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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to limiting certain state-required assessment instruments |
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administered to public school students in certain grades to |
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assessments required by federal law. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 39.023(a), Education Code, as effective |
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September 1, 2017, is amended to read as follows: |
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(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate |
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criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess |
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essential knowledge and skills in subjects for which assessment is |
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required by federal law [reading, writing, mathematics, social
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studies, and science]. Except as provided by Subsection (a-2), all |
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students, other than students assessed under Subsection (b) or (l) |
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or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be assessed in[:
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[(1)
mathematics, annually in grades three through
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seven without the aid of technology and in grade eight with the aid
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of technology on any assessment instrument that includes algebra;
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[(2) reading, annually in grades three through eight;
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[(3)
writing, including spelling and grammar, in
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grades four and seven;
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[(4) social studies, in grade eight;
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[(5) science, in grades five and eight; and
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[(6)] any [other] subject and grade required by |
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federal law. |
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SECTION 2. Sections 39.02301(a) and (d), Education Code, |
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are amended to read as follows: |
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(a) During the 2015-2016 school year, the agency, in |
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coordination with the entity that has been contracted to develop or |
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implement assessment instruments under Section 39.023, shall |
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conduct a study to develop a writing assessment method as an |
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alternative to the writing assessment instruments required under |
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Section 39.023(c) [Sections 39.023(a) and (c)]. The writing |
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assessment method must be designed to assess: |
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(1) a student's mastery of the essential knowledge and |
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skills in writing through timed writing samples; |
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(2) improvement of a student's writing skills from the |
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beginning of the school year to the end of the school year; |
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(3) a student's ability to follow the writing process |
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from rough draft to final product; and |
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(4) a student's ability to produce more than one type |
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of writing style. |
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(d) A school district designated to participate in the pilot |
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program under this section is not required to comply with the |
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writing assessment requirements under Section 39.023(c) [Sections
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39.023(a) and (c)] during the period the district is participating |
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in the pilot program. The agency shall, to the greatest extent |
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practicable, apply cost savings that result from the exemption |
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under this subsection to offset the costs accrued under this |
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section. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |