Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Article 19, Chapter 18, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-18-1940. Working with the Education Oversight Committee, the State Department of Education shall design and pilot district accountability models that focus on competency-based education for a district or school or on regional or county economic initiatives to improve the postsecondary success of students. A district may apply to the department and the committee to participate in the pilot."
SECTION 2. Article 19, Chapter 18, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-18-1950.
(A) The General Assembly recognizes
the importance of having a state longitudinal data system to
inform policy and fiscal decisions related to early childhood
education, public education, postsecondary preparedness and
success, and workforce development.
(B)(1) The Revenue and
Fiscal Affairs Office, working with the Office of First Steps to
School Readiness, the South Carolina Department of Education,
the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, the
Department of Social Services, the South Carolina Technical
College System, the Department of Commerce, the Department of
Employment and Workforce, and other state agencies or
institutions of higher education, shall develop, implement, and
maintain a universal identification system that includes, at a
minimum, the following information for measuring the continuous
improvement of the state public education system and the college
and career readiness and success of its graduates:
(a)
students graduating from public high schools in the state
who enter postsecondary education without the need for
remediation;
(b)
working-aged adults in South Carolina by county who
possess a postsecondary degree or industry credential;
(c)
high school graduates who are gainfully employed in the
state within five and ten years of graduating from high school;
and
(d)
outcome data regarding student achievement and student
growth that will assist colleges of education in achieving
accreditation and in improving the quality of teachers in
classrooms.
(2)
All information disseminated will conform to state and
federal privacy laws."
SECTION 3. Article 19, Chapter 18, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-18-1960. In measuring annual school growth, the state shall use a value-added system that calculates student progress or growth. A local school district may, in its discretion, use the value-added system to evaluate classroom teachers using student progress or growth. The estimates of specific teacher effects on the educational progress of students will not be a public record and will be made available only to the specific teacher, principal and superintendent. Furthermore, the estimates of specific teacher effects may also be made to any teacher preparation programs approved by the State Board of Education. The estimates made available to the teacher preparation programs shall not be a public record and shall be used only in evaluation of the respective teacher preparation programs. Furthermore, educator effectiveness data must be exempt from public disclosure pursuant to Section 30-4-30 and may not be subject to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. An institution or postsecondary system receiving the estimates shall develop a policy to protect the confidentiality of the data."
SECTION 4. Section 59-18-100 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 282 of 2008, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-100. The General Assembly finds that South Carolinians have a commitment to public education and a conviction that high expectations for all students are vital components for improving academic achievement. It is the purpose of the General Assembly in this chapter to establish a performance based accountability system for public education which focuses on improving teaching and learning so that students are equipped with a strong academic foundation. Moreover, to meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, all students graduating from public high schools in this State should have the knowledge, skills, and opportunity to be college ready, career ready, and life ready for success in the global, digital, and knowledge-based world of the twenty-first century as provided in Section 59-1-50. All graduates should have the opportunity to qualify for and be prepared to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college courses, without the need for remedial coursework, postsecondary job training, or significant on-the-job training. Accountability, as defined by this chapter, means acceptance of the responsibility for improving student performance and taking actions to improve classroom practice and school performance by the Governor, the General Assembly, the State Department of Education, colleges and universities, local school boards, administrators, teachers, parents, students, and the community."
SECTION 5. Section 59-18-120 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 282 of 2008, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-120.
As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Oversight
Committee' means the Education Oversight Committee established
in Section 59-6-10.
(2) 'Standards based
assessment' means an assessment where an individual's
performance is compared to specific performance standards and
not to the performance of other students.
(3) 'Disaggregated
data' means data broken out for specific groups within the total
student population, such as by race, gender, level of poverty,
limited English proficiency status, disability status, gifted
and talented, or other groups as required by federal
statutes or regulations.
(4) 'Longitudinally
matched student data' means examining the performance of a
single student or a group of students by considering their test
scores over time.
