1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; establishing high school assessments to determine college 
1.3 	and career readiness; requiring reports;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, 
1.4 	section 120B.30, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 120B.30, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Statewide testing.  (a) The commissioner, with advice from experts 
1.8 	with appropriate technical qualifications and experience and stakeholders, consistent with 
1.9 	subdivision 1a, shall include in the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade 
1.10 	level to be tested, state-constructed tests developed from and aligned with the state's 
1.11 	required academic standards under section 120B.021, include multiple choice questions, 
1.12 	and be administered annually to all students in grades 3 through 8. State-developed high 
1.13 	school tests aligned with the state's required academic standards under section 120B.021 
1.14 	and administered to all high school students in a subject other than writing must include 
1.15 	multiple choice questions. The commissioner shall establish one or more months during 
1.16 	which schools shall administer the tests to students each school year. For students enrolled 
1.17 	in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, 
1.18 	mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students' basic skills testing requirements for a 
1.19 	passing state notation. The passing scores of basic skills tests in reading and mathematics 
1.20 	are the equivalent of 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 based on the first 
1.21 	uniform test administered in February 1998. Students who have not successfully passed 
1.22 	a Minnesota basic skills test by the end of the 2011-2012 school year must pass the 
1.23 	graduation-required assessments for diploma under paragraph (c).
2.1 	(b) The state assessment system must be aligned to the most recent revision of 
2.2 	academic standards as described in section 120B.023 in the following manner:
2.3 	(1) mathematics;
2.4 	(i) grades 3 through 8 beginning in the 2010-2011 school year; and
2.5 	(ii) high school level beginning in the ~~2013-2014~~ 2015-2016 school year;
2.6 	(2) science; grades 5 and 8 and at the high school level beginning in the 2011-2012 
2.7 	school year; and
2.8 	(3) language arts and reading; grades 3 through 8 and high school level beginning in 
2.9 	the 2012-2013 school year.
2.10 	(c) For students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later, only the 
2.11 	following options shall fulfill students' state graduation test requirements:
2.12 	(1) for reading and mathematics:
2.13 	(i) obtaining an achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as 
2.14 	determined through a standard setting process on the Minnesota comprehensive 
2.15 	assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or achieving a passing 
2.16 	score as determined through a standard setting process on the graduation-required 
2.17 	assessment for diploma in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or 
2.18 	subsequent retests;
2.19 	(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the 
2.20 	state-identified language proficiency test in reading and the mathematics test for English 
2.21 	language learners or the graduation-required assessment for diploma equivalent of those 
2.22 	assessments for students designated as English language learners;
2.23 	(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment 
2.24 	for diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual 
2.25 	education plan or 504 plan;
2.26 	(iv) obtaining achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as 
2.27 	determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified alternate assessment 
2.28 	or assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics for students with 
2.29 	an individual education plan; or
2.30 	(v) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment 
2.31 	or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an 
2.32 	individual education plan; and
2.33 	(2) for writing:
2.34 	(i) achieving a passing score on the graduation-required assessment for diploma;
3.1 	(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on 
3.2 	the state-identified language proficiency test in writing for students designated as English 
3.3 	language learners;
3.4 	(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment 
3.5 	for diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual 
3.6 	education plan or 504 plan; or
3.7 	(iv) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment 
3.8 	or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an 
3.9 	individual education plan.
3.10 	(d) Students enrolled in grade 8 in any school year from the 2005-2006 school 
3.11 	year to the 2009-2010 school year who do not pass the mathematics graduation-required 
3.12 	assessment for diploma under paragraph (c) are eligible to receive a high school diploma 
3.13 	if they:
3.14 	(1) complete with a passing score or grade all state and local coursework and credits 
3.15 	required for graduation by the school board granting the students their diploma;
3.16 	(2) participate in district-prescribed academic remediation in mathematics; and
3.17 	(3) fully participate in at least two retests of the mathematics GRAD test or until 
3.18 	they pass the mathematics GRAD test, whichever comes first. A school, district, or 
3.19 	charter school must place a student's highest assessment score for each of the following 
3.20 	assessments on the student's high school transcript: the mathematics Minnesota 
3.21 	Comprehensive Assessment, reading Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment, and writing 
3.22 	Graduation-Required Assessment for Diploma, and when applicable, the mathematics 
3.23 	Graduation-Required Assessment for Diploma and reading Graduation-Required 
3.24 	Assessment for Diploma.
3.25 	In addition, the school board granting the students their diplomas may formally 
3.26 	decide to include a notation of high achievement on the high school diplomas of those 
3.27 	graduating seniors who, according to established school board criteria, demonstrate 
3.28 	exemplary academic achievement during high school.
