House Bill hb1633e1

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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to student assessment; amending

  3         s. 229.57, F.S.; revising provisions relating

  4         to the designation of school performance grade

  5         categories; revising the basis for such

  6         designations; revising provisions relating to

  7         statewide annual assessments; revising

  8         provisions relating to the use of a statistical

  9         system for assessment; requiring the

10         Commissioner of Education to establish a

11         schedule for administration of assessments;

12         reenacting ss. 230.23(16)(c), 231.085(4),

13         231.17(15), 231.29(3)(a), and 231.2905(4),

14         F.S., relating to supplements for teachers

15         based on assessment of student learning gains,

16         use of student assessment data, comparison of

17         routes to a professional certificate,

18         assessment procedures for school personnel, and

19         the School Recognition Program, to incorporate

20         the amendment to s. 229.57, F.S., in references

21         thereto; providing an effective date.

22

23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

24

25         Section 1.  Subsection (8) and (11) of section 229.57,

26  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

27         229.57  Student assessment program.--

28         (8)  DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE GRADE

29  CATEGORIES.--School performance grade category designations

30  itemized in subsection (7) shall be based on the following:

31         (a)  Timeframes.--


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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1         1.  School performance grade category designations

  2  shall be based on the school's current one school year of

  3  performance and the school's annual learning gains.

  4         2.  In school years 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, a school's

  5  performance grade category designation shall be determined by

  6  the student achievement levels on the FCAT, and on other

  7  appropriate performance data, including, but not limited to,

  8  attendance, dropout rate, school discipline data, and student

  9  readiness for college, in accordance with state board rule.

10         2.3.  In the 2000-2001 school year, a school's

11  performance grade category designation shall be based on a

12  combination of student achievement scores as measured by the

13  FCAT, on the degree of measured learning gains of the

14  students, and on other appropriate performance data,

15  including, but not limited to, dropout rate and student

16  readiness for college.

17         3.4.  Beginning with the 2001-2002 school year and

18  thereafter, a school's performance grade category designation

19  shall be based on a combination of student achievement scores,

20  student learning gains as measured by annual FCAT assessments

21  in grades 3 through 10, and improvement of the lowest 25th

22  percentile of students in the school in reading, math, or

23  writing on the FCAT, including Florida Writes, unless these

24  students are performing above satisfactory performance and on

25  other appropriate performance data, including, but not limited

26  to, dropout rate, cohort graduation rate, and student

27  readiness for college.

28         (b)  Student assessment data.--Student assessment data

29  used in determining school performance grade categories shall

30  include:

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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1         1.  The aggregate median scores of all eligible

  2  students enrolled in the school who have been assessed on the

  3  FCAT.

  4         2.  The aggregate median scores of all eligible

  5  students enrolled in the school who have been assessed on the

  6  FCAT, including Florida Writes, and who have scored at or in

  7  the lowest 25th percentile of students in the school in

  8  reading, math, or writing, unless these students are

  9  performing above satisfactory performance the state in the

10  previous school year.

11

12  The Department of Education shall study the effects of

13  mobility on the performance of highly mobile students and

14  recommend programs to improve the performance of such

15  students. The state board shall adopt appropriate criteria for

16  each school performance grade category. The criteria must also

17  give added weight to student achievement in reading. Schools

18  designated as performance grade category "C," making

19  satisfactory progress, shall be required to demonstrate that

20  adequate progress has been made by students in the school who

21  are in the lowest 25th percentile in reading, math, or writing

22  on the FCAT, including Florida Writes, unless these students

23  are performing above satisfactory performance have scored

24  among the lowest 25 percent of students in the state as well

25  as by the overall population of students in the school.

26         (11)  STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS.--The Department of

27  Education is authorized to implement, subject to

28  appropriation, to negotiate a multiyear contract for the

29  development, field testing, and implementation of annual

30  assessments of students in grades 3 through 10. Such

31  assessments must comply with the following criteria:


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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1         (a)  Assessments for each grade level shall be capable

  2  of measuring each student's mastery of the Sunshine State

  3  Standards for that grade level and above.

  4         (b)  Assessments shall be capable of measuring the

  5  annual progress each student makes in mastering the Sunshine

  6  State Standards.

  7         (c)  Assessments shall include measures in reading and

  8  mathematics in each grade level and must include writing and

  9  science in grades 4, 8, and 10. Science assessment is to begin

10  statewide in 2003.

11         (d)  Assessments shall be designed to protect the

12  integrity of the data and prevent score inflation.