(5) 'Academic
achievement standards' means statements of expectations for
student learning.
(6) "Department" means the State
Department of Education.
(7) 'Absolute
performance' 'Performance rating' means the
rating classification a school will
receive based on the percentage of students meeting standard on
the state's standards based assessment, student growth or
student progress from one school year to the next, graduation
rates, and other indicators as determined by federal guidelines
and the Education Oversight Committee, as applicable. To
increase transparency and accountability, the overall points
achieved by a school to determine its 'performance rating' must
be based on a numerical scale from zero to one hundred, with one
hundred being the maximum total achievable points for a
school.
(8)
'Growth' means the rating a school will receive
based on longitudinally matched student data comparing current
performance to the previous year's for the purpose of
determining student academic growth.
(9)
'Objective and reliable statewide assessment' means
assessments that yield consistent results and that measure the
cognitive knowledge and skills specified in the state-approved
academic standards and do not include questions relative to
personal opinions, feelings, or attitudes and are not biased
with regard to race, gender, or socioeconomic status. The
assessments must include a writing assessment and
multiple-choice questions designed to reflect a
range of cognitive abilities beyond the knowledge level.
Constructed response questions may be included as a component of
the writing assessment.
(109)
'Division of Accountability' means the special unit within
the oversight committee established in Section 59-6-100.
(1110)
'Formative assessment' means assessments used
within the school year to analyze general strengths and
weaknesses in learning and instruction, to understand the
performance of students individually and across achievement
categories, to adapt instruction to meet students' needs, and to
consider placement and planning for the next grade level. Data
and performance from the formative assessments must not be used
in the calculation of elementary, middle, or high school
or district ratings, but may be used in
determining primary school ratings."
SECTION 6. Section 59-18-310 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 207 of 2016, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-310.
(A) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the State Board of Education, through the
Department of Education, is required to develop or adopt a
statewide assessment program to promote student learning and to
measure student performance on state standards and:
(1)
identify areas in which students, schools, or school
districts need additional support;
(2)
indicate the academic achievement for schools, districts,
and the State;
(3)
satisfy federal reporting requirements; and
(4)
provide professional development to educators.
Assessments required to be developed or
adopted pursuant to the provisions of this section or chapter
must be objective and reliable, and administered in English and
in Braille for students as identified in their Individual
Education Plan.
(B)(1) The statewide
assessment program must include the subjects of English/language
arts, mathematics, science, and social studies in grades three
through eight, as delineated in Section 59-18-320(B), to
be first administered in 2009, and end-of-course tests
for gateway courses awarded
selected by the State Board of Education and approved by the
Education Oversight Committee for federal accountability, which
award units of credit in English/language arts, mathematics,
science, and social studies. Student performance targets
must be established following the 2009 administration. The
assessment program must be used for school and school district
accountability purposes beginning with the 2008-2009 school
year. The publication of the annual school and school district
report card may be delayed for the 2008-2009 school year until
no later than February 15, 2010. A student's score on
an end-of-year assessment may not be the sole criterion for
placing the student on academic probation, retaining the student
in his current grade, or requiring the student to attend summer
school. Beginning with the graduating class of 2010, students
are required to pass a high school credit course in science and
a course in United States history in which end-of-course
examinations are administered to receive the state high school
diploma. Beginning with the graduating class of 2015, students
are no longer required to meet the exit examination requirements
set forth in this section and State Regulation to earn a South
Carolina high school diploma.