3.29 	(e) The 3rd through 8th grade and high school test results shall be available to 
3.30 	districts for diagnostic purposes affecting student learning and district instruction and 
3.31 	curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability. The commissioner must 
3.32 	disseminate to the public the high school test results upon receiving those results.
3.33 	(f) The 3rd through 8th grade and high school tests must be aligned with state 
3.34 	academic standards. The commissioner shall determine the testing process and the order 
3.35 	of administration. The statewide results shall be aggregated at the site and district level, 
3.36 	consistent with subdivision 1a.
4.1 	(g) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements under this section, the 
4.2 	commissioner shall include the following components in the statewide public reporting 
4.3 	system:
4.4 	(1) uniform statewide testing of all students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high 
4.5 	school level that provides appropriate, technically sound accommodations or alternate 
4.6 	assessments;
4.7 	(2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and compared across school 
4.8 	districts and across time on a statewide basis, including average daily attendance, high 
4.9 	school graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and grade level;
4.10 	(3) state results on the American College Test; and
4.11 	(4) state results from participation in the National Assessment of Educational 
4.12 	Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against the nation and other 
4.13 	states, and, where possible, against other countries, and contribute to the national effort 
4.14 	to monitor achievement.

4.15 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 120B.30, is amended by adding a subdivision 
4.16 	to read:
4.17 		Subd. 1b.High school assessments. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the 
4.18 	contrary, the commissioner shall establish a system of high school assessments for students 
4.19 	entering grade 8 in the 2011-2012 school year and later that provides information on the 
4.20 	college and career readiness of Minnesota students and fulfills federal accountability 
4.21 	requirements, consistent with this subdivision and related rules. For purposes of this 
4.22 	subdivision, "college and career readiness" means the knowledge and skills that a high 
4.23 	school graduate needs to undertake either credit-bearing coursework at a two-year or 
4.24 	four-year college or university or career-track employment that pays a living wage, 
4.25 	provides employment benefits, and offers clear pathways for advancement through further 
4.26 	education and training.
4.27 	(b) The commissioner shall establish and administer a high school reading and 
4.28 	writing exam at the end of grade 10. The reading and writing exam must conform with 
4.29 	the following:
4.30 	(1) align with the most recently revised academic content standards under section 
4.31 	120B.023, subdivision 2;
4.32 	(2) produce independent scores for each content area;
4.33 	(3) include both multiple-choice and open-ended items on the reading portion of the 
4.34 	exam to assess skills defined in the state's academic content standards;
5.1 	(4) be designed for computer administration and scoring so that, beginning the 
5.2 	second year a computerized test is administered and as soon as practicable during the 
5.3 	first year a computerized test is administered, the exam results of students who take 
5.4 	computerized tests are available to the school or district within three full school days after 
5.5 	the exam is administered, among other design characteristics;
5.6 	(5) allow for remediation and frequent computer retests of the reading and writing 
5.7 	portions of the exam;
5.8 	(6) use achievement level descriptors in reading and writing that define a student's 
5.9 	readiness for college or a career;
5.10 	(7) require all general education students, as a condition of graduating, to achieve 
5.11 	passing scores in reading and writing established through a professionally recognized 
5.12 	methodology, consistent with this paragraph;
5.13 	(8) require general education students to participate in a locally developed 
5.14 	remediation plan if they do not achieve a passing score after two retest opportunities;
5.15 	(9) provide a state-level student appeals process that accommodates alternative 
5.16 	measures to demonstrate students' college and career readiness and is available only to 
5.17 	those limited number of students in the second semester of their senior year who are unable 
5.18 	to demonstrate reading or writing proficiency on the assessment but can demonstrate 
5.19 	equivalent levels of knowledge and skill based on the alternative measures; and
5.20 	(10) allow an eligible student to meet this exam requirement through an alternative 
5.21 	method:
5.22 	(i) for high school students who transfer into Minnesota from another state where 
5.23 	the high school reading and writing course and graduation requirements are of equal 
5.24 	or greater rigor, meet that state's federal accountability exams requirements in reading 
5.25 	or writing, as applicable;
5.26 	(ii) allow a student who has an active individualized education program to achieve a 
5.27 	passing status at an individual level as prescribed by the commissioner;
5.28 	(iii) waive the required exam for a high school student who is an English language 
5.29 	learner under section 124D.59 and who has been enrolled for four or fewer school years in 
5.30 	a school in which English is the primary language of instruction; or
5.31 	(iv) other alternative methods recommended by the Assessment Advisory 
5.32 	Committee, if subsequently specifically authorized by law to allow other alternative 
5.33 	methods.
