Florida Senate - 2013 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. PCS (688260) for CS for SB 1076 Barcode 857770 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 03/28/2013 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Appropriations (Montford) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Between lines 1036 and 1037 4 insert: 5 Section 19. Section 1008.22, Florida Statutes, is amended 6 to read: 7 (Substantial rewording of section. See 8 s. 1008.22, F.S., for present text.) 9 1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.— 10 (1) PURPOSE.—The primary purpose of the student assessment 11 program is to provide student academic achievement and learning 12 gains data to students, parents, teachers, school 13 administrators, and school district staff. This data is to be 14 used by districts to improve instruction; by students, parents, 15 and teachers to guide learning objectives; by education 16 researchers to assess national and international education 17 comparison data; and by the public to assess the cost benefit of 18 the expenditure of taxpayer dollars. The program must be 19 designed to: 20 (a) Assess the achievement level and annual learning gains 21 of each student in English Language Arts and mathematics and the 22 achievement level in all other subjects assessed. 23 (b) Provide data for making decisions regarding school 24 accountability, recognition, and improvement of operations and 25 management, including schools operating for the purpose of 26 providing educational services to youth in Department of 27 Juvenile Justice programs. 28 (c) Identify the educational strengths and needs of 29 students and the readiness of students to be promoted to the 30 next grade level or to graduate from high school. 31 (d) Assess how well educational goals and curricular 32 standards are met at the school, district, state, national, and 33 international levels. 34 (e) Provide information to aid in the evaluation and 35 development of educational programs and policies. 36 (2) NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION COMPARISONS. 37 Florida school districts shall participate in the administration 38 of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or similar 39 national or international assessments, both for the national 40 sample and for any state-by-state comparison programs that may 41 be initiated, as directed by the Commissioner of Education. The 42 assessments must be conducted using the data collection 43 procedures, student surveys, educator surveys, and other 44 instruments included in the National Assessment of Educational 45 Progress or similar national or international assessments being 46 administered in Florida. The administration of such assessments 47 shall be in addition to and separate from the administration of 48 the statewide, standardized assessments. 49 (3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The 50 Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a 51 statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core 52 curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine 53 State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select 54 and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be 55 used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state. 56 These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content 57 established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. 58 Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all 59 school districts and all students attending public schools, 60 including students seeking an adult high school diploma and 61 students in Department of Juvenile Justice education programs, 62 except as otherwise prescribed by the commissioner. If a student 63 does not participate in the assessment program, the school 64 district must notify the student’s parent and provide the parent 65 with information regarding the implications of such 66 nonparticipation. The statewide, standardized assessment program 67 shall be designed and implemented as follows: 68 (a) Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) until 69 replaced by common core assessments.—FCAT Reading shall be 70 administered annually in grades 3 through 10; FCAT Mathematics 71 shall be administered annually in grades 3 through 8; FCAT 72 Writing shall be administered annually at least once at the 73 elementary, middle, and high school levels; and FCAT Science 74 shall be administered annually at least once at the elementary 75 and middle grades levels. A student who has not earned a passing 76 score on grade 10 FCAT Reading must participate in each retake 77 of the assessment until the student earns a passing score. The 78 commissioner shall recommend and the State Board of Education 79 must adopt a score on both the SAT and ACT which is concordant 80 to a passing score on grade 10 FCAT Reading which, if achieved 81 by a student, meets the must-pass requirement for grade 10 FCAT 82 Reading. 83 (b) End-of-course (EOC) assessments.