HB 231

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to statewide assessments; amending s.
31008.22, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
4schedule for administering comprehensive statewide
5assessments; providing that a comprehensive statewide
6assessment may be administered the week before the week of
7April 15 if a religious holiday occurs during that week;
8providing an effective date.
9
10Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12     Section 1.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
131008.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
14     1008.22  Student assessment program for public schools.--
15     (3)  STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
16design and implement a statewide program of educational
17assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
18operation and management of the public schools, including
19schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
20services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
21The commissioner may enter into contracts for the continued
22administration of the assessment, testing, and evaluation
23programs authorized and funded by the Legislature. Contracts may
24be initiated in 1 fiscal year and continue into the next and may
25be paid from the appropriations of either or both fiscal years.
26The commissioner is authorized to negotiate for the sale or
27lease of tests, scoring protocols, test scoring services, and
28related materials developed pursuant to law. Pursuant to the
29statewide assessment program, the commissioner shall:
30     (c)  Develop and implement a student achievement testing
31program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
32(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program to measure a
33student's content knowledge and skills in reading, writing,
34science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be included as
35directed by the commissioner. Comprehensive assessments of
36reading and mathematics shall be administered annually in grades
373 through 10. Comprehensive assessments of writing and science
38shall be administered at least once at the elementary, middle,
39and high school levels. End-of-course assessments for a subject
40may be administered in addition to the comprehensive assessments
41required for that subject under this paragraph. An end-of-course
42assessment must be rigorous, statewide, standardized, and
43developed or approved by the department. The content knowledge
44and skills assessed by comprehensive and end-of-course
45assessments must be aligned to the core curricular content
46established in the Sunshine State Standards. The commissioner
47may select one or more nationally developed comprehensive
48examinations, which may include, but need not be limited to,
49examinations for a College Board Advanced Placement course,
50International Baccalaureate course, or Advanced International
51Certificate of Education course or industry-approved
52examinations to earn national industry certifications as defined
53in s. 1003.492, for use as end-of-course assessments under this
54paragraph, if the commissioner determines that the content
55knowledge and skills assessed by the examinations meet or exceed
56the grade level expectations for the core curricular content
57established for the course in the Next Generation Sunshine State
58Standards. The commissioner may collaborate with the American
59Diploma Project in the adoption or development of rigorous end-
60of-course assessments that are aligned to the Next Generation
61Sunshine State Standards. The testing program must be designed
62as follows:
63     1.  The tests shall measure student skills and competencies
64adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
65paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
66proficiency levels of all students assessed in reading, writing,
67mathematics, and science. The commissioner shall provide for the
68tests to be developed or obtained, as appropriate, through
69contracts and project agreements with private vendors, public
70vendors, public agencies, postsecondary educational
71institutions, or school districts. The commissioner shall obtain
72input with respect to the design and implementation of the
73testing program from state educators, assistive technology
74experts, and the public.
75     2.  The testing program shall be composed of criterion-
76referenced tests that shall, to the extent determined by the
77commissioner, include test items that require the student to
78produce information or perform tasks in such a way that the core
79content knowledge and skills he or she uses can be measured.
80     3.  Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, the
81commissioner shall discontinue administration of the selected-
82response test items on the comprehensive assessments of writing.
83Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the comprehensive
84assessments of writing shall be composed of a combination of
85selected-response test items, short-response performance tasks,
86and extended-response performance tasks, which shall measure a
87student's content knowledge of writing, including, but not
88limited to, paragraph and sentence structure, sentence
89construction, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization,
90spelling, parts of speech, verb tense, irregular verbs, subject-
91verb agreement, and noun-pronoun agreement.
92     4.  A score shall be designated for each subject area
93tested, below which score a student's performance is deemed
94inadequate. The school districts shall provide appropriate
95remedial instruction to students who score below these levels.
96     5.  Except as provided in s. 1003.428(8)(b) or s.
971003.43(11)(b), students must earn a passing score on the grade
9810 assessment test described in this paragraph or attain
99concordant scores as described in subsection (10) in reading,
100writing, and mathematics to qualify for a standard high school
101diploma. The State Board of Education shall designate a passing
102score for each part of the grade 10 assessment test. In
103establishing passing scores, the state board shall consider any
104possible negative impact of the test on minority students. The
105State Board of Education shall adopt rules which specify the
106passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT. Any such rules, which have
107the effect of raising the required passing scores, shall apply
108only to students taking the grade 10 FCAT for the first time
109after such rules are adopted by the State Board of Education.