(2)
A person who is no longer enrolled in a public school and
who previously failed to receive a high school diploma or was
denied graduation solely for failing to meet the exit exam
requirements pursuant to this section and State Regulation may
petition the local school board to determine the student's
eligibility to receive a high school diploma pursuant to this
chapter. The local school board will transmit diploma requests
to the South Carolina Department of Education in accordance with
department procedures. Petitions under this section must be
submitted to the local school district. Students receiving
diplomas in accordance with this section shall not be counted as
graduates in the graduation rate calculations for affected
schools and districts, either retroactively or in current or
future calculations. On or before January 31, 2019, the South
Carolina Department of Education shall report to the State Board
of Education and the General Assembly the number of diplomas
granted, by school district, under the provision. The State
Board of Education shall remove any conflicting requirement and
promulgate conforming changes in its applicable regulations. The
department shall advertise the provisions of this item in at
least one daily newspaper of general circulation in the area of
each school district within forty-five days after this
enactment. After enactment, the department may continue to
advertise the provisions of this item, but it shall not be
required to advertise after December 31, 2017. At a minimum,
this notice must consist of two columns measuring at least ten
inches in length and measuring at least four and one-half inches
combined width, and include:
(a)
a headline printed in at least a twenty-four point font
that is boldfaced;
(b)
an explanation of who qualifies for the petitioning
option;
(c)
an explanation of the petition process;
(d)
a contact name and phone number; and
(e)
the deadline for submitting a petition.
(C) To
facilitate the reporting of strand level information and the
reporting of student scores prior to the beginning of the next
school year, beginning with the 2009 administration, multiple
choice items must be administered as close to the end of the
school year as possible and the writing assessment must be
administered earlier in the school year.
(D)
While assessment is called for in the specific areas
mentioned above, this should not be construed as lessening the
importance of foreign languages, visual and performing arts,
health, physical education, and career or occupational
programs.
(ED)
The State Board of Education shall create a statewide
adoption list of formative assessments for grades
one kindergarten through nine aligned
with the state content standards in English/language arts and
mathematics that satisfies professional measurement standards in
accordance with criteria jointly determined by the Education
Oversight Committee and the State Department of Education. The
formative assessments must provide diagnostic information in a
timely manner to all school districts for each student during
the course of the school year. For use beginning with the
2009-2010 School Year, and subject to appropriations by the
General Assembly for the assessments, local districts must be
allocated resources to select and administer formative
assessments from the statewide adoption list to use to improve
student performance in accordance with district improvement
plans. However, if a local district already administers
formative assessments, the district may continue to use the
assessments if they meet the state standards and criteria
pursuant to this subsection.
(FE)
The State Department of Education shall provide on-going
professional development in the development and use of classroom
assessments, the use of formative assessments, and the use of
the end-of-year state assessments so that teaching and learning
activities are focused on student needs and lead to higher
levels of student performance."
SECTION 7. Section 59-18-320(B) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 282 of 2008, is further amended to read:
"(B) After review
and approval by the Education Oversight Committee, and
pursuant to Section 59-18-325, the standards based
assessment of mathematics, English/language arts, social
studies, and science will be administered, for accountability
purposes, to all public school students in grades three
through eight, to include those students as required by the
federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
and by Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. To
reduce the number of days of testing, to the extent possible,
field test items must be embedded with the annual assessments.
In accordance with the requirements of the federal No
Child Left Behind Act, science assessments must be administered
annually to all students in one elementary and one middle school
grade. The State Department of Education shall develop a
sampling plan to administer science and social studies
assessments to all other elementary and middle school students.
The plan shall provide for all students and both content areas
to be assessed annually; however, individual students, except in
census testing grades, are not required to take both tests. In
the sampling plan, approximately half of the assessments must be
administered in science and the other half in social studies in
each class. To ensure that school districts maintain
the high standard of accountability established in the Education
Accountability Act, performance level results reported on school
and district report cards must meet consistently high levels in
all four core content areas. The core areas must remain
consistent with the following percentage weightings established
and approved by the Education Oversight Committee: in grades
three through five, thirty percent each for English/language
arts and math, and twenty percent each for science and social
studies; and in grades six through eight, twenty-five percent
each for English/language arts and math, and twenty-five percent
each for science and social studies. For students with
documented disabilities, the assessments developed by the
Department of Education shall include the appropriate
modifications and accommodations with necessary supplemental
devices as outlined in a student's Individualized Education
Program and as stated in the Administrative Guidelines and
Procedures for Testing Students with Documented
Disabilities."