13         (a)(e)  The statistical system for the annual

14  assessments shall use measures of student learning, such as

15  the FCAT, to determine teacher, school, and school district

16  statistical distributions, which distributions:

17         1.  shall be determined using available data from the

18  FCAT, and other data collection as deemed appropriate by the

19  Department of Education, to measure the differences in student

20  prior year achievement against the current year achievement or

21  lack thereof, such that the "effects" of instruction to a

22  student by a teacher, school, and school district may be

23  estimated on a per-student and constant basis.

24         2.  Shall, to the extent possible, be able to be

25  expressed in linear scales such that the effects of ceiling

26  and floor dispersions are minimized.

27         (b)(f)  The statistical system shall provide for an

28  approach which provides for the best estimates of linear

29  unbiased prediction for the teacher, school, and school

30  district effects on pupil progress.  These estimates should

31  adequately be able to determine effects of and compare


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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  teachers who teach multiple subjects to the same groups of

  2  students, and team teaching situations where teachers teach a

  3  single subject to multiple groups of students, or other

  4  teaching situations as appropriate.

  5         1.  The department, in consultation with the Office of

  6  Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, and

  7  other sources as appropriate, shall use recognized approaches

  8  to statistical variance and estimating random effects.

  9         2.  The approach used by the department shall be

10  approved by the commissioner State Board of Education before

11  implementation for pupil progression assessment.

12         (g)  Assessments shall include a norm-referenced

13  subtest that allows for comparisons of Florida students with

14  the performance of students nationally.

15         (c)(h)  The annual testing program shall be

16  administered to provide for valid statewide comparisons of

17  learning gains to be made for purposes of accountability and

18  recognition. The commissioner shall establish a schedule for

19  the administration of the statewide assessments. In

20  establishing such schedule, the commissioner is charged with

21  the duty to accomplish the latest possible administration of

22  the statewide assessments and the earliest possible provision

23  of the results to the school districts feasible within

24  available technology and specific appropriation. Annual

25  assessments that do not contain performance items shall be

26  administered no earlier than March of each school year, with

27  results being returned to schools prior to the end of the

28  academic year.  Subtests that contain performance items may be

29  given earlier than March, provided that the remaining subtests

30  are sufficient to provide valid data on comparisons of student

31  learning from year to year.  The time of administration shall


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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  be aligned such that a comparable amount of instructional time

  2  is measured in all school districts.  District school boards

  3  shall not establish school calendars that jeopardize or limit

  4  the valid testing and comparison of student learning gains.

  5         (i)  Assessments shall be implemented statewide no

  6  later than the spring of the 2000-2001 school year.

  7         Section 2.  For the purpose of incorporating the

  8  amendment to section 229.57, Florida Statutes, in references

  9  thereto, the sections or subdivisions of Florida Statutes set

10  forth below are reenacted to read:

11         230.23  Powers and duties of school board.--The school

12  board, acting as a board, shall exercise all powers and

13  perform all duties listed below:

14         (16)  IMPLEMENT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND

15  ACCOUNTABILITY.--Maintain a system of school improvement and

16  education accountability as provided by statute and State

17  Board of Education rule. This system of school improvement and

18  education accountability shall be consistent with, and

19  implemented through, the district's continuing system of

20  planning and budgeting required by this section and ss.

21  229.555 and 237.041. This system of school improvement and

22  education accountability shall include, but is not limited to,

23  the following:

24         (c)  Assistance and intervention.--

25         1.  Develop a 2-year plan of increasing individualized

26  assistance and intervention for each school in danger of not

27  meeting state standards or making adequate progress, as

28  defined pursuant to statute and State Board of Education rule,

29  toward meeting the goals and standards of its approved school

30  improvement plan.

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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1         2.  A school that is identified as being in performance

  2  grade category "D" pursuant to s. 229.57 is in danger of

  3  failing and must be provided assistance and intervention.

  4         3.a.  Each district school board shall develop a plan

  5  to encourage teachers with demonstrated mastery in improving

  6  student performance to remain at or transfer to a school

  7  designated as performance grade category "D" or "F" or to an

  8  alternative school that serves disruptive or violent youths.

  9  If a classroom teacher, as defined by s. 228.041(9)(a), who

10  meets the definition of teaching mastery developed according

11  to the provisions of this paragraph, requests assignment to a

12  school designated as performance grade category "D" or "F" or

13  to an alternative school that serves disruptive or violent

14  youths, the district school board shall make every practical

15  effort to grant the request.

