Bill Text: TX HB2113 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to the academic assessment of public school students.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 8-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-06 - Referred to Public Education [HB2113 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB2113-Introduced.html

---

86R9808 GCB-D
By: Krause H.B. No. 2113

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the academic assessment of public school students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 18.006(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) In addition to other factors determined to be
appropriate by the commissioner, the accountability system must
include consideration of:
(1) student performance on the [end-of-course]
assessment instruments administered under [required by] Section
39.023(c); and
(2) dropout rates, including dropout rates and diploma
program completion rates for the grade levels served by the diploma
program.
SECTION 2. Section 25.005(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A reciprocity agreement must:
(1) address procedures for:
(A) transferring student records;
(B) awarding credit for completed course work;
and
(C) permitting a student to satisfy the
requirements of Section 39.025 through successful performance on
comparable [end-of-course or other exit-level] assessment
instruments administered in another state; and
(2) include appropriate criteria developed by the
agency.
SECTION 3. Section 28.014(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall partner with at least one
institution of higher education to develop and provide courses in
college preparatory mathematics and English language arts. The
courses must be designed:
(1) for students at the 12th grade level whose
performance on:
(A) an [end-of-course] assessment instrument
administered [required] under Section 39.023(c) does not meet
college readiness standards; or
(B) coursework, a college entrance examination,
or an assessment instrument designated under Section 51.334
indicates that the student is not ready to perform entry-level
college coursework; and
(2) to prepare students for success in entry-level
college courses.
SECTION 4. Section 28.0211(o), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(o) This section does not require the administration of
a fifth [or eighth] grade assessment instrument in a subject under
Section 39.023(a) to a student enrolled in the fifth [or eighth]
grade[, as applicable,] 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
Section 39.023(a) 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
Section 39.023(c) for the course].
SECTION 5. Section 28.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) A school district shall give a student in grade level
six or above credit for a subject on the basis of an examination for
credit in the subject approved by the board of trustees under
Subsection (a) if the student scores in the 80th percentile or above
on the examination or if the student achieves a score as provided by
Subsection (c-1). If a student is given credit in a subject on the
basis of an examination, the district shall enter the examination
score on the student's transcript [and the student is not required
to take an end-of-course assessment instrument adopted under
Section 39.023(c) for that subject].
SECTION 6. Section 28.025(b-4), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b-4) A school district may offer the curriculum described
in Subsections (b-1)(1) through (4) in an applied manner. Courses
delivered in an applied manner must cover the essential knowledge
and skills[, and the student shall be administered the applicable
end-of-course assessment instrument as provided by Sections
39.023(c) and 39.025].
SECTION 7. Section 28.0255, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (g) and (h) and adding Subsection (g-1) to
read as follows:
(g) A student entering the ninth grade for the first time
beginning with the 2019-2020 school year is entitled to a high
school diploma if the student:
(1) successfully complies with the curriculum
requirements specified under Subsection (e); and
(2) performs satisfactorily, as determined by the
commissioner under Subsection (h), on each [end-of-course]
assessment instrument selected [instruments listed] under Section
39.023(c) by the school district [for courses] in which the student
is [was] enrolled.
(g-1) A student other than a student described by Subsection
(g) is entitled to a high school diploma if the student:
(1) successfully complies with the curriculum
requirements specified under Subsection (e); and
(2) performs satisfactorily, as determined by the
commissioner under Subsection (h), on:
(A) each assessment instrument selected under
Section 39.023(c) by the school district in which the student is
enrolled; or
(B) assessment instruments listed under Section
39.023(c), as that section existed before amendment by _.B. ___,
Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, for courses in
which the student was enrolled.
(h) For purposes of Subsections [Subsection] (g)(2) and
(g-1)(2), the commissioner shall determine the level of
satisfactory performance on applicable [end-of-course] assessment
instruments administered to a student.
SECTION 8. Sections 29.081(b) and (b-1), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) Each district shall provide accelerated instruction to
a student enrolled in the district who has taken an [end-of-course]
assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(c) and has
not performed satisfactorily on the assessment instrument or who is
at risk of dropping out of school.
(b-1) Each school district shall offer before the next
scheduled administration of the assessment instrument, without
cost to the student, additional accelerated instruction to each
student in any subject in which the student failed to perform
satisfactorily on an [end-of-course] assessment instrument
required for graduation.
