SF 940

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education; providing for an earth and space, life, and physical sciences
assessment in grades 10 through 12; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
120B.30, subdivision 1a.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 120B.30, subdivision 1a, is amended to
read:

Subd. 1a.

Statewide and local assessments; results.

(a) The commissioner must
develop reading, mathematics, and science assessments aligned with state academic
standards that districts and sites must use to monitor student growth toward achieving
those standards. The commissioner must not develop statewide assessments for academic
standards in social studies, health and physical education, and the arts. The commissioner
must require:

(1) annual reading and mathematics assessments in grades 3 through 8 and at the
high school level for the 2005-2006 school year and later; and

(2) annual science assessments in one grade in the grades 3 through 5 span, the
grades 6 through 9 span, deleted text begin and deleted text end a life sciences assessment in the grades 10 through 12 span
for the 2007-2008 new text begin through 2010-2011 new text end school year new text begin , and an earth and space, life, and
physical sciences assessment in the grades 10 through 12 span for the 2011-2012 school
year new text end and later.

(b) The commissioner must ensure that all statewide tests administered to elementary
and secondary students measure students' academic knowledge and skills and not students'
values, attitudes, and beliefs.

(c) Reporting of assessment results must:

(1) provide timely, useful, and understandable information on the performance of
individual students, schools, school districts, and the state;

(2) include, by the 2006-2007 school year, a value-added component to measure
student achievement growth over time; and

(3)(i) for students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, determine
whether students have met the state's basic skills requirements; and

(ii) for students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later, determine
whether students have met the state's academic standards.

(d) Consistent with applicable federal law and subdivision 1, paragraph (d), clause
(1), the commissioner must include alternative assessments for the very few students
with disabilities for whom statewide assessments are inappropriate and for students with
limited English proficiency.

(e) A school, school district, and charter school must administer statewide
assessments under this section, as the assessments become available, to evaluate student
progress in achieving the academic standards. If a state assessment is not available, a
school, school district, and charter school must determine locally if a student has met
the required academic standards. A school, school district, or charter school may use a
student's performance on a statewide assessment as one of multiple criteria to determine
grade promotion or retention. A school, school district, or charter school may use a high
school student's performance on a statewide assessment as a percentage of the student's
final grade in a course, or place a student's assessment score on the student's transcript.