5.34 	All general education students must receive a passing score in both reading and 
5.35 	writing to graduate, consistent with paragraph (e). A score below "passing" means that 
5.36 	there is a high likelihood that the student does not have the reading and writing skills 
6.1 	needed to succeed in postsecondary education or the workplace. The commissioner must 
6.2 	establish the passing score based on the recommendations of both kindergarten through 
6.3 	grade 12 and postsecondary educators with relevant language arts expertise and employers 
6.4 	and other community leaders who understand the knowledge and skills that individuals 
6.5 	need for work and citizenship, and an established statistical relationship between two 
6.6 	consecutive years of students' exam results and other indicators of college and career 
6.7 	readiness that the commissioner develops in consultation with the Assessment Advisory 
6.8 	Committee under section 120B.365.
6.9 	(c) The commissioner shall establish statewide end-of-course exams in subjects 
6.10 	equivalent to high school algebra and biology. These exams must conform with the 
6.11 	following:
6.12 	(1) align with the most recently revised academic content standards under section 
6.13 	120B.023, subdivision 2;
6.14 	(2) include both multiple-choice and open-ended items that assess the appropriate 
6.15 	algebra and biology knowledge and skills contained in the state's academic content 
6.16 	standards;
6.17 	(3) be designed for computer administration and scoring so that, beginning the 
6.18 	second year a computerized test is administered and as soon as practicable during the 
6.19 	first year a computerized test is administered, the exam results of students who take 
6.20 	computerized tests are available to the school or district within three full school days after 
6.21 	the exam is administered, among other design characteristics;
6.22 	(4) be administered at regular intervals that align with the most common high school 
6.23 	schedules in Minnesota;
6.24 	(5) generate achievement levels established through a professionally recognized 
6.25 	methodology;
6.26 	(6) use achievement level descriptors that define a student's college and career 
6.27 	readiness;
6.28 	(7) comprise 25 percent of the student's overall course grade in the corresponding 
6.29 	course, except a school that is identified as highly misaligned under clause (11) for 
6.30 	two consecutive school years or more shall make the exam results a component of and 
6.31 	equivalent to 50 percent of the student's overall course grade in algebra or biology, 
6.32 	as applicable;
6.33 	(8) require a student who does not pass a high school algebra or biology course to (i) 
6.34 	retake the course or complete a district-authorized credit recovery class, (ii) opt, at the 
6.35 	student's election, to retake the end-of-course assessment within a regularly scheduled 
6.36 	administration window, and (iii) have the student select the exam score on the initial test 
7.1 	or the retest to count as the equivalent of 25 percent of the student's overall course grade, 
7.2 	or the equivalent of 50 percent if the school has been identified as highly misaligned for 
7.3 	two consecutive school years or more, consistent with clause (7);
7.4 	(9) allow an eligible student to meet this requirement through an alternative method 
7.5 	that demonstrates the student's college and career readiness:
7.6 	(i) for high school students who transfer into Minnesota from another state where 
7.7 	the algebra or biology course content, as applicable, is of equal or greater rigor, pass that 
7.8 	state's high school course and graduation requirements in algebra or biology, as applicable;
7.9 	(ii) allow a student who has an active individualized education program to achieve a 
7.10 	passing status at an individual level as prescribed by the commissioner;
7.11 	(iii) waive the required exam for a high school student who is an English language 
7.12 	learner under section 124D.59 and who has been enrolled for four or fewer years in a 
7.13 	school in which English is the primary language of instruction; or
7.14 	(iv) other alternative methods recommended by the Assessment Advisory 