—EOC assessments must 84 be statewide, standardized, and developed or approved by the 85 Department of Education as follows: 86 1. Statewide, standardized EOC assessments in mathematics 87 shall be administered according to this subparagraph. Beginning 88 with the 2010-2011 school year, all students enrolled in Algebra 89 I must take the Algebra I EOC assessment. Except as otherwise 90 provided in this section, beginning with students entering grade 91 9 in the 2011-2012 school year, a student who is enrolled in 92 Algebra I must earn a passing score on the Algebra I EOC 93 assessment or attain a comparative score as authorized under 94 subsection (8) in order to earn a standard high school diploma. 95 A student who has not earned a passing score on the Algebra I 96 EOC assessment must participate in each retake of the assessment 97 until the student earns a passing score. Beginning with the 98 2011-2012 school year, all students enrolled in Geometry must 99 take the Geometry EOC assessment. Middle grades students 100 enrolled in Algebra I or Geometry must take the statewide, 101 standardized EOC assessment for those courses and are not 102 required to take the corresponding grade-level FCAT. 103 2. Statewide, standardized EOC assessments in science shall 104 be administered according to this subparagraph. Beginning with 105 the 2011-2012 school year, all students enrolled in Biology I 106 must take the Biology I EOC assessment. 107 3. During the 2012-2013 school year, an EOC assessment in 108 civics education shall be administered as a field test at the 109 middle grades level. Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, 110 each student’s performance on the statewide, standardized EOC 111 assessment in civics education constitutes 30 percent of the 112 student’s final course grade. 113 4. The commissioner may select one or more nationally 114 developed comprehensive examinations, which may include 115 examinations for a College Board Advanced Placement course, 116 International Baccalaureate course, or Advanced International 117 Certificate of Education course, or industry-approved 118 examinations to earn national industry certifications identified 119 in the Industry Certification Funding List, for use as EOC 120 assessments under this paragraph if the commissioner determines 121 that the content knowledge and skills assessed by the 122 examinations meet or exceed the grade-level expectations for the 123 core curricular content established for the course in the Next 124 Generation Sunshine State Standards. Use of any such examination 125 as an EOC assessment must be approved by the state board. 126 5. Contingent upon funding provided in the General 127 Appropriations Act, including the appropriation of funds 128 received through federal grants, the commissioner may establish 129 an implementation schedule for the development and 130 administration of additional statewide, standardized EOC 131 assessments that must be approved by the state board. If 132 approved by the state board, student performance on such 133 assessments constitutes 30 percent of a student’s final course 134 grade. 135 6. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments must be 136 administered online except as otherwise provided in paragraph 137 (c). 138 (c) Students with disabilities; Florida Alternate 139 Assessment.— 140 1. Each district school board must provide instruction to 141 prepare students with disabilities in the core content knowledge 142 and skills necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression 143 and high school graduation. 144 2. A student with a disability, as defined in s. 145 1007.02(2), for whom the individual education plan (IEP) team 146 determines that the statewide, standardized assessments under 147 this section cannot accurately measure the student’s abilities, 148 taking into consideration all allowable accommodations, shall 149 have assessment results waived for the purpose of receiving a 150 course grade and a standard high school diploma. Such waiver 151 shall be designated on the diploma as provided under s. 152 1003.4285. 153 3. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, based 154 upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the provision of 155 assessment accommodations for students with disabilities and for 156 students who have limited English proficiency. 157 a. Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide, 158 standardized assessment are not allowed during the 159 administration of the assessment. However, instructional 160 accommodations are allowed in the classroom if identified in a 161 student’s IEP. Students using instructional accommodations in 162 the classroom which are not allowed on a statewide, standardized 163 assessment may have assessment results waived if the IEP team 164 determines that the assessment cannot accurately measure the 165 student’s abilities. 166 b. If a student is provided with instructional 167 accommodations in the classroom which are not allowed as 168 accommodations for statewide, standardized assessments, the 169 district must inform the parent in writing and provide the 170 parent with information regarding the impact on the student’s 171 ability to meet expected performance levels. A parent must 172 provide signed consent for a student to receive classroom 173 instructional accommodations that would not be available or 174 permitted on a statewide, standardized assessment and 175 acknowledge in writing that he or she understands the 176 implications of such instructional accommodations. 177 c. If a student’s IEP states that online administration of 178 a statewide, standardized assessment will significantly impair 179 the student’s ability to perform, the assessment shall be 180 administered in hard copy. 181 4. For students with significant cognitive disabilities, 182 the Department of Education shall provide for implementation of 183 the Florida Alternate Assessment to accurately measure the core 184 curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine 185 State Standards. 186 (d) Common core assessments in English Language Arts (ELA) 187 and Mathematics.— 188 1. Contingent upon funding, common core assessments in ELA 189 shall be administered to students in grades 3 through 11. Retake 190 opportunities for the grade 10 assessment must be provided. 191 Students taking the ELA assessments are not required to take the 192 assessments in FCAT Reading or FCAT Writing. Common core ELA 193 assessments shall be administered online. 194 2. Contingent upon funding, common core assessments in 195 Mathematics shall be administered to all students in grades 3 196 through 8, and common core assessments in Algebra I, Geometry, 197 and Algebra II shall be administered to students enrolled in 198 those courses. Retake opportunities must be provided for the 199 Algebra I assessment. Students may take the common core 200 Mathematics assessments pursuant to the Credit Acceleration 201 Program (CAP) under s. 1003.4295(3). Students taking common core 202 assessments in mathematics are not required to take FCAT 203 Mathematics or statewide, standardized EOC assessments in 204 mathematics. Common core mathematics assessments shall be 205 administered online. 206 3. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules 207 establishing an implementation schedule to transition from FCAT 208 Reading, FCAT Writing, FCAT Mathematics, and Algebra I and 209 geometry EOC assessments to common core assessments in English 210 language arts and mathematics. The schedule must take into 211 consideration funding, sufficient field and baseline data, 212 access to assessments, instructional alignment, and school 213 district readiness to administer the common core assessments 214 online. Until the grade 10 common core ELA and Algebra I 215 assessments become must-pass assessments, students must pass 216 grade 10 FCAT Reading and the Algebra I EOC assessment, or 217 achieve a concordant or comparative score as authorized under 218 this section, in order to earn a standard high school diploma 219 under s. 1003.4282. Students taking grade 10 FCAT Reading or the 220 Algebra I EOC assessment are not required to take the respective 221 common core assessments. 222 (e) Assessment scores and achievement levels.— 223 1. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments and FCAT 224 Reading, FCAT Writing, and FCAT Science shall use scaled scores 225 and achievement levels. Achievement levels shall range from 1 226 through 5, with level 1 being the lowest achievement level, 227 level 5 being the highest achievement level, and level 3 228 indicating satisfactory performance on an assessment. For 229 purposes of FCAT Writing, student achievement shall be scored 230 using a scale of 1 through 6. Common core English Language Arts 231 and Mathematics assessments shall use achievement levels 1 232 through 6. 233 2. The state board shall designate by rule a passing score 234 for each statewide, standardized EOC and FCAT assessment. In 235 addition, the state board shall designate a score for each 236 statewide, standardized EOC assessment which indicates that a 237 student is high achieving and has the potential to meet college 238 readiness standards by the time the student graduates from high 239 school. 240 3. If the commissioner seeks to revise a statewide, 241 standardized assessment and the revisions require the state 242 board to modify performance level scores, including the passing 243 score, the commissioner shall provide a copy of the proposed 244 scores and implementation plan to the President of the Senate 245 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least 90 days 246 before submission to the state board for review. Until the state 247 board adopts the modifications by rule, the commissioner shall 248 use calculations for scoring the assessment which adjust student 249 scores on the revised assessment for statistical equivalence to 250 student scores on the former assessment. The state board shall 251 adopt by rule the passing score for the revised assessment which 252 is statistically equivalent to the passing score on the 253 discontinued assessment for a student who is required to attain 254 a passing score on the discontinued assessment. The commissioner 255 may, with approval of the state board, discontinue 256 administration of the former assessment upon the graduation, 257 based on normal student progression, of students participating 258 in the final regular administration of the former assessment. If 259 the commissioner revises a statewide, standardized assessment 260 and the revisions require the state board to modify the passing 261 score, only students taking the assessment for the first time 262 after the rule is adopted are affected. 