September 1 of each year, the commissioner | ||
shall make the following information available on the agency's | ||
Internet website for each assessment instrument administered under | ||
Subsection (a), (a-6), (a-7), (a-8), (c), or (l): | ||
(1) the number of questions on the assessment | ||
instrument; | ||
(2) the number of questions that must be answered | ||
correctly to achieve satisfactory performance as determined by the | ||
commissioner under Section 39.0241(a); | ||
(3) the number of questions that must be answered | ||
correctly to achieve satisfactory performance under the college | ||
readiness performance standard as provided by Section 39.0241; and | ||
(4) the corresponding scale scores. | ||
SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect on any date not later | ||
than September 1, 2023, on which the commissioner of education: | ||
(1) obtains any necessary waiver from the application | ||
of federal law or regulation conflicting with Section 39.023, | ||
Education Code, as amended by this Act, as required by Section | ||
39.023(a-17), Education Code, as added by this Act; or | ||
(2) receives written notification from the United | ||
States Department of Education that a waiver is not required. | ||
(b) This Act applies beginning with the first school year | ||
that begins after the date on which this Act takes effect under | ||
Subsection (a) of this section. | ||
(c) If the commissioner of education obtains any necessary | ||
waiver or receives written notification as described by Subsection | ||
(a) of this section, the commissioner shall certify that the | ||
commissioner has obtained the waiver or received notification that | ||
a waiver is not required, as applicable, and shall publish notice of | ||
that fact in the Texas Register as soon as practicable after | ||
obtaining the waiver or receiving notification. |