SECTION 8. Section 59-18-325 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 281 of 2016, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-325.
(A) All students entering the eleventh
grade for the first time in School Year 2014-2015 and subsequent
years must be administered a college and career readiness
assessment as required by the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act and by Title 1 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act and that is from a
provider secured by the department. In addition, all
students entering the eleventh grade for the first time in
School Year 2014-2015 and subsequent years must be administered
a WorkKeys assessment. The results of the assessments
must be provided to each student, their respective schools, and
to the State to:
(1)
assist students, parents, teachers, and guidance
counselors in developing individual graduation plans and in
selecting courses aligned with each student's future
ambitions;
(2)
promote South Carolina's Work Ready Communities
initiative; and
(3)
meet federal and state accountability requirements.
(B) Students
subsequently may use the results of these assessments to apply
to college or to enter careers. The results must be added as
part of each student's permanent record and maintained at the
department for at least ten years. The purpose of the results is
to provide instructional information to assist students,
parents, and teachers to plan for each student's course
selection. This course selection might include remediation
courses, dual-enrollment courses, dual-credit courses,
advanced placement courses, internships, or other options during
the remaining semesters in high school.
(C) To maintain a
comprehensive and cohesive assessment system that signals a
student's preparedness for the next educational level and
ultimately culminates in a clear indication of a student's
preparedness for postsecondary success in a college or career
and to satisfy federal and state accountability purposes, the
State Department of Education shall procure and maintain a
summative assessment system.
(1)
The summative assessment must be administered to all
students in grades three through eight. The summative assessment
must assess students in English/language arts and mathematics,
including those students as required by the federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act and by Title I of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act. For purposes of this subsection,
"English/language arts" includes English, reading, and
writing skills as required by existing state standards. The
assessment must be a rigorous, achievement assessment that
measures student mastery of the state standards, that provides
timely reporting of results to educators, parents, and students,
and that measures each student's progress toward college and
career readiness. Therefore, the assessment or assessments must
meet all of the following minimum requirements:
(a)
compares performance of students in South Carolina to
other students' performance on comparable standards in other
states with the ability to link the scales of the South Carolina
assessment to the scales from other assessments measuring those
comparable standards;
(b)
be a vertically scaled, benchmarked, standards-based
system of summative assessments;
(c)
measures a student's preparedness for the next level of
their educational matriculation and individual student
performance against the state standards in English/language
arts, reading, writing, mathematics, and student growth;
(d)
documents student progress toward national college and
career readiness benchmarks derived from empirical research and
state standards;
(e)
establishes at least four student achievement levels;
(f)
includes various test questions including, but not limited
to, multiple choice, constructed response, and selected
response, that require students to demonstrate their
understanding of the content;
(g)
be administered to all students in a computer-based format
except for students with disabilities as specified in the
student's IEP or 504 plan, and unless the use of a computer by
these students is prohibited due to the vendor's restrictions on
computer-based test security, in which case the paper version
must be made available; and
(h)
assists school districts and schools in aligning
assessment, curriculum, and instruction.
(2)(a)
Beginning in the 2017-2018 School Year, each school
district shall administer the statewide summative assessment,
with the exception of alternate assessments, for grades three
through eight during the last twenty days of school as
determined by the district's regular instructional calendar, not
including make-up days. If an extension to the twenty-day time
period is needed, the school district or charter school may
submit a request for an extension to the State Board of
Education before December first of the school year for which the
waiver is requested. The request must clearly document the scope
and rationale for the extension. The request also must be
accompanied by an action plan showing how the district or
charter school will be able to comply with the twenty-day time
frame for the following school year.
(b)
Statewide summative testing for each student may not
exceed eight days each school year, with the exception of
students with disabilities as specified in their IEPs or 504
plans.