SECTION 9. Section 29.087(f), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(f) A student participating in a program authorized by this
section, other than a student ordered to participate under
Subsection (d)(1), must have taken any [the] appropriate
[end-of-course] assessment instrument [instruments] specified by
Section 39.023(c) that is administered before the student enters
[entering] the program and must take any [each] appropriate
[end-of-course] assessment instrument that is administered during
the period in which the student is enrolled in the program. Except
for a student ordered to participate under Subsection (d)(1), a
student participating in the program may not take the high school
equivalency examination unless the student has taken the assessment
instruments required by this subsection.
SECTION 10. Section 29.402(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A person who is under 26 years of age is eligible to
enroll in a dropout recovery program under this subchapter if the
person:
(1) must complete not more than three course credits
to complete the curriculum requirements for the foundation high
school program for high school graduation; or
(2) has failed to perform satisfactorily on, as
applicable:
(A) an [end-of-course] assessment instrument
administered under Section 39.023(c);
(B) an assessment instrument administered under
Section 39.023(c) as that section existed before amendment by _.B.
___, Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019; or
(C) an assessment instrument administered under
Section 39.023(c) as that section existed before amendment by
Chapter 1312 (S.B. 1031), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2007.
SECTION 11. Section 39.023, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (a-2), (c), (c-3), (c-5), (e), (g), (h),
(i), and (p) and adding Subsections (h-1) and (q) 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) or (l) or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be assessed in:
(1) mathematics, annually in grades three through
seven without the aid of technology and in grade eight with the aid
of technology on any assessment instrument that includes algebra;
(2) reading, annually in grades three through eight;
(3) [writing, including spelling and grammar, in
grades four and seven;
[(4) social studies, in grade eight;
[(5)] science, in grades five and eight; and
(4) [(6)] any other subject and grade required by
federal law.
(a-2) Except as required by federal law, 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) 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].
(c) The agency shall also provide for [adopt end-of-course]
assessment instruments for each federally required secondary-level
subject, including English language arts, mathematics, and
science. The commissioner shall identify a procedure for a school
district to select for the assessment of students under this
subsection the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) diagnostic
assessment or the SAT, the ACT, the PSAT, or the ACT-Plan or any
other nationally recognized, norm-referenced secondary-level
assessment instrument designated by the commissioner. Each school
district shall select one or more assessment instruments for
purposes of this subsection. A school district that selects more
than one assessment instrument must administer uniformly to
students in the district the same assessment instrument to satisfy
the requirement for the same subject [courses in Algebra I,
biology, English I, English II, and United States history. The
Algebra I end-of-course assessment instrument must be administered
with the aid of technology]. An [The English I and English II
end-of-course] assessment instrument designated under this section
[instruments] must [each] assess essential knowledge and skills in
the appropriate subject [both reading and writing in the same
assessment instrument and must provide a single score]. A school
district shall comply with State Board of Education rules regarding
administration of the assessment instruments under [listed in] this
subsection. If a student is in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and
dismissal committee shall determine whether any allowable
modification is necessary in administering to the student an
assessment instrument required under this subsection. [The State
Board of Education shall administer the assessment instruments.
The State Board of Education shall adopt a schedule for the
administration of end-of-course assessment instruments that
complies with the requirements of Subsection (c-3).]
(c-3) In adopting a schedule for the administration of
assessment instruments under this section, the State Board of
Education shall require[:
[(1)] assessment instruments administered under
Subsection (a) to be administered on a schedule so that the first
assessment instrument is administered at least two weeks later than
the date on which the first assessment instrument was administered
under Subsection (a) during the 2006-2007 school year[; and
[(2) the spring administration of end-of-course
assessment instruments under Subsection (c) to occur in each school
district not earlier than the first full week in May, except that
the spring administration of the end-of-course assessment
instruments in English I and English II must be permitted to occur
at an earlier date].
(c-5) A student's performance on an [end-of-course]
assessment instrument administered [required] under Subsection (c)
must be included in the student's academic achievement record.
(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), (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.
[During the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, the agency shall
release the questions and answer keys to assessment instruments as
described by this subsection each year.]