7.15 	Committee, if subsequently specifically authorized by law to allow other alternative 
7.16 	methods;
7.17 	(10) use three consecutive school years of research and analysis through the 
7.18 	2015-2016 school year, as prescribed by the commissioner, to calculate and report 
7.19 	an alignment index that compares students' final grades in these courses with their 
7.20 	end-of-course exam scores;
7.21 	(11) subsequent to calculating and reporting the alignment index under clause (10), 
7.22 	require schools that are highly misaligned for two or more consecutive school years to 
7.23 	transmit written notice of the misalignment to all parents of students enrolled in the school, 
7.24 	as prescribed by the commissioner; and
7.25 	(12) when schools are highly misaligned for two or more consecutive years under 
7.26 	clause (11), use school district funds under section 122A.60, subdivision 1a, paragraph 
7.27 	(a), to correct the misalignment.
7.28 	A highly misaligned school that must count a student's algebra or biology exam 
7.29 	score, as applicable, as the equivalent of 50 percent of the student's overall course grade 
7.30 	under clause (7) or (8) may again count a student's exam score as the equivalent of 25 
7.31 	percent of the student's overall course grade when the school is not identified as highly 
7.32 	misaligned in two subsequent consecutive school years.
7.33 	(d) The requirements of this subdivision apply to students in public schools, 
7.34 	including charter schools, who enter grade 8 in the 2011-2012 school year or later. The 
7.35 	commissioner may establish a transition period where students who enter grade 8 in 
7.36 	the 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 school year graduate either under the graduation-required 
8.1 	assessment for diploma requirements under section 120B.30, subdivision 1, or through a 
8.2 	staggered implementation of this subdivision. During the transition period, the proficiency 
8.3 	of any federal or state-required interim passing score in reading or writing must be 
8.4 	comparable in rigor to the passing scores currently required for reading and writing under 
8.5 	the graduation-required assessment for diploma. The commissioner may seek authority 
8.6 	from the legislature to adjust the timeline under this paragraph if  circumstances such as 
8.7 	changes in federal law governing educational accountability and assessment warrant 
8.8 	such an adjustment.
8.9 	(e) To fully implement this subdivision and enable school districts to provide 
8.10 	intervention and support to struggling students and improve instruction for all students, 
8.11 	the commissioner must provide districts with:
8.12 	(i) benchmark assessments that are aligned with the high school reading and writing 
8.13 	assessment and algebra and biology end-of-course exams; and
8.14 	(ii) an item bank available to teachers for creating formative assessments to help 
8.15 	students prepare for the high school reading and writing assessment and algebra and 
8.16 	biology end-of-course exams. The benchmark assessments must be available to districts 
8.17 	for at least two full school years before students are required to achieve a passing score on 
8.18 	the reading and writing exam to graduate from high school.
8.19 	(f) The commissioner shall expand the membership and purpose of the Assessment 
8.20 	Advisory Committee established under section 120B.365 to include assessment experts 
8.21 	and practitioners from both secondary and postsecondary education systems and other 
8.22 	appropriate stakeholders to monitor the implementation of and student outcomes based on 
8.23 	the end-of-course exams and policies and the state support available to districts, including 
8.24 	small or rural districts, under this subdivision. This committee shall report annually by 
8.25 	February 15 to the commissioner and the legislature on the implementation of and student 
8.26 	outcomes based on the exams and policies under this subdivision. Notwithstanding 
8.27 	section 15.059, subdivision 3, committee members shall not receive compensation, per 
8.28 	diem payments, or reimbursement for expenses.
