Bill Text: TX HB989 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to establishing a pilot program under which public schools may develop a portfolio method to assess secondary-level student performance for purposes of accountability and qualification for graduation.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-21 - Left pending in committee [HB989 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB989-Introduced.html

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85R6717 PAM-D
By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishing a pilot program under which public schools
may develop a portfolio method to assess secondary-level student
performance for purposes of accountability and qualification for
graduation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.02303 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.02303. PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT PILOT PROGRAM FOR
SECONDARY-LEVEL STUDENTS. (a) The commissioner shall establish a
pilot program as provided by this section under which participating
school districts may:
(1) implement a portfolio method to assess students
enrolled in secondary-level courses; and
(2) use student performance under that method as a
percentage of a student's overall performance on assessment
instruments, in addition to the student's performance on assessment
instruments required under Section 39.023(c), for purposes of
accountability under this chapter and determining qualification
for graduation.
(b) A school district may choose to participate in the pilot
program established under this section by submitting to the
commissioner for approval not later than May 1, 2018, a plan
described by this subsection and approved by the board of trustees
of the district. A school district that chooses to participate in
the pilot program must create a committee that consists of teachers
and administrators employed by and students enrolled in the
district to develop a three-year plan that:
(1) specifies the goals and guiding principles for
implementation of the district's portfolio assessment method;
(2) designates for assessment by the portfolio
assessment method courses in:
(A) Algebra I;
(B) English I and English II; and
(C) any other course as determined by the
committee;
(3) specifies the essential knowledge and skills that
must be addressed by the portfolio method of assessment for each
course designated under Subdivision (2);
(4) provides for accommodations and any other support
measures that comply with applicable federal law for students
enrolled in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter
29, and students of limited English proficiency, as defined by
Section 29.052;
(5) includes requirements for using components of the
portfolio assessment as:
(A) an interim formative assessment tool to
provide the student the opportunity to further develop
understanding and performance; and
(B) a final summative assessment;
(6) includes the method for submitting student
portfolios, which may include written submission, digital
delivery, an oral defense presentation, or a combination of those
methods; and
(7) includes a rubric for grading student portfolios
as provided by Subsection (c).
(c) The rubric included in the plan developed under
Subsection (b) must be developed by district teachers. In
developing the rubric, the district teachers may incorporate
suggestions from students enrolled in the district and community
and business leaders. The rubric must be based on a 100-point scale
scoring system and must establish a level of performance considered
satisfactory and a level of performance necessary to indicate
college readiness.
(d) Subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), the plan developed under
Subsection (b) may provide for the use of portfolio assessments for
other purposes, including:
(1) to evaluate teacher performance;
(2) to assist in developing campus turnaround plans
and other campus improvement initiatives under Subchapter E;
(3) to assist in communicating with the student's
parents regarding the student's academic development;
(4) to provide relevant information in admission,
review, and dismissal committee and language proficiency
assessment committee meetings;
(5) as a course completion requirement; or
(6) as a factor in determining a student's
qualification for graduation by any committee established to make
such a determination.
(e) The commissioner shall review and make a determination
on each plan submitted under this section on or before August 1,
2018. To participate in the pilot program, a school district must
implement a plan approved by the commissioner under this section
beginning with the 2018-2019 school year.
(f) A student's performance under the portfolio assessment
method for a secondary-level course shall be combined with the
student's performance on the comparable assessment instrument
administered under Section 39.023(c) for that secondary-level
course to determine the student's overall performance. For purposes
of assigning districts and campuses a performance rating under
Section 39.054, a student's performance under the portfolio
assessment method for a secondary-level course is considered as 50
percent of the student's overall performance. For purposes of
determining whether a student performed satisfactorily on an
end-of-course assessment instrument to qualify for graduation, a
student's performance under the portfolio assessment method for a
secondary-level course is considered as 65 percent of the student's
overall performance.
(g) For purposes of assigning districts and campuses a
performance rating under Section 39.054, the commissioner shall
consider districts and campuses participating in the pilot program
separately. The commissioner shall adopt rules to substitute a
student's overall performance computed as provided by Subsection
(f) for purposes of accountability for the student's performance on
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(c).
(h) A school district that participates in the pilot program
shall provide student performance data to the agency as required by
agency rule. The agency shall periodically review the performance
data submitted under this subsection.
(i) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section, including:
(1) rules for submitting to the commissioner for
approval a plan described by Subsection (b) and subsequent
amendments to the plan;
(2) rules for evaluating submitted plans and
amendments described by Subdivision (1);
(3) rules for submitting student performance data to
the agency as required under Subsection (h); and
(4) any specific rules for school districts or
campuses that are rated unacceptable and choose to participate in
the pilot program under this section.
(j) Not later than September 1, 2022, the agency shall
prepare and deliver to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and the presiding officer
of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction
over primary and secondary education a report that:
(1) evaluates the implementation and performance
results of the pilot program under this section; and
(2) makes recommendations regarding the feasibility
of statewide application of establishing a portfolio method to
assess secondary-level student performance for purposes of
accountability and qualification for graduation.
(k) This section expires September 1, 2023.
SECTION 2. 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, 2017.