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H. 4279
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Walker and Townsend
Document Path: l:\council\bills\pt\2727sj05.doc
Introduced in the House on June 2, 2005
Currently residing in the House Committee on Education and Public Works
Summary: Education Accountability Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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6/2/2005 House Introduced and read first time HJ-64
6/2/2005 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works HJ-65
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-120, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY ACT DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE CERTAIN ADDITIONAL TERMS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-310, RELATING TO THE ADOPTION OF A STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM, SO AS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TESTING FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, PROVIDE THAT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL CREATE A STATEWIDE ADOPTION LIST OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ALIGNED WITH THE STATE CONTENT STANDARDS AND SATISFYING PROFESSIONAL MEASUREMENT STANDARDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH CRITERIA JOINTLY DETERMINED BY THE EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, PROVIDE FOR A READING ASSESSMENT FOR FIRST AND SECOND GRADES, PROVIDE FOR OTHER ASSESSMENTS, AND PROVIDE FOR A TASK FORCE TO RECOMMEND COMPUTERIZED TESTING; TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-320, RELATING TO FIELD TESTING OF THE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE REDUCTION OF THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF TESTING, PROVIDE FOR THE AVAILABILITY OF THE RESULT OF THE TESTS TO PARENTS AND TEACHERS WITHIN THREE WEEKS, FURTHER CHANGE THE TESTING TO INCLUDE SCIENCE TESTING, ESTABLISH A TASK FORCE TO RECOMMEND ALTERNATIVES TO MEETING GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-330, RELATING TO THE FIRST GRADE READINESS TEST, SO AS TO PROVIDE TEACHER TRAINING TO PROVIDE RELIABLE USE OF THE ASSESSMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-360, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE REVIEW OF STATE STANDARDS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE INFORMATION TO EDUCATORS AND PARENTS, PROVIDE WHAT THE REVIEW OF ASSESSMENTS MUST ADDRESS, AND PROVIDE FOR A TEAM OF CURRICULUM EXPERTS TO ANALYZE THE RESULTS OF THE ASSESSMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-370, RELATING TO THE DISSEMINATION OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS, SO AS TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN EACH CONTENT AREA; TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-1595, RELATING TO THE REALLOCATION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FUNDING, SO AS TO CHANGE A REFERENCE FROM THE PALMETTO ACHIEVEMENT CHALLENGE TEST TO END-OF-YEAR ASSESSMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-28-200, RELATING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS, SO AS TO CHANGE A REFERENCE FROM THE PALMETTO ACHIEVEMENT CHALLENGE TEST TO STATE ASSESSMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-30-10, RELATING TO DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION RELATING TO THE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM, SO AS TO DELETE CERTAIN DUTIES; TO AMEND SECTION 59-30-30, RELATING TO DUTIES OF PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARDS, SO AS TO REVISE THE DUTIES; AND TO REPEAL SECTIONS 59-30-20 AND 59-30-50 BOTH RELATING TO THE BASIC SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 59-18-120 of the 1976 Code is 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, and family income level.
(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) 'Norm-referenced assessment' means assessments designed to compare student performance to a nationally representative sample of similar students known as the norm group.
(6) 'Academic achievement standards' means statements of expectations for student learning.
(7) 'Department' means the State Department of Education.
(8) 'Absolute performance' means the rating a school will receive based on the percentage of students meeting standard on the state's standards based assessment.
(9) 'Improvement performance' means the rating a school will receive based on longitudinally matched student data comparing current performance to the previous year's years for the purpose of determining student academic growth.
(10) 'Objective and reliable statewide assessment' means assessments which yield consistent results and which measure the cognitive knowledge and skills specified in the state-approved academic standards and does do not include questions relative to personal opinions, feelings, or attitudes and is are not biased with regard to race, gender, or socioeconomic status. It is not intended that the The assessments be limited to true/false or must include a writing assessment and sufficient multiple choice questions to provide detailed information on student, school, district, and state progress in the teaching and learning of the academic content standards.
(11) 'Division of Accountability' means the special unit within the oversight committee established in Section 59-6-100.
(12) 'Formative assessment' means assessments used within the school year to analyze general strengths and weaknesses in instruction to consider placement and planning for the next grade level and to understand the performance of students individually and across achievement categories. Data and performance from the formative assessments are not to be used in the calculation of school or district ratings.
(13) 'Computerized assessment' means assessments that are administered and scored electronically, including but not limited to, computer adaptive testing that allows individual students to be testing with a set of items matched to their achievement levels."
SECTION 2. Section 59-18-310 of the 1976 Code is 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 need additional support;
(2) indicate the academic achievement for schools, districts, and the State; and
(3) satisfy federal reporting requirements.; and
(4) provide professional development to educators.