8.29 	(g) Using a solicitation process that includes a request for proposal process and 
8.30 	multiple responses, the commissioner shall contract for at least two  independent studies 
8.31 	at two-year intervals to evaluate: (1) the implementation of the requirements and (2) the 
8.32 	availability and efficacy of resources to support and improve student outcomes based on 
8.33 	student achievement data under this subdivision. The commissioner must submit the 
8.34 	results of the first study to the education policy and finance committees of the legislature 
8.35 	by February 15, 2016. The commissioner must submit the results of the second study 
8.36 	to the legislature by February 15, 2018.
9.1 	(h) The commissioner must not begin to develop additional statewide end-of-course 
9.2 	exams in geometry, chemistry, or physics until specifically authorized in law to do so.
9.3 	(i) A district or charter school must indicate on a student's transcript the student's 
9.4 	level of college and career readiness in reading, writing, algebra, and biology under this 
9.5 	subdivision after the levels have been established through a professionally recognized 
9.6 	methodology.

9.7 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

9.8 	Sec. 3. ASSESSMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE; RECOMMENDATIONS.
 9.9 	(a) The Assessment Advisory Committee under Minnesota Statutes, section 
9.10 	120B.365, must develop recommendations for alternative methods by which students meet 
9.11 	the reading and writing exam requirement under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.30, 
9.12 	subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), clause (10). The Assessment Advisory Committee, among 
9.13 	other alternative methods and if consistent with federal educational accountability law, 
9.14 	must consider allowing students to:
9.15 	(1) achieve a college-credit score on a college-level examination program (CLEP) 
9.16 	for reading and writing; or
9.17 	(2) achieve a college readiness score in the relevant subject area on the American 
9.18 	college test (ACT) or scholastic aptitude test (SAT) exam.
9.19 	(b) The Assessment Advisory Committee must develop recommendations for 
9.20 	alternative methods by which students satisfy the high school algebra and biology 
9.21 	requirements under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.30, subdivision 1b, paragraph (c), 
9.22 	clause (9), and demonstrate their college and career readiness. The Assessment Advisory 
9.23 	Committee, among other alternative methods and if consistent with federal educational 
9.24 	accountability law, must consider allowing students to:
9.25 	(1) achieve the mathematics or science college readiness score on the American 
9.26 	college test (ACT) or scholastic aptitude test (SAT) exam;
9.27 	(2) achieve a college-credit score on a college-level examination program (CLEP) 
9.28 	for algebra or biology;
9.29 	(3) achieve a score on an equivalent advanced placement or international 
9.30 	baccalaureate exam that would earn credit at a four-year college or university; or
9.31 	(4) pass a credit-bearing course in college algebra or college biology or a more 
9.32 	advanced course in either subject with a grade of C or better under Minnesota Statutes, 
9.33 	section 124D.09, including Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.09, subdivision 10.
9.34 	(c) The Assessment Advisory Committee, in the context of the high school 
9.35 	assessments under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.30, subdivision 1b, may develop 
10.1 	recommendations on integrating universal design principles to improve access to learning 
10.2 	and assessments for all students, more accurately understand what students know and can 
10.3 	do, provide Minnesota with more cost-effective assessments, and provide educators with 
10.4 	more valid inferences about students' achievement levels.
10.5 	(d) The Assessment Advisory Committee, for purposes of fully implementing the 
10.6 	high school assessment system under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.30, subdivision 
10.7 	1b, also must develop recommendations for:
10.8 	(1) the administrative structure, criteria, and processes for implementing the 
10.9 	state-level student appeals process;
10.10 	(2) calculating the alignment index, including how questions about validity and 
10.11 	reliability are resolved; and
10.12 	(3) defining "misaligned" and "highly misaligned" and when and under what specific 
10.13 	circumstances misalignments occur.
10.14 	(e) By February 15, 2012, the Assessment Advisory Committee must submit its 
10.15 	recommendations under this section to the education commissioner and the education 
10.16 	policy and finance committees of the legislature.
10.17 	(f) The commissioner must not implement any element of any recommendation 
10.18 	under paragraphs (a) to (e) related to the high school assessment system under Minnesota 
10.19 	Statutes, section 120B.30, subdivision 1b, without first receiving specific legislative 
10.20 	authority to do so.

10.21 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.