(g) An [The State Board of Education may adopt one
appropriate, nationally recognized, norm-referenced] assessment
instrument administered under Subsection (c) [in reading and
mathematics to be administered to a selected sample of students in
the spring. If adopted, a norm-referenced assessment instrument]
must be a secured test. The commissioner shall contract with a
vendor to administer the assessment instrument, complete the
scoring of the assessment instrument, and distribute within a
reasonable period the results to the agency and the relevant
results to each school district. As soon as practicable after the
district receives the results from the vendor under this
subsection, the district shall:
(1) distribute the relevant results to each district
campus; and
(2) provide written notice to the student and the
person standing in parental relation to the student that states the
student's results and whether the student performed satisfactorily
on the assessment instrument [The state may pay the costs of
purchasing and scoring the adopted assessment instrument and of
distributing the results of the adopted instrument to the school
districts. A district that administers the norm-referenced test
adopted under this subsection shall report the results to the
agency in a manner prescribed by the commissioner].
(h) Except as provided by Subsection (g), the [The] agency
shall notify school districts and campuses of the results of
assessment instruments administered under this section not later
than the 21st day after the date the assessment instrument is
administered.
(h-1) A [The] school district shall disclose to each
district teacher the results of assessment instruments
administered to students taught by the teacher in the subject for
the school year in which the assessment instrument is administered.
(i) The provisions of this section[, except Subsection
(d),] are subject to modification by rules adopted under Section
39.022. Each assessment instrument adopted or designated under
those rules [and each assessment instrument required under
Subsection (d)] must be reliable and valid and must meet any
applicable federal requirements for measurement of student
progress.
(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)[, (c),] or (l) and for the Texas Success Initiative
(TSI) diagnostic assessment:
(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.
(q) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or other
law, if changes made to the Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C.
Section 6301 et seq.) reduce the number or frequency of assessment
instruments required to be administered to students, the State
Board of Education shall adopt rules reducing the number or
frequency of assessment instruments administered to students under
state law, and the commissioner shall ensure that students are not
assessed in subject areas or in grades that are no longer required
to meet the minimum requirements of that Act.
SECTION 12. The heading to Section 39.0232, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39.0232. USE OF [END-OF-COURSE] ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT
AS PLACEMENT INSTRUMENT; CERTAIN USES PROHIBITED.
SECTION 13. Sections 39.0232(a), (b), and (c), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) To the extent practicable, the agency shall ensure that
any high school [end-of-course] assessment instrument designated
under Section 39.023(c) [developed by the agency is developed in
such a manner that the assessment instrument] may be used to
determine the appropriate placement of a student in a course of the
same subject matter at an institution of higher education.
(b) A student's performance on an [end-of-course]
assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(c) may not
be used:
(1) in determining the student's class ranking for any
purpose, including entitlement to automatic college admission
under Section 51.803 or 51.804; or
(2) as a sole criterion in the determination of
whether to admit the student to a general academic teaching
institution in this state.
(c) Subsection (b)(2) does not prohibit a general academic
teaching institution from implementing an admission policy that
takes into consideration a student's performance on an
[end-of-course] assessment instrument administered under Section
39.023(c) in addition to other criteria.
SECTION 14. Section 39.0234, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the [The] agency
shall ensure that assessment instruments required under Section
39.023 are capable of being administered by computer. The
commissioner may not require a school district or open-enrollment
charter school to administer an assessment instrument by computer.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a nationally
recognized, norm-referenced assessment instrument under Section
39.023(c).
SECTION 15. Section 39.0241, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a-1) and adding Subsection (a-2) to read as
follows:
(a-1) The commissioner of education, in collaboration with
the commissioner of higher education, shall determine the level of
performance necessary to indicate college readiness[, as defined by
Section 39.024(a)].
(a-2) In this section, "college readiness" means the level
of preparation a student must attain in English language arts and
mathematics courses to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in
an entry-level general education course for credit in that same
content area for a baccalaureate degree or associate degree program
at:
(1) a general academic teaching institution, as
defined by Section 61.003, other than a research institution, as
categorized under the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's
accountability system; or
(2) a postsecondary educational institution that
primarily offers associate degrees or certificates or credentials
other than baccalaureate or advanced degrees.
SECTION 16. Section 39.025, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (a-4), (b), and (b-1) and adding
Subsection (f-3) to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a student
in the foundation high school program under Section 28.025 to be
administered each [an end-of-course] assessment instrument
selected under [listed in] Section 39.023(c) by the school district
[only for a course] in which the student is enrolled [and for which
an end-of-course assessment instrument is administered]. A student
is required to achieve a scale score that indicates satisfactory
performance, as determined by the commissioner under Section
39.0241(a), on each [end-of-course] assessment instrument
administered to the student. For each scale score required under
this subsection that is not based on a 100-point scale scoring
system, the commissioner shall provide for conversion, in
accordance with commissioner rule, of the scale score to an
equivalent score based on a 100-point scale scoring system. A
student may not receive a high school diploma until the student has
performed satisfactorily on each [end-of-course] assessment
instrument [instruments] in the manner provided under this
subsection. This subsection does not require a student to
demonstrate readiness to enroll in an institution of higher
education.