110     6.  Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
111all students attending public school, including students served
112in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
113prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
114participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
115notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
116information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
117A parent must provide signed consent for a student to receive
118classroom instructional accommodations that would not be
119available or permitted on the statewide assessments and must
120acknowledge in writing that he or she understands the
121implications of such instructional accommodations. The State
122Board of Education shall adopt rules, based upon recommendations
123of the commissioner, for the provision of test accommodations
124for students in exceptional education programs and for students
125who have limited English proficiency. Accommodations that negate
126the validity of a statewide assessment are not allowable in the
127administration of the FCAT. However, instructional
128accommodations are allowable in the classroom if included in a
129student's individual education plan. Students using
130instructional accommodations in the classroom that are not
131allowable as accommodations on the FCAT may have the FCAT
132requirement waived pursuant to the requirements of s.
1331003.428(8)(b) or s. 1003.43(11)(b).
134     7.  A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
135meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
136student must meet.
137     8.  District school boards must provide instruction to
138prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the core
139curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine
140State Standards adopted under s. 1003.41, including the core
141content knowledge and skills necessary for successful grade-to-
142grade progression and high school graduation. If a student is
143provided with instructional accommodations in the classroom that
144are not allowable as accommodations in the statewide assessment
145program, as described in the test manuals, the district must
146inform the parent in writing and must provide the parent with
147information regarding the impact on the student's ability to
148meet expected proficiency levels in reading, writing, and
149mathematics. The commissioner shall conduct studies as necessary
150to verify that the required core curricular content is part of
151the district instructional programs.
152     9.  District school boards must provide opportunities for
153students to demonstrate an acceptable level of performance on an
154alternative standardized assessment approved by the State Board
155of Education following enrollment in summer academies.
156     10.  The Department of Education must develop, or select,
157and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
158used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
159must accurately measure the core curricular content established
160in the Sunshine State Standards.
161     11.  For students seeking a special diploma pursuant to s.
1621003.438, the Department of Education must develop or select and
163implement an alternate assessment tool that accurately measures
164the core curricular content established in the Sunshine State
165Standards for students with disabilities under s. 1003.438.
166     12.  The Commissioner of Education shall establish
167schedules for the administration of statewide assessments and
168the reporting of student test results. The commissioner shall,
169by August 1 of each year, notify each school district in writing
170and publish on the department's Internet website the testing and
171reporting schedules for, at a minimum, the school year following
172the upcoming school year. The testing and reporting schedules
173shall require that:
174     a.  There is the latest possible administration of
175statewide assessments and the earliest possible reporting to the
176school districts of student test results which is feasible
177within available technology and specific appropriations;
178however, test results must be made available no later than the
179final day of the regular school year for students.
180     b.  Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, a
181comprehensive statewide assessment of writing is not
182administered earlier than the week of March 1 and a
183comprehensive statewide assessment of any other subject is not
184administered earlier than the week of April 15. However, if any
185religious holiday, including, but not limited to, Passover and
186Easter, occurs during the week of April 15, the comprehensive
187statewide assessment may be administered the week before the
188week during which the religious holiday occurs.
189     c.  A statewide standardized end-of-course assessment is
190administered within the last 2 weeks of the course.
191
192The commissioner may, based on collaboration and input from
193school districts, design and implement student testing programs,
194for any grade level and subject area, necessary to effectively
195monitor educational achievement in the state, including the
196measurement of educational achievement of the Sunshine State
197Standards for students with disabilities. Development and
198refinement of assessments shall include universal design
199principles and accessibility standards that will prevent any
200unintended obstacles for students with disabilities while
201ensuring the validity and reliability of the test. These
202principles should be applicable to all technology platforms and
203assistive devices available for the assessments. The field
204testing process and psychometric analyses for the statewide
205assessment program must include an appropriate percentage of
206students with disabilities and an evaluation or determination of
207the effect of test items on such students.
208     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.