House Bill hb1633er

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    2001 Legislature                  CS/HB 1633, Second Engrossed



  1                                 

  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 Department of Education

22         duties relating to identification of student

23         learning gains; providing an effective date.

24  

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

26  

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

28  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

29         229.57  Student assessment program.--

30  

31  


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    2001 Legislature                  CS/HB 1633, Second Engrossed



  1         (8)  DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE GRADE

  2  CATEGORIES.--School performance grade category designations

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

  4         (a)  Timeframes.--

  5         1.  School performance grade category designations

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

  7  performance and the school's annual learning gains.

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

  9  performance grade category designation shall be determined by

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

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

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

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

14         2.3.  In the 2000-2001 school year, a school's

15  performance grade category designation shall be based on a

16  combination of student achievement scores as measured by the

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

18  students, and on other appropriate performance data,

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

20  readiness for college.

21         3.4.  Beginning with the 2001-2002 school year and

22  thereafter, a school's performance grade category designation

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

24  student learning gains as measured by annual FCAT assessments

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

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

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

28  students are performing above satisfactory performance and on

29  other appropriate performance data, including, but not limited

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

31  readiness for college.


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

  2  used in determining school performance grade categories shall

  3  include:

  4         1.  The aggregate median scores of all eligible

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

  6  FCAT.

  7         2.  The aggregate median scores of all eligible

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

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

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

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

12  performing above satisfactory performance the state in the

13  previous school year.

14  

15  The Department of Education shall study the effects of

16  mobility on the performance of highly mobile students and

17  recommend programs to improve the performance of such

18  students. The state board shall adopt appropriate criteria for

19  each school performance grade category. The criteria must also

20  give added weight to student achievement in reading. Schools

21  designated as performance grade category "C," making

22  satisfactory progress, shall be required to demonstrate that

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

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

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

26  are performing above satisfactory performance have scored

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

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

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

30  Education is authorized to implement, subject to

31  appropriation, to negotiate a multiyear contract for the


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  1  development, field testing, and implementation of annual

  2  assessments of students in grades 3 through 10. Such

  3  assessments must comply with the following criteria:

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

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

  6  Standards for that grade level and above.

  7         (b)  Assessments shall be capable of measuring the

  8  annual progress each student makes in mastering the Sunshine

  9  State Standards.

10         (c)  Assessments shall include measures in reading and

11  mathematics in each grade level and must include writing and

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

13  statewide in 2003.

14         (d)  Assessments shall be designed to protect the

15  integrity of the data and prevent score inflation.

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

17  assessments shall use measures of student learning, such as

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

19  statistical distributions, which distributions:

20         1.  shall be determined using available data from the

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

22  Department of Education, to measure the differences in student

23  prior year achievement against the current year achievement or

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

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

26  estimated on a per-student and constant basis.

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

28  expressed in linear scales such that the effects of ceiling

29  and floor dispersions are minimized.

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

31  approach which provides for the best estimates of linear


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  1  unbiased prediction for the teacher, school, and school

  2  district effects on pupil progress.  These estimates should

  3  adequately be able to determine effects of and compare

  4  teachers who teach multiple subjects to the same groups of

  5  students, and team teaching situations where teachers teach a

  6  single subject to multiple groups of students, or other

  7  teaching situations as appropriate.

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

  9  Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, and

10  other sources as appropriate, shall use recognized approaches

11  to statistical variance and estimating random effects.

12         2.  The approach used by the department shall be

13  approved by the commissioner State Board of Education before

14  implementation for pupil progression assessment.

15         (g)  Assessments shall include a norm-referenced

16  subtest that allows for comparisons of Florida students with

17  the performance of students nationally.

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

19  administered to provide for valid statewide comparisons of

20  learning gains to be made for purposes of accountability and

21  recognition. The commissioner shall establish a schedule for

22  the administration of the statewide assessments. In

23  establishing such schedule, the commissioner is charged with

24  the duty to accomplish the latest possible administration of

25  the statewide assessments and the earliest possible provision

26  of the results to the school districts feasible within

27  available technology and specific appropriation. Annual

28  assessments that do not contain performance items shall be

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

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

31  academic year.  Subtests that contain performance items may be


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  1  given earlier than March, provided that the remaining subtests

  2  are sufficient to provide valid data on comparisons of student

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

  4  be aligned such that a comparable amount of instructional time

  5  is measured in all school districts.  District school boards

  6  shall not establish school calendars that jeopardize or limit

  7  the valid testing and comparison of student learning gains.

