Senate Bill sb0302
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 302
By Senator Siplin
19-210A-06
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to student assessments;
3 creating s. 1008.225, F.S.; providing for a
4 Standardized Test Academic Grade, or STAG, to
5 create a balance between the standardized test
6 scores and the academic performance of a
7 student, to enhance students' options for
8 promotion and graduation, and to enhance school
9 options for accountability and fairness in the
10 grading process; providing legislative
11 findings; requiring that the Commissioner of
12 Education develop and implement the STAG
13 program by a specified date; providing
14 purposes; providing eligibility requirements
15 for student use of STAG; providing a formula
16 for computing a student's STAG score; requiring
17 the Department of Education to study the
18 program and report its findings to the
19 Legislature and the Commissioner of Education;
20 amending ss. 1003.43 and 1008.22, F.S., to
21 conform; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
26 1003.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27 1003.43 General requirements for high school
28 graduation.--
29 (5) Each district school board shall establish
30 standards for graduation from its schools, and these standards
31 must include:
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 302
19-210A-06
1 (a) Earning passing scores on the FCAT, as defined in
2 s. 1008.22(3)(c), or a satisfactory Standardized Test Academic
3 Grade under s. 1008.225 scores on a standardized test that are
4 concordant with passing scores on the FCAT as defined in s.
5 1008.22(9).
6
7 The standards required in this subsection, and any subsequent
8 modifications, shall be reprinted in the Florida
9 Administrative Code even though not defined as "rules."
10 Section 2. Subsection (9) of section 1008.22, Florida
11 Statutes, is amended to read:
12 1008.22 Student assessment program for public
13 schools.--
14 (9) EQUIVALENCIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS.--
15 (a) The Commissioner of Education shall approve the
16 use of STAG scores in accordance with s. 1008.225 the SAT and
17 ACT tests as alternative assessments to the grade 10 FCAT for
18 the 2007-2008 2003-2004 school year and thereafter. Students
19 who attain satisfactory STAG scores on the SAT or ACT which
20 equate to the passing scores on the grade 10 FCAT for purposes
21 of high school graduation shall satisfy the assessment
22 requirement for a standard high school diploma as provided in
23 s. 1003.429(6)(a) or s. 1003.43(5)(a) for the 2003-2004 school
24 year if the students meet the requirement in paragraph (b).
25 (b) A student shall be required to take the grade 10
26 FCAT a total of three times without earning a passing score in
27 order to use the scores on an alternative assessment pursuant
28 to paragraph (a). This requirement shall not apply to a
29 student who is a new student to the public school system in
30 grade 12.
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 302
19-210A-06
1 Section 3. Section 1008.225, Florida Statutes, is
2 created to read:
3 1008.225 Standardized Test Academic Grade (STAG).--
4 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.--The Legislature finds that
5 it is undesirable to evaluate all students on the basis of a
6 single assessment such as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment
7 Test (FCAT). The Legislature further finds that, in many
8 instances, it is more sensible to strike a balance between
9 standardized test scores and academic performance in assessing
10 whether a student is qualified to be a high school graduate.
11 (2) DEVELOPMENT.--Pursuant to the statewide assessment
12 program, the Commissioner of Education shall develop and
13 implement during the 2007-2008 school year the Standardized
14 Test Academic Grade, or STAG.
15 (3) PURPOSE.--Use of the Standardized Test Academic
16 Grade is intended to create a balance between the standardized
17 test scores and the academic performance of a student, to
18 enhance student options for school promotion, to increase the
19 options for a student to obtain a high school diploma, to
20 create options for school accountability, and to promote the
21 normal grading scale and common grade point average that
22 people understand.
23 (4) ELIGIBILITY TO ELECT ASSESSMENT BY STAG.--A
24 student may choose to be assessed through the STAG program if
25 the student:
26 (a) Is reading at grade level;
27 (b) Has a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or
28 better;
29 (c) Has had no major disciplinary problems or
30 disciplinary actions during high school;
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 302
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1 (d) Has not accumulated more than 21 days of absence
2 from classes during each school year in grades 9 through 12;
3 and
4 (e) Has a parent or guardian who is involved in the
5 student's education, as evidenced by the parent's or
6 guardian's having reviewed the student's portfolio at least
7 twice per academic year during grades 9 through 12.
8 (5) COMPUTATION OF STAG.--
9 (a) A student's STAG score is the average of two
10 component scores earned by the student:
11 1. The cumulative grade point average; and
12 2. The standardized test grade point average, or
13 STGPA, as calculated under paragraph (b).
14 (b) To calculate the STGPA, the school must:
15 1. Convert the student's FCAT scores from levels to
16 grades and assign to each grade the number of quality points
17 assigned in accordance with the scale used in calculating the
18 grade point average:
19 FCAT Level Letter Grade Quality
20 Points
21 5 A 4
22 4 B 3
23 3 C 2
24 2 D 1
25 1 F 0
26
27 2. Add the number of quality points that the student
28 earned on all FCAT subtests and divide by the number of FCAT
29 subtests to calculate the average of the quality points. That
30 average is the STGPA.
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 302
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1 (c) The STAG must equal 2.5 or better before a student
2 is promoted to the next level or obtains a regular high school
3 diploma.
4 (6) PROGRAM ASSESSMENT.--The Department of Education
5 shall, by August 1, 2009, study the results of implementing
6 the STAG method of assessment and shall report its findings to
7 the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
8 Representatives, and the Commissioner of Education by December
9 1, 2008.
10 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
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13 SENATE SUMMARY
14 Provides for a Standardized Test Academic Grade, or STAG,
to create a balance between the standardized test scores
15 and the academic performance of a student, to enhance
students' options for promotion and graduation, and to
16 enhance school options for accountability and fairness in
the grading process. Provides legislative findings.
17 Requires that the Commissioner of Education develop and
implement the STAG program by a specified date. Provides
18 purposes of the program. Provides eligibility
requirements for student use of STAG. Provides a formula
19 for computing a student's STAG score. Requires the
Department of Education to study the program and report
20 its findings to legislative leaders and to the
Commissioner of Education.
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