All assessments required to be developed or adopted under the provisions of this section or chapter must be objective and reliable.
(B) The statewide assessment program in the four academic areas shall include grades three through eight, an exit examination in English/language arts and mathematics, which is to be first administered in grade ten a student's second year of high school enrollment beginning with grade nine, and end of course tests for gateway courses in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies for grades nine through twelve. Beginning with the graduating class of 2009, 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.
(C) 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/occupational programs.
(D) For use beginning the in the 2006-07 school year, the State Board of Education shall create a statewide adoption list of formative assessments aligned with the state content standards and satisfying professional measurement standards in accordance with criteria jointly determined by the Education Oversight Committee and the State Department of Education. The formative assessments should provide diagnostic information in a timely manner to all school districts for each student during the course of the school year. Local districts must be allocated resources to select formative assessments from the statewide adoption list to use to improve student performance in accordance with district improvement plans.
(E) The State Board of Education shall adopt, adapt, or cause to be developed a developmentally appropriate formative reading assessment for use in first and second grades to be initially administered in the 2007-08 school year. The assessment should provide opportunities for periodic formative assessment during the school year, reports that are useful for informing classroom instruction, strand, or significant groupings of standards level information about individual students, and should be compatible with best practices in reading instruction and reading research. The State Department of Education shall provide appropriate and on-going professional development to support appropriate use of the assessment.
(F) 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.
(G) The State Department of Education shall convene a task force to recommend actions to implement computerized testing which may include both computer-adaptive and on-line testing for all assessments. These recommendation should detail the costs and benefits at the student, school, district, and state levels and outline a plan to accomplish full implementation by the 2014-15 school year. The recommendations and plan must be presented to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the Education Oversight Committee, the House Education and Public Works Committee, the Senate Education Committee, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Finance Committee not later than September 1, 2006."
SECTION 3. Section 59-18-320 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-18-320. (A) After the first statewide field test of the assessment program in each of the four academic areas, and after the field tests of the end of course assessments of benchmark courses, the Education Oversight Committee, established in Section 59-6-10, will review the state assessment program and the course assessments for alignment with the state standards, level of difficulty and validity, and for the ability to differentiate levels of achievement, and will make recommendations for needed changes, if any. The review will be provided to the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, the Governor, the Senate Education Committee, and the House Education and Public Works Committee as soon as feasible after the field tests. The Department of Education will then report to the Education Oversight Committee no later than one month after receiving the reports on the changes made to the assessments to comply with the recommendations.
(B) After review and approval by the Education Oversight Committee, the standards based assessment of mathematics, English/language arts, social studies, and science will be administered to all public school students to include those students as required by the 1997 reauthorization of the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and by Title 1 at the end of grades three through eight. Beginning with the 2006 administration, field test items are to be embedded with the annual assessments to reduce the number of days of testing. Furthermore, the writing or extended response component of the English/language arts assessment is to be administered early in the spring of the school year to facilitate the receipt of student scores by the end of the school year. Other portions of the annual assessment are to be limited to multiple choice items and administered as close to the end of the school year as feasible. It is the intent of this chapter that a student's results are to be available to educators and parents not later than three weeks following the end of the school year. The science assessment is to be administered to all students in one elementary and one middle school grade in accordance with the requirements of federal law. The State Department of Education shall administer science and social studies assessments to all other elementary and middle school students using a sampling plan that provides that all students and both content areas are assessed annually but that individual students to not take both tests. The exit examination in these four academic areas will be administered for the first time at the end of grade ten the student's second year of high school enrollment beginning with grade nine. 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. The State Board of Education shall establish a task force to recommend alternative evidence and procedures that will allow students to meet graduation requirements even if they have failed the exit examination for use in the rare instances in which there is compelling evidence that a student is well-qualified for graduation, but extreme circumstances have interfered with passage of the exit examination and, for that reason alone, the student would be denied a state high school diploma.
(C) After review and approval by the Education Oversight Committee, the end of course assessments of benchmark courses will be administered to all public school students as they complete each benchmark course. Effective with the 2006 administration, middle grades students enrolled in high school credit courses in which an end-of-course test is administered are excused from the grade level testing in the appropriate content area.
(D) Any new standards and assessments required to be developed and adopted by the State Board of Education, through the Department of Education, must be developed and adopted upon the advice and consent of the Education Oversight Committee."
