Minnesota Legislature
SF 2015
as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
Current Version - as introduced
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A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying the statewide testing and reporting system;
modifying graduation test requirements for certain students; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2006, section 120B.30.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 120B.30, is amended to read:
120B.30 STATEWIDE TESTING AND REPORTING SYSTEM.
Subdivision 1.
Statewide testing.
(a) The commissioner, with advice from experts
with appropriate technical qualifications and experience and stakeholders, consistent with
subdivision 1a, shall include in the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade
level to be tested, state-constructed tests developed from and aligned with the state's
required academic standards under section 120B.021 and administered annually to all
students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high school level. A state-developed test in a
subject other than writing, developed after the 2002-2003 school year, must include both
machine-scoreable and constructed response questions. The commissioner shall establish
one or more months during which schools shall administer the tests to students each
school year. For students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, only
Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students'
basic skills testing requirements for a passing state notation. The passing scores of deleted text begin the
statedeleted text end new text begin basic skillsnew text end tests in reading and mathematics are the equivalent ofdeleted text begin :
deleted text end
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(1) 70 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 1996; and
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deleted text begin (2)deleted text end 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 1997 and thereafter, as based
on the first uniform test administration of February 1998.
new text begin (b) new text end For students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later, only
the deleted text begin Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments Second Edition (MCA-IIs) in reading,
mathematics, and writingdeleted text end new text begin following optionsnew text end shall fulfill students' deleted text begin academic standarddeleted text end new text begin state
graduation testnew text end requirementsdeleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin :
new text end
new text begin
(1) for reading and mathematics:
new text end
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(i) obtaining an achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as
determined through a standard setting process on the Minnesota comprehensive
assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or achieving a passing
score as determined through a standard setting process on the graduation-required
assessment for diploma in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or
subsequent retests;
new text end
new text begin
(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the
state-identified language proficiency test in reading and the mathematics test for English
language learners or the graduation-required assessment for diploma equivalent of those
assessments for students designated as English language learners;
new text end
new text begin
(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment
for diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual
education plan or 504 plan;
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(iv) obtaining achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as
determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified alternate assessment
or assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics for students with
an individual education plan; or
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(v) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment
or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an
individual education plan; and
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(2) for writing:
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(i) achieving a passing score on the graduation-required assessment for diploma;
new text end
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(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on
the state-identified language proficiency test in writing for students designated as English
language learners;
new text end
new text begin
(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment
for diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual
education plan or 504 plan; or
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new text begin
(iv) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment
or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an
individual education plan.
new text end
new text begin
The commissioner shall establish rules for the proper implementation,
administration, and public review of the state graduation tests.
new text end
deleted text begin (b)deleted text end new text begin (c)new text end The deleted text begin thirddeleted text end new text begin 3rdnew text end through 8th grade and high school level test results shall
be available to districts for diagnostic purposes affecting student learning and district
instruction and curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability. The
commissioner must disseminate to the public the test results upon receiving those results.
deleted text begin (c)deleted text end new text begin (d)new text end State tests must be constructed and aligned with state academic standards. The
testing process and the order of administration shall be determined by the commissioner.
The statewide results shall be aggregated at the site and district level, consistent with
subdivision 1a.
deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin (e)new text end In addition to the testing and reporting requirements under this section, the
commissioner shall include the following components in the statewide public reporting
system:
(1) uniform statewide testing of all students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high
school level that providesnew text begin technically sound accommodations, alternate assessments, ornew text end
exemptionsnew text begin consistent with applicable federal lawnew text end , only with parent or guardian approval,
for those very few students for whom the student's individual education plan team under
sections 125A.05 and 125A.06deleted text begin ,deleted text end determines that the new text begin general statewide test is inappropriate
for a new text end student deleted text begin is incapable of taking a statewide testdeleted text end , or for a limited English proficiency
student under section 124D.59, subdivision 2deleted text begin , if the student has been in the United States
for deleted text end deleted text begin fewer than three yearsdeleted text end ;
(2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and compared across school
districts and across time on a statewide basis, including average daily attendance, high
school graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and grade level;
(3) deleted text begin students' scoresdeleted text end new text begin state resultsnew text end on the American College Test; and
(4) state results from participation in the National Assessment of Educational
Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against the nation and other
states, and, where possible, against other countries, and contribute to the national effort
to monitor achievement.
deleted text begin
(e) Districts must report exemptions under paragraph (d), clause (1), to the
commissioner consistent with a format provided by the commissioner.
deleted text end
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, and a life sciences assessment in the grades 10 through 12 span
for the 2007-2008 school year 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 deleted text begin value-addeddeleted text end 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 includenew text begin technically sound accommodations ornew text end 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.
Subd. 2.
Department of Education assistance.
The Department of Education
shall contract for professional and technical services according to competitive bidding
procedures under chapter 16C for purposes of this section.
Subd. 3.
Reporting.
The commissioner shall report test data publicly and to
stakeholders, including the deleted text begin three performance baselinesdeleted text end new text begin performance achievement levelsnew text end
developed from students' unweighted deleted text begin meandeleted text end test scores in each tested subject and a listing of
demographic factors that strongly correlate with student performance. The commissioner
shall also report data that compares performance results among school sites, school
districts, Minnesota and other states, and Minnesota and other nations. The commissioner
shall disseminate to schools and school districts a more comprehensive report containing
testing information that meets local needs for evaluating instruction and curriculum.
Subd. 4.
Access to tests.
The commissioner must adopt and publish a policy
to provide public and parental access for review of basic skills tests, Minnesota
Comprehensive Assessments, or any other such statewide test and assessment. Upon
receiving a written request, the commissioner must make available to parents or guardians
a copy of their student's actual deleted text begin answer sheetdeleted text end new text begin responses new text end to the test questions to be reviewed
by the parent.