(c)
The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations
outlining the procedures to be used during the testing process
to ensure test security, including procedures for make-up days,
and to comply with federal and state assessment requirements
where necessary.
(d)
In the event of school closure due to extreme weather or
other disruptions that are not the fault of the district,
or significant school or district technology disruptions that
impede computer-based assessment administration, the school
district or charter school may submit a request to the
department to provide a paper-based administration to complete
testing within the last twenty days of school. The request must
clearly document the scope and cause of the disruption.
(3)
The department must procure and administer
assessments in English/language arts and mathematics in grades
three through eight, and administer assessments in science and
social studies to all students in grades four through
eight Beginning with the 2017-2018 School Year, the
department shall procure and administer the standards-based
assessments of mathematics and English/language arts to students
in grades three through eight. The department also shall procure
and administer the standards-based assessment in science to
students in grades four, six and eight, and the standards based
assessment in social studies to students in grades five and
seven.
(4)(a)
For the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 School Years,
the department is responsible for ensuring the procurement and
administration of the ACT Plus Writing assessment and
WorkKeys to eleventh grade students. Following the
2018-2019 school year, the department shall procure and
administer a standardized national test that meets the
requirements of subsection (A) that documents student progress
toward national college and career readiness benchmarks derived
from empirical research, and is widely accepted by higher
education institutions for admissions purposes. The department
is responsible for continuing to procure and administer the
WorkKeys assessments. Beginning with the 2019-2020
School Year, all public high schools and, where necessary,
career centers, annually shall administer a college entrance
and/or career readiness assessment to all eleventh grade
students as designated by their post-secondary goals and
Individual Graduation Plan which requires a parent's or
guardian's signature. The State Department of Education shall
reimburse districts for the administration of the college
entrance and career readiness assessments. For the purposes of
this section, 'eleventh grade students' means students in the
third year of high school after their initial enrollment in the
ninth grade.
(b)
For the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 School
Years, all public high schools and, where necessary, career
centers, annually shall administer the WorkKeys assessment and
the ACT Plus Writing college readiness assessment procured by
the department to all eleventh grade students. Following the
2018-2019 School Year, all public high schools and, where
necessary, career centers, annually shall administer the college
readiness and WorkKeys assessments procured by the department to
all eleventh grade students. For the purposes of this section,
'eleventh grade students' means students in the third year of
high school after their initial enrollment in the ninth
grade.
(c) Valid
accommodations must be provided according to the students'
IEP/504 plan. If a student also chooses to use the results of
the college readiness assessment for post
secondary post-secondary admission or placement,
the student, his parent, or his guardian must indicate that
choice in compliance with the testing vendor's deadline to
ensure that the student may receive allowable accommodations
consistent with the IEP or 504 plan that may yield a college
reportable score.
(5)
If funds are available, the State shall provide a
two-year college or four-year college readiness
assessment or the WorkKeys college entrance and/or
career readiness assessment to twelfth grade students who
did not meet benchmarks on the eleventh grade assessment for
college and career readiness at no cost to the students.
(6)
Formative assessments must continue to be adopted,
selected, and administered pursuant to Section 59-18-310.
(7)
Within thirty days after providing student performance
data to the school districts as required by law, the department
must provide to the Education Oversight Committee student
performance results on assessments authorized in this subsection
and end-of-course assessments in a format agreed upon by the
department and the Oversight Committee. The Education
Oversight Committee must use the results of these assessments in
School Years 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 to report on
student academic performance in each school and district
pursuant to Section 59-18-900. The committee may not determine
state ratings for schools or districts, pursuant to Section
59-18-900, using the results of the assessments required by this
subsection until after the conclusion of the 2016-2017 School
Year; provided, however, state ratings must be determined
by The results of these assessments must be included
in state ratings for each school beginning in the 2017-2018
School Year. The Oversight Committee also must develop and
recommend a single accountability system that meets federal and
state accountability requirements by the Fall of 2017. While
developing the single accountability system that will be
implemented in the 2017-2018 School Year, the Education
Oversight Committee shall determine the format of a transitional
report card released to the public in the Fall of 2016 and 2017
that will also identify underperforming schools and districts.