SECTION 4. Section 59-18-330 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-18-330. The State Board of Education, through the State Department of Education, shall develop, select, or adapt a first grade readiness test which is linked to the adopted grade one academic standards and a second grade readiness test which is linked to the adopted grade two academic standards. The first administration of this test must occur no later than the 2000-2001 school year. The purpose of the tests is to measure individual student readiness, and they are not to be used as an accountability measure at the state level. However, the grade two readiness test will serve as the baseline for grade three assessment. The State Department of Education shall provide continuing teacher training to ensure the valid and reliable use of the assessments and develop a minimum statewide data collection plan to include the amount and types of evidence to be collected. Beginning with the 2006-07 school year the readiness assessment is to be modified to provide detailed information on student literacy development."
SECTION 5. Section 59-18-360 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 89 of 2003, is further amended to read:
"Section 59-18-360. (A) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Education Oversight Committee, shall provide for a cyclical review by academic area of the state standards and assessments to ensure that the standards and assessments are maintaining high expectations for learning and teaching. All academic areas must be initially reviewed by the year 2005. At a minimum, each academic area should be reviewed and updated every seven years. After each academic area is reviewed, a report on the recommended revisions must be presented to the Education Oversight Committee for its consideration. After approval by the Education Oversight Committee, the recommendations may be implemented. As a part of the review, a task force of parents, business and industry persons, community leaders, and educators, to include special education teachers, must examine the standards and assessment system to determine rigor and relevancy. As an outcome of the cyclical review the information about the standards and assessments available to educators and parents is to be increased. This information should include priorities for instruction among the content standards, the publication of resources aligned with the content standards and exemplars of student work. The information on assessments should include right response summaries, development of published item polls and test forms, and analyses of each year's performance.
(B) The cyclical review of assessments must address, at a minimum, the conversion of tests to multiple choice formats, revisions to vertically equate assessments across grade levels, utilization of test forms for multiple administrations, re-establishment of performance cut scores, and redesign of the assessments to report results at strand or significant groupings of standards levels within each core content areas. The State Department of Education shall provide the State Board of Education and the Education Oversight Committee a schedule for the cyclical reviews and the technical changes to the state assessment program including differentiated emphasis among the content areas at particular grade levels and as outlined in Chapters 18, 28, and 30 of Title 59 by September 1, 2005, for approval.
(C) Beginning with the 2005 assessment results, the State Department of Education annually shall convene a team of curriculum experts to analyze the results of the assessments, including performance item by item. This analysis should yield a plan for disseminating additional information about the assessment results and instruction and the information shall be disseminated not later than January fifteenth of the subsequent year."
SECTION 6. Section 59-18-370 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-18-370. The Department of Education is directed to provide assessment results annually on individual students and schools 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 shall be responsible for disseminating this information to parents. Beginning with the 2006 assessment, the State Department of Education and the Division of Accountability shall revise the format to publish results to include information on student performance in each content area at the strand or significant groupings of standards level to allow for planning within each content area."
SECTION 7. Section 59-18-1595 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-18-1595. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in order to provide assistance at the beginning of the school year, schools may qualify for technical assistance based on the criteria established by the Education Oversight Committee for school ratings and on the most recently available PACT end-of-year assessment scores. In order to best meet the needs of low-performing schools, the funding provided for technical assistance under the Education Accountability Act may be reallocated among the programs and purposes specified in this section. The State Department of Education shall establish criteria for reviewing and assisting schools that will be rated unsatisfactory using a tiered system with the lowest-performing schools receiving highest priority. Not to exceed the statewide total number of specialists stipulated by the Education Accountability Act, the highest priority school assistance shall include a year-long technical assistance team that may include a lead principal or curriculum specialist, or both. All specialists shall have a demonstrated record of success in their field and shall be entitled to the incentives and benefits of a teacher specialist. Technical assistance for below average schools shall be provided to the extent possible in order of need. The State Department of Education shall provide information on the technical assistance strategies and their impact to the State Board of Education, the Education Oversight Committee, the Senate Education Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, the House of Representatives Education and Public Works Committee, and the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee annually."
SECTION 8. Section 59-28-200 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-28-200. The Education Oversight Committee and the State Superintendent of Education shall develop and publish jointly informational materials for distribution to all public school parents and to teachers. The informational materials for distribution shall include:
(1) an explanation of the grade-level academic content standards and advice on how parents can help their children achieve the standards and the relationship of the standards to the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests (PACT) state assessments; and
(2) printed information about the standards and advice relative to parental involvement in their children's education for visible display and use in every public school K-12 classroom."
SECTION 9. Section 59-30-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-30-10. The State Board of Education, through the State Department of Education, shall:
(a) Establish statewide educational objectives in the basic skills for kindergarten through grade twelve and establish minimum standards of student achievement for readiness and Grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and 11. The term 'