Florida Senate - 2017 SB 926
By Senator Flores
39-00510A-17 2017926__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to K-12 student assessments; requiring
3 the Commissioner of Education to review specified
4 college entrance examinations to determine their
5 alignment with the core curricular content for high
6 school level English Language Arts and mathematics
7 established in state standards; requiring the
8 commissioner to submit a report on the results of such
9 review to the Governor, Legislature, and State Board
10 of Education by a specified date; amending s. 1008.22,
11 F.S.; revising provisions relating to achievement
12 levels for certain statewide, standardized
13 assessments; providing requirements for administration
14 of the statewide, standardized English Language Arts
15 and mathematics assessments in specified grades;
16 revising provisions relating to reporting requirements
17 for local assessments required by school districts;
18 providing reporting requirements for certain student
19 assessment results; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. The Commissioner of Education shall review the
24 SAT and ACT to determine their alignment with the core
25 curricular content for high school level English Language Arts
26 and mathematics established in the Next Generation Sunshine
27 State Standards pursuant to s. 1003.41, Florida Statutes. The
28 commissioner shall submit a report containing the results of
29 such review to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
30 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the State Board of
31 Education by December 1, 2017.
32 Section 2. Present paragraphs (c) through (f) and paragraph
33 (g) of subsection (7) of section 1008.22, Florida Statutes, are
34 redesignated as paragraphs (e) through (h) and paragraph (j),
35 respectively, paragraph (e) of subsection (3) and paragraph (b)
36 and present paragraph (f) of subsection (7) are amended, and new
37 paragraphs (c), (d), and (i) are added to subsection (7) of that
38 section, to read:
39 1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.—
40 (3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The
41 Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a
42 statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core
43 curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine
44 State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select
45 and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
46 used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state.
47 These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content
48 established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.
49 Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all
50 school districts and all students attending public schools,
51 including adult students seeking a standard high school diploma
52 under s. 1003.4282 and students in Department of Juvenile
53 Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law.
54 If a student does not participate in the assessment program, the
55 school district must notify the student’s parent and provide the
56 parent with information regarding the implications of such
57 nonparticipation. The statewide, standardized assessment program
58 shall be designed and implemented as follows:
59 (e) Assessment scores and achievement levels.—
60 1. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments and ELA,
61 mathematics, and Science assessments shall use scaled scores and
62 achievement levels. Achievement levels shall range from 1
63 through 5, with level 1 being the lowest achievement level,
64 level 5 being the highest achievement level, and level 3
65 indicating satisfactory performance on an assessment. Beginning
66 with any new contract for the ELA assessment and the mathematics
67 assessment entered into after July 1, 2017, achievement level 3
68 shall be defined as proficient for each new assessment.
69 2. The state board shall designate by rule a passing score
70 for each statewide, standardized assessment.
71 3. If the commissioner seeks to revise a statewide,
72 standardized assessment and the revisions require the state
73 board to modify performance level scores, including the passing
74 score, the commissioner shall provide a copy of the proposed
75 scores and implementation plan to the President of the Senate
76 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least 90 days
77 before submission to the state board for review. Until the state
78 board adopts the modifications by rule, the commissioner shall
79 use calculations for scoring the assessment that adjust student
80 scores on the revised assessment for statistical equivalence to
81 student scores on the former assessment. The state board shall
82 adopt by rule the passing score for the revised assessment that
83 is statistically equivalent to the passing score on the
84 discontinued assessment for a student who is required to attain
85 a passing score on the discontinued assessment. The commissioner
86 may, with approval of the state board, discontinue
87 administration of the former assessment upon the graduation,
88 based on normal student progression, of students participating
89 in the final regular administration of the former assessment. If
90 the commissioner revises a statewide, standardized assessment
91 and the revisions require the state board to modify the passing
92 score, only students taking the assessment for the first time
93 after the rule is adopted are affected.
94 (7) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTING OF RESULTS.—
95 (b) By August of each year, beginning in 2016, the
96 commissioner shall publish on the department’s website a uniform
97 calendar that includes the assessment and reporting schedules
98 for, at a minimum, the next 2 school years. The uniform calendar
99 must be provided to school districts in an electronic format
100 that allows each school district and public school to populate
101 the calendar with, at minimum, the following information for
102 reporting the district assessment schedules under paragraph (e)
103 (c):
104 1. Whether the assessment is a district-required assessment
105 or a state-required assessment.
106 2. The specific date or dates that each assessment will be
107 administered.
108 3. The time allotted to administer each assessment.
109 4. Whether the assessment is a computer-based assessment or
110 a paper-based assessment.
111 5. The grade level or subject area associated with the
112 assessment.
113 6. The date that the assessment results are expected to be
114 available to teachers and parents.
115 7. The type of assessment, the purpose of the assessment,
116 and the use of the assessment results.
117 8. A glossary of assessment terminology.
118 9. Estimates of average time for administering state
119 required and district-required assessments, by grade level.
120 (c) Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the ELA
121 assessment in grades 3 through 10 and the mathematics assessment
122 in grades 3 through 8 shall be administered:
123 1. With the exception of the grade 3 Reading assessment, no
124 earlier than during the last 3 weeks of the school year as
125 determined by a district school board’s policy pursuant to s.
126 1001.42(4)(f).
127 2. Within a testing window not to exceed 3 weeks.
128 (d) Beginning with any new contract for the ELA assessment
129 in grades 3 through 10 and the mathematics assessment in grades
130 3 through 8 entered into after July 1, 2017, each new assessment
131 shall be made available once per quarter for students who the
132 school district has identified through competency-based
133 education as having mastered the content and who are prepared to
134 take the applicable assessment.
135 (h)(f) A school district must provide a student’s
136 performance results on district-required local assessments to
137 the student’s teachers within 1 week and to the student’s
138 parents no later than 30 days after administering such
139 assessments, unless the superintendent determines in writing
140 that extenuating circumstances exist and reports the extenuating
141 circumstances to the district school board.
142 (i) The results of statewide, standardized ELA and
143 mathematics assessments shall be reported in an easy-to-read and
144 understandable format to each student’s current teacher of
145 record and to each student’s teacher of record for the
146 subsequent school year before the start of that school year. A
147 report of student assessment results must, at a minimum,
148 contain:
149 1. A clear explanation of the student’s performance on the
150 applicable statewide, standardized assessments.
151 2. Information identifying the student’s areas of strength
152 and areas in need of improvement.
153 3. Specific actions that may be taken, and the available
154 resources that may be used, by the student’s parent to assist
155 his or her child based on the student’s areas of strength and
156 areas in need of improvement.
157 4. Longitudinal information, if available, on the student’s
158 progress in each subject area based on previous statewide,
159 standardized assessment data.
160 5. Comparative information showing the student’s score
161 compared to other students in the school district, in the state,
162 or, if available, in other states.
163 6. Predictive information, if available, showing the
164 linkage between the scores attained by the student on the
165 statewide, standardized assessments and the scores he or she may
166 potentially attain on nationally recognized college entrance
167 examinations.
168 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.