These transitional reports will, at a minimum, include the
following: (1) school, district, and statewide student
assessment results in reading and mathematics in grades three
through eight; (2) high school and district graduation rates;
and (3) measures of student college and career readiness at the
school, district, and statewide level. These transitional
reports will inform schools and districts, the public, and the
Department of Education of school and district general academic
performance and assist in identifying potentially
underperforming schools and districts and in targeting technical
assistance support and interventions in the interim before
ratings are issued.
(8)
When standards are subsequently revised, the Department of
Education, the State Board of Education, and the Education
Oversight Committee shall approve assessments pursuant to
Section 59-18-320."
SECTION 9. Section 59-18-340 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 282 of 2008, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-340.
High schools shall offer state-funded PSAT or
PLAN, pre-ACT, or tenth grade Aspire tests to
each tenth grade student in order to assess and identify
curricular areas that need to be strengthened and
reenforced reinforced. Schools and
districts shall use these assessments as diagnostic tools to
provide academic assistance to students whose scores reflect the
need for such assistance. Schools and districts shall use these
assessments to provide guidance and direction for parents and
students as they plan for postsecondary experiences."
SECTION 10. Section 59-18-360 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 282 of 2008, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-360. Beginning with the 2010 assessment administration, the Department of Education is directed to provide assessment results annually on individual students and schools by August first, except when assessments are being updated and new achievement standards are being set, in a manner and format that is easily understood by parents and the public. In addition, the school assessment results must be presented in a format easily understood by the faculty and in a manner that is useful for curriculum review and instructional improvement. The department is to provide longitudinally matched student data from the standards based assessments and include information on the performance of subgroups of students within the school. The department must work with the Division of Accountability in developing the formats of the assessment results. Schools and districts are responsible for disseminating this information to parents."
SECTION 11. Section 59-18-900 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 289 of 2014, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-900.
(A) The Education Oversight Committee,
working with the State Board of Education, is directed to
establish the format of a comprehensive,
web-based, annual report card, its format, and an
executive summary of the report card to report on the
performance for the State and for the
individual primary, elementary, middle, high schools, career
centers, and school districts of the State. The
comprehensive report card must be in a reader-friendly format,
using graphics whenever possible, published on the state,
district, and school website, and, upon request, printed by the
school districts. The school's ratings on academic
performance rating must be emphasized and an
explanation of their its meaning and
significance for the school and the district
also must be reported. The annual report card must serve at
least five six purposes:
(1)
inform parents and the public about the school's
performance including, but not limited to, that on the home
page of the report there must be each school's overall
performance rating in a font size larger than twenty-six and the
total number of points the school achieved on the zero to one
hundred scale;
(2)
assist in addressing the strengths and weaknesses within a
particular school;
(3)
recognize schools with high performance;
(4)
evaluate and focus resources on schools with low
performance; and
(5)
meet federal report card requirements; and
(6)
document the preparedness of high school
graduates for college and career.
(B)(1) The
Education Oversight Committee, working with the State Board of
Education and a broad-based group of stakeholders, including,
but not limited to, parents, business and industry persons,
community leaders, and educators, shall determine the criteria
for and establish five academic performance
ratings of excellent, good, average, below average, and
school/district at-risk unsatisfactory for
schools to increase transparency and accountability as provided
below:
(a)
Excellent - School performance substantially
exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of
the South Carolina Graduate;
(b)
Good - School performance exceeds the criteria
to ensure all students meet the Profile of the South Carolina
Graduate;
(c)
Average - School performance meets the criteria
to ensure all students meet the Profile of the South Carolina
Graduate;
(d)
Below Average - School performance is in
jeopardy of not meeting the criteria to ensure all students meet
the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate; and
(e)
Unsatisfactory - School performance fails to
meet the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the
South Carolina Graduate.