263 (f) Assessment schedules and reporting of results.—The 264 Commissioner of Education shall establish schedules for the 265 administration of assessments and the reporting of student 266 assessment results. The commissioner shall consider the 267 observance of religious and school holidays when developing the 268 schedule. By August 1 of each year, the commissioner shall 269 notify each school district in writing and publish on the 270 department’s website the assessment and reporting schedules for, 271 at a minimum, the school year following the upcoming school 272 year. The assessment and reporting schedules must provide the 273 earliest possible reporting of student assessment results to the 274 school districts. Assessment results for FCAT Reading and FCAT 275 Mathematics must be made available no later than the week of 276 June 8. The administration of FCAT Writing and the Florida 277 Alternate Assessment may be no earlier than the week of March 1. 278 School districts shall administer assessments in accordance with 279 the schedule established by the commissioner. 280 (g) Prohibited activities.—A district school board shall 281 prohibit each public school from suspending a regular program of 282 curricula for purposes of administering practice assessments or 283 engaging in other assessment-preparation activities for a 284 statewide, standardized assessment. However, a district school 285 board may authorize a public school to engage in the following 286 assessment-preparation activities: 287 1. Distributing to students sample assessment books and 288 answer keys published by the Department of Education. 289 2. Providing individualized instruction in assessment 290 taking strategies, without suspending the school’s regular 291 program of curricula, for a student who scores Level 1 or Level 292 2 on a prior administration of an assessment. 293 3. Providing individualized instruction in the content 294 knowledge and skills assessed, without suspending the school’s 295 regular program of curricula, for a student who scores Level 1 296 or Level 2 on a prior administration of an assessment or a 297 student who, through a diagnostic assessment administered by the 298 school district, is identified as having a deficiency in the 299 content knowledge and skills assessed. 300 4. Administering a practice assessment or engaging in other 301 assessment-preparation activities that are determined necessary 302 to familiarize students with the organization of the assessment, 303 the format of assessment items, and the assessment directions or 304 that are otherwise necessary for the valid and reliable 305 administration of the assessment, as set forth in rules adopted 306 by the State Board of Education with specific reference to this 307 paragraph. 308 (h) Contracts for assessments.—The commissioner shall 309 provide for the assessments to be developed or obtained, as 310 appropriate, through contracts and project agreements with 311 private vendors, public vendors, public agencies, postsecondary 312 educational institutions, or school districts. The commissioner 313 may enter into contracts for the continued administration of the 314 assessments authorized and funded by the Legislature. Contracts 315 may be initiated in one fiscal year and continue into the next 316 fiscal year and may be paid from the appropriations of either or 317 both fiscal years. The commissioner may negotiate for the sale 318 or lease of tests, scoring protocols, test scoring services, and 319 related materials developed pursuant to law. 320 (4) SCHOOL ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS.—Each public school shall 321 participate in the statewide, standardized assessment program in 322 accordance with the assessment and reporting schedules published 323 by the Commissioner of Education. District school boards may not 324 establish school calendars that conflict with or jeopardize 325 implementation of the assessment program. All district school 326 boards shall report assessment results as required by the state 327 management information system. Performance data shall be 328 analyzed and reported to parents, the community, and the state. 329 Student performance data shall be used by districts in 330 developing objectives for the school improvement plan, 331 evaluating instructional personnel and administrative personnel, 332 assigning staff, allocating resources, acquiring instructional 333 materials and technology, implementing performance-based 334 budgeting, and promoting and assigning students to educational 335 programs. The analysis of student performance data must also 336 identify strengths and needs in the educational program and 337 trends over time. The analysis must be used in conjunction with 338 the budgetary planning processes developed pursuant to s. 339 1008.385 and the development of remediation programs. 340 (5) REQUIRED ANALYSES.