  8         (i)  Assessments shall be implemented statewide no

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

10         Section 2.  For the purpose of incorporating the

11  amendment to section 229.57, Florida Statutes, in references

12  thereto, the sections or subdivisions of Florida Statutes set

13  forth below are reenacted to read:

14         230.23  Powers and duties of school board.--The school

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

16  perform all duties listed below:

17         (16)  IMPLEMENT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND

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

19  education accountability as provided by statute and State

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

21  education accountability shall be consistent with, and

22  implemented through, the district's continuing system of

23  planning and budgeting required by this section and ss.

24  229.555 and 237.041. This system of school improvement and

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

26  the following:

27         (c)  Assistance and intervention.--

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

29  assistance and intervention for each school in danger of not

30  meeting state standards or making adequate progress, as

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


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  1  toward meeting the goals and standards of its approved school

  2  improvement plan.

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

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

  5  failing and must be provided assistance and intervention.

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

  7  to encourage teachers with demonstrated mastery in improving

  8  student performance to remain at or transfer to a school

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

10  alternative school that serves disruptive or violent youths.

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

12  meets the definition of teaching mastery developed according

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

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

15  to an alternative school that serves disruptive or violent

16  youths, the district school board shall make every practical

17  effort to grant the request.

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

19  full implementation of an annual assessment of learning gains,

20  a classroom teacher who is selected by the school principal

21  based on his or her performance appraisal and student

22  achievement data to teach at a school designated as

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

24  that serves disruptive or violent youths shall receive a

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

26  provided for annually in the General Appropriations Act, each

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

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

29  serves disruptive or violent youths.

30         c.  Beginning with the full implementation of an annual

31  assessment of learning gains, a classroom teacher whose


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  1  effectiveness has been proven based upon positive learning

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

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

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

  5  provided for annually in the General Appropriations Act, each

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

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

  8  serves disruptive or violent youths.

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

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

11  229.57(12). The supplement received under this paragraph shall

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

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

14         e.  The Commissioner of Education shall adopt rules to

15  determine the measures that define "teaching mastery" for

16  purposes of this subparagraph.

17         4.  District school boards are encouraged to prioritize

18  the expenditures of funds received from the supplemental

19  academic instruction categorical fund under s. 236.08104 to

20  improve student performance in schools that receive a

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

22         231.085  Duties of principals.--

23         (4)  Each principal shall assist the teachers within

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

25  student learning gains pursuant to s. 229.57, for

26  self-evaluation.

27         231.17  Teacher certification requirements.--

28         (15)  COMPARISON OF ROUTES TO A PROFESSIONAL

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

30  Department of Education shall conduct a longitudinal study to

31  compare performance of certificateholders who are employed in


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  1  Florida school districts. The study shall compare a sampling

  2  of educators who have qualified for a professional certificate

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

  4         (a)  Graduation from a state-approved teacher

  5  preparation program.

  6         (b)  Completion of a state-approved professional

  7  preparation and education competency program.

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

  9  state other than Florida.

10  

11  The department comparisons shall be made to determine if there

12  is any significant difference in the performance of these

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

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

15         231.29  Assessment procedures and criteria.--

16         (3)  The assessment procedure for instructional

17  personnel and school administrators must be primarily based on

18  the performance of students assigned to their classrooms or

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

20  are not limited to, the following requirements:

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

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

23  educational principles and contemporary research in effective

24  educational practices. Beginning with the full implementation

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

26  primarily use data and indicators of improvement in student

27  performance assessed annually as specified in s. 229.57 and

28  may consider results of peer reviews in evaluating the

29  employee's performance. Student performance must be measured

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

31  assessments for subjects and grade levels not measured by the


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  1  state assessment program. The assessment criteria must

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

  3  following:

  4         1.  Performance of students.

  5         2.  Ability to maintain appropriate discipline.

  6         3.  Knowledge of subject matter. The district school

  7  board shall make special provisions for evaluating teachers

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

  9         4.  Ability to plan and deliver instruction, including

10  the use of technology in the classroom.

11         5.  Ability to evaluate instructional needs.

12         6.  Ability to establish and maintain a positive

13  collaborative relationship with students' families to increase

14  student achievement.

15         7.  Other professional competencies, responsibilities,

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

17  Education and policies of the district school board.

18         231.2905  Florida School Recognition Program.--

19         (4)  The School Recognition Program shall utilize the

20  school performance grade category designations in s. 229.57.

21         Section 3.  The Department of Education, in

22  consultation with the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

23  Government Accountability, and other sources as appropriate,

24  shall participate in the monitoring and reporting of the

25  implementation of the methodology that will be used to

26  identify student learning gains.

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

28  law.

29  

30  

31  


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