Schools and districts shall receive a rating for
absolute and growth performance.
(2)
The same categories of performance ratings also
must be assigned to individual indicators used to measure a
school's performance including, but not limited to, academic
achievement, student growth or progress, graduation rate,
English language proficiency, and college and career
readiness.
(3)
Only the scores of students enrolled
continuously in the school at
from the time of the forty-five-day enrollment count
shall be used to determine the absolute and growth
ratings to the first day of testing must be included
in calculating the rating. Graduation rates must be used as
an additional accountability measure for high schools and school
districts.
(4)
The Oversight Committee, working with the State
Board of Education, shall establish three
student performance indicators which will be those considered to
be useful for assessing inclusion as a
component of a school's overall performance and appropriate
for the grade levels within the school.
The student performance levels are:
Not Met, Met, and Exemplary. 'Not Met' means that the student
did not meet the grade level standard. 'Met' means the student
met the grade level standard. 'Exemplary' means the student
demonstrated exemplary performance in meeting the grade level
standard. For purposes of reporting as required by federal
statute, 'proficiency' shall include students performing at Met
or Exemplary. (C) In setting
the criteria for the academic performance ratings and the
performance indicators, the Education Oversight Committee shall
report the performance by subgroups of students in the school
and schools similar in student characteristics. Criteria must
use established guidelines for statistical analysis and build on
current data-reporting practices.
(D) The comprehensive
report card must include a comprehensive set of performance
indicators with information on comparisons, trends, needs, and
performance over time which is helpful to parents and the public
in evaluating the school. In addition, the comprehensive
report card must include indicators that meet federal law
requirements. Special efforts are to be made to ensure that
the information contained in the report card is provided in an
easily understood manner and a reader-friendly format. This
information should also provide a context for the performance of
the school. Where appropriate, the data should yield
disaggregated results to schools and districts in planning for
improvement. The report card should include information in such
areas as programs and curriculum, school leadership, community
and parent support, faculty qualifications, evaluations of the
school by parents, teachers, and students. In addition, the
report card must contain other criteria including, but not
limited to, information on promotion and retention ratios,
disciplinary climate, dropout ratios, dropout reduction data,
dropout retention data, access to technology, student and
teacher ratios, and attendance data.
(E) After reviewing the
school's performance on statewide assessments and results of
other report card criteria, the principal, in conjunction
with the School Improvement Council established in Section
59-20-60, must write an annual narrative of a school's progress
in order to further inform parents and the community about the
school and its operation efforts to ensure
that all students graduate with the knowledge, skills, and
opportunity to be college ready, career ready, and life ready
for success in the global, digital, and knowledge-based world of
the twenty-first century as provided in Section 59-1-50. The
narrative must be reviewed by the district superintendent or
appropriate body for a local charter school. The narrative must
cite factors or activities supporting progress and barriers
which inhibit progress. The school's report card must be
furnished to parents and the public no later than November
fifteenth for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 School Years. To
further increase transparency and accountability, for the
2018-2019 School Year, the school's report card must be
furnished to parents and the public no later than October first.
For the 2019-2020 School Year, and every subsequent year, the
school's report card must be furnished to parents and the public
no later than September first.
(F) The percentage of
new trustees who have completed the orientation requirement
provided in Section 59-19-45 must be reflected on the school
district website.
(G) The State Board of
Education shall promulgate regulations outlining the procedures
for data collection, data accuracy, data reporting, and
consequences for failure to provide data required in this
section.
(H) The Education
Oversight Committee, working with the State Board of Education,
is directed to establish a comprehensive annual report
concerning the performance of military-connected children who
attend primary, elementary, middle, and high schools in this
State. The comprehensive annual report must be in a
reader-friendly format, using graphics whenever possible,
published on the state, district, and school websites, and, upon
request, printed by the school districts. The annual
comprehensive report must address at least attendance, academic
performance in reading, math, and science, and graduation rates
of military-connected children."