—The commissioner shall provide, at a 341 minimum, statewide, standardized assessment data analysis 342 showing student achievement levels and learning gains by 343 teacher, school, and school district. 344 (6) LOCAL ASSESSMENTS.— 345 (a) Measurement of student learning gains in all subjects 346 and grade levels, except those subjects and grade levels 347 measured under the statewide, standardized assessment program 348 described in this section, is the responsibility of the school 349 districts. 350 (b) Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, each school 351 district shall administer for each course offered in the 352 district a student assessment that measures mastery of the 353 content, as described in the state-adopted course description, 354 at the necessary level of rigor for the course. Such assessments 355 may include: 356 1. Statewide assessments. 357 2. Other standardized assessments, including nationally 358 recognized standardized assessments. 359 3. Industry certification examinations. 360 4. District-developed or district-selected end-of-course 361 assessments. 362 (c) The Commissioner of Education shall identify methods to 363 assist and support districts in the development and acquisition 364 of assessments required under this subsection. Methods may 365 include developing item banks, facilitating the sharing of 366 developed tests among school districts, acquiring assessments 367 from state and national curriculum-area organizations, and 368 providing technical assistance in best professional practices of 369 test development based upon state-adopted curriculum standards, 370 administration, and security. 371 (7) CONCORDANT SCORES FOR GRADE 10 FCAT READING.—Until the 372 state transitions to common core English Language Arts 373 assessments, the Commissioner of Education must identify scores 374 on the SAT and ACT that if achieved satisfy the graduation 375 requirement that a student pass grade 10 FCAT Reading. The 376 commissioner may identify concordant scores on other assessments 377 as well. If the content or scoring procedures change for grade 378 10 FCAT Reading, new concordant scores must be determined. If 379 new concordant scores are not timely adopted, the last adopted 380 concordant scores remain in effect until such time as new scores 381 are adopted. The state board shall adopt concordant scores in 382 rule. 383 (8) COMPARATIVE SCORES FOR END-OF-COURSE (EOC) 384 ASSESSMENTS.—The Commissioner of Education must identify one or 385 more comparative scores for the Algebra I EOC assessment and may 386 identify comparative scores for the other EOC assessments. If 387 the content or scoring procedures change for the EOC 388 assessments, new comparative scores must be determined. If new 389 comparative scores are not timely adopted, the last adopted 390 comparative scores remain in effect until such time as new 391 scores are adopted. The state board shall adopt comparative 392 scores in rule. 393 (9) REPORTS.—The Department of Education shall annually 394 provide a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 395 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which must 396 include the following: 397 (a) Longitudinal performance of students in reading and 398 mathematics. 399 (b) Longitudinal performance of students by grade level in 400 reading and mathematics. 401 (c) Longitudinal performance regarding efforts to close the 402 achievement gap. 403 (d) Other student performance data based on national norm 404 referenced and criterion-referenced tests, if available; 405 national assessments, such as the National Assessment of 406 Educational Progress; and international assessments. 407 (e) The number of students who after grade 8 enroll in 408 adult education rather than other secondary education. 409 (f) Any plan or intent to establish or implement new 410 statewide, standardized assessments. 411 (10) RULES.—The State Board of Education shall adopt rules 412 to implement this section. 413 414 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 415 And the title is amended as follows: 416 Delete line 108 417 and insert: 418 of an industry certification; amending s. 1008.22, 419 F.S.; substantially rewording the student assessment 420 program for public schools; providing requirements for 421 a statewide, standardized assessment program aligned 422 to core curricular content in the Next Generation 423 Sunshine State Standards; providing requirements for 424 end-of-course assessments; providing requirements for 425 instruction for students with disabilities; providing 426 for transition to common core assessments in English 427 language arts and mathematics; providing requirements 428 for assessment scores, achievement levels, assessment 429 schedules, and reporting of assessment results; 430 providing prohibited and authorized assessment 431 preparation activities; authorizing contracts for 432 assessments; requiring analysis of data, 433 administration of local assessments, and 434 identification of concordant and comparative scores; 435 requiring annual reporting of student performance 436 data; requiring the state board to adopt rules; 437 amending s. 1008.25,