(a-4) The admission, review, and dismissal committee of a
student in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter
29, shall determine whether, to receive a high school diploma, the
student is required to achieve satisfactory performance on
[end-of-course] assessment instruments administered under Section
39.023(c).
(b) Each time an [end-of-course] assessment instrument
[adopted] under Section 39.023(c) is administered, a student who
failed to achieve a score requirement under Subsection (a) may
retake the assessment instrument. [A student is not required to
retake a course as a condition of retaking an end-of-course
assessment instrument.]
(b-1) A school district shall provide each student who fails
to perform satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under
Section 39.0241(a) on an [end-of-course] assessment instrument
administered under Section 39.023(c) with accelerated instruction
[in the subject assessed by the assessment instrument].
(f-3) The commissioner shall by rule adopt a transition plan
to implement the amendments made by __.B. ____, Acts of the 86th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, replacing end-of-course
assessment instruments with one or more assessment instruments
selected by a school district under Section 39.023(c). The rules
must provide for each assessment instrument selected by a school
district under Section 39.023(c) to be administered beginning with
students enrolled in the ninth grade for the first time during the
2019-2020 school year. During the period under which the
transition from end-of-course assessment instruments is made:
(1) for students entering a grade above the ninth
grade during the 2019-2020 school year or students repeating ninth
grade during the 2019-2020 school year, the commissioner shall
retain, administer, and use for purposes of accreditation and other
campus and district accountability measures under this chapter the
end-of-course assessment instruments required by Section
39.023(c), as that section existed before amendment by __.B. ____,
Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019; and
(2) a student subject to Subdivision (1) may not
receive a high school diploma unless the student has performed
satisfactorily on:
(A) each required end-of-course assessment
instrument administered under Section 39.023(c), as that section
existed before amendment by __.B. ____, Acts of the 86th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2019; or
(B) each assessment instrument selected under
Section 39.023(c) by the district in which the student is enrolled.
SECTION 17. Section 39.034(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The agency shall determine the necessary annual
improvement required each year for a student to be prepared to
perform satisfactorily on, as applicable:
(1) the grade five assessment instruments;
(2) the grade eight assessment instruments; and
(3) the [end-of-course] assessment instruments
required under this subchapter for graduation.
SECTION 18. Section 39.035(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (b), the agency may conduct field
testing of questions for any assessment instrument administered
under Section 39.023(a), (b), [(c), (d),] or (l) that is separate
from the administration of the assessment instrument not more
frequently than every other school year.
SECTION 19. Section 39.203(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) In addition to the distinction designations described
by Subsections (a) and (b), a campus that satisfies the criteria
developed under Section 39.204 shall be awarded a distinction
designation by the commissioner for outstanding performance in
academic achievement in English language arts, mathematics, or
science[, or social studies].
SECTION 20. Section 51.338(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) A student who has achieved scores set by the board on the
questions developed for end-of-course assessment instruments under
Section 39.0233(a), as that section existed before repeal by
__.B. ____, Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is
exempt from the requirements of this subchapter. The exemption is
effective for the three-year period following the date a student
takes the last assessment instrument for purposes of this
subchapter and achieves the standard set by the board. This
subsection does not apply during any period for which the board
designates the questions developed for end-of-course assessment
instruments under Section 39.0233(a), as that section existed
before repeal by _.B. ____, Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2019, as the primary assessment instrument under this
subchapter, except that the three-year period described by this
subsection remains in effect for students who qualify for an
exemption under this subsection before that period.
SECTION 21. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 39.023(c-2), (c-4), (c-6), and (d);
(2) Section 39.0233;
(3) Section 39.024;
(4) Sections 39.025(a-1) and (e-1);
(5) Section 39.025(a-2), as added by Chapter 1036
(H.B. 1613), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015;
(6) Section 39.053(d-1); and
(7) Section 39.203(d).
SECTION 22. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, each school district shall provide notice to an eighth
grade student under Section 39.025(g), Education Code, informing
the student of the specific requirements applicable to the student
under Sections 39.023(c) and 39.025(a), Education Code, as amended
by this Act.
SECTION 23. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
school year.
SECTION 24. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.