16         b.  For initial implementation in 2000-2001 and until

17  full implementation of an annual assessment of learning gains,

18  a classroom teacher who is selected by the school principal

19  based on his or her performance appraisal and student

20  achievement data to teach at a school designated as

21  performance grade category "D" or "F" or at an alternative

22  that serves disruptive or violent youths shall receive a

23  supplement of at least $1,000, not to exceed $3,500, as

24  provided for annually in the General Appropriations Act, each

25  year he or she teaches at a school designated as performance

26  grade category "D" or "F" or at an alternative school that

27  serves disruptive or violent youths.

28         c.  Beginning with the full implementation of an annual

29  assessment of learning gains, a classroom teacher whose

30  effectiveness has been proven based upon positive learning

31  gains of his or her students as measured by annual FCAT


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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  assessments pursuant to s. 229.57, is eligible for an annual

  2  supplement of at least $1,000, not to exceed $3,500, as

  3  provided for annually in the General Appropriations Act, each

  4  year he or she teaches at a school designated as performance

  5  grade category "D" or "F" or at an alternative school that

  6  serves disruptive or violent youths.

  7         d.  In the absence of an FCAT assessment, measurement

  8  of learning gains of students shall be as provided in s.

  9  229.57(12). The supplement received under this paragraph shall

10  be in addition to any supplement or bonus received as a result

11  of other local or state pay incentives based on performance.

12         e.  The Commissioner of Education shall adopt rules to

13  determine the measures that define "teaching mastery" for

14  purposes of this subparagraph.

15         4.  District school boards are encouraged to prioritize

16  the expenditures of funds received from the supplemental

17  academic instruction categorical fund under s. 236.08104 to

18  improve student performance in schools that receive a

19  performance grade category designation of "D" or "F."

20         231.085  Duties of principals.--

21         (4)  Each principal shall assist the teachers within

22  the school to use student assessment data, as measured by

23  student learning gains pursuant to s. 229.57, for

24  self-evaluation.

25         231.17  Teacher certification requirements.--

26         (15)  COMPARISON OF ROUTES TO A PROFESSIONAL

27  CERTIFICATE.--Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the

28  Department of Education shall conduct a longitudinal study to

29  compare performance of certificateholders who are employed in

30  Florida school districts. The study shall compare a sampling

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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  of educators who have qualified for a professional certificate

  2  since July 1, 2002, based on the following:

  3         (a)  Graduation from a state-approved teacher

  4  preparation program.

  5         (b)  Completion of a state-approved professional

  6  preparation and education competency program.

  7         (c)  A valid standard teaching certificate issued by a

  8  state other than Florida.

  9

10  The department comparisons shall be made to determine if there

11  is any significant difference in the performance of these

12  groups of teachers, as measured by their students' achievement

13  levels and learning gains as measured by s. 229.57.

14         231.29  Assessment procedures and criteria.--

15         (3)  The assessment procedure for instructional

16  personnel and school administrators must be primarily based on

17  the performance of students assigned to their classrooms or

18  schools, as appropriate. The procedures must comply with, but

19  are not limited to, the following requirements:

20         (a)  An assessment must be conducted for each employee

21  at least once a year. The assessment must be based upon sound

22  educational principles and contemporary research in effective

23  educational practices. Beginning with the full implementation

24  of an annual assessment of learning gains, the assessment must

25  primarily use data and indicators of improvement in student

26  performance assessed annually as specified in s. 229.57 and

27  may consider results of peer reviews in evaluating the

28  employee's performance. Student performance must be measured

29  by state assessments required under s. 229.57 and by local

30  assessments for subjects and grade levels not measured by the

31  state assessment program. The assessment criteria must


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                                   CS/HB 1633, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  include, but are not limited to, indicators that relate to the

  2  following:

  3         1.  Performance of students.

  4         2.  Ability to maintain appropriate discipline.

  5         3.  Knowledge of subject matter. The district school

  6  board shall make special provisions for evaluating teachers

  7  who are assigned to teach out-of-field.

  8         4.  Ability to plan and deliver instruction, including

  9  the use of technology in the classroom.

10         5.  Ability to evaluate instructional needs.

11         6.  Ability to establish and maintain a positive

12  collaborative relationship with students' families to increase

13  student achievement.

14         7.  Other professional competencies, responsibilities,

15  and requirements as established by rules of the State Board of

16  Education and policies of the district school board.

17         231.2905  Florida School Recognition Program.--

18         (4)  The School Recognition Program shall utilize the

19  school performance grade category designations in s. 229.57.

20         Section 3.  1.  The department, in consultation with

21  the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government

22  Accountability, and other sources as appropriate, shall

23  participate in the monitoring and reporting of the

24  implementation of the methodology that will be used to

25  identify student learning gains.

26         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

27  law.

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29

30

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