SECTION 12. Article 9, Chapter 18, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-18-905.
(A) The General Assembly recognizes
that it, too, is part of the education system, accountability
and report cards should include the General Assembly.
(B) The General
Assembly strives to provide world class knowledge and world
class skills, the General Assembly shall be measured on the
following elements:
(1)
the percentage of working-aged adults with postsecondary
degree or credential meets the national average;
(2)
the on-time statewide graduation rate is ninety
percent;
(3)
fourth grade NAEP math proficiency is at the fiftieth
percentile or above;
(4)
fourth grade NAEP reading proficient is at the fiftieth
percentile or above;
(5)
Eighth grade NAEP math proficiency is at the fiftieth
percentile or above;
(6)
eighth grade reading proficiency is at the fiftieth
percentile or above; and
(7)
the composite statewide score for the eleventh grade
administration of the ACT is twenty or above.
(C) The General
Assembly shall receive an annual grade based on the
following:
(1)
'F' if zero elements are met;
(2)
'D' if one element is met;
(3)
'C' if at least three elements are met;
(4)
'B' if at least four elements are met; and
(5)
'A' if at least six elements are met."
SECTION 13. Section 59-18-910 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 282 of 2008, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-910.
Beginning in 2013 2020, the
Education Oversight Committee, working with the State Board of
Education and a broad-based group of stakeholders, selected by
the Education Oversight Committee, shall conduct a comprehensive
cyclical review of the accountability system at least every five
years and shall provide the General Assembly with a report on
the findings and recommended actions to improve the
accountability system and to accelerate improvements in student
and school performance. The stakeholders must include the State
Superintendent of Education and the Governor, or the Governor's
designee. The other stakeholders include, but are not limited
to, parents, business and industry persons, community leaders,
and educators. The cyclical review must include
recommendations of a process for determining if students are
graduating with the world-class skills and life and career
characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate to
be successful in postsecondary education and in careers. The
accountability system needs to reflect evidence that students
have developed these skills and characteristics."
SECTION 14. Section 59-18-920 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 164 of 2012, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-920.
A charter school established pursuant to Chapter 40, Title
59 shall report the data requested by the Department of
Education necessary to generate a report card and a
rating. The Department of Education shall utilize
this data to issue a report card with performance ratings to
parents and the public containing the ratings and explaining its
significance and providing other information similar to that
required of other schools in this section. The
performance of students attending charter schools sponsored by
the South Carolina Public Charter School District must be
included in the overall performance ratings of each school
in the South Carolina Public Charter School District. The
performance of students attending a charter school authorized by
a local school district must be reflected on a separate line on
the school district's report card and must not be
included in the overall performance ratings of the local school
district, unless there is a mutual agreement to include the
scores in the local school district ratings. An
alternative school is included in the requirements of this
chapter; however, the purpose of an alternative school must be
taken into consideration in determining its performance rating.
The Education Oversight Committee, working with the State Board
of Education and the School to Work Advisory Council, shall
develop a report card for career and technology schools."
SECTION 15. Section 59-18-930(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 34 of 2009, is further amended to read:
"(A) The State
Department of Education must issue the executive summary
of annually shall publish on its website home
page the report card annually to all
schools and districts of the State no later than November
first fifteenth, for the 2016-2017 and
2017-2018 School Years. To further increase transparency and
accountability, for the 2018-2019 School Year, the school's
report card must be furnished to parents and the public no later
than October first. For the 2019-2020 school year, and every
subsequent year, the school's report card must be furnished to
parents and the public no later than September first.
The executive summary shall be printed in black and
white, be no more than two pages, use graphical displays
whenever possible, and report card must be capable
of being downloaded into a portable document format (PDF) and
must contain National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) scores as well as or other
national scores or comparisons, if available. The report
card summary must be made available to all parents of the school
and the school district."
SECTION 16. Section 59-18-950 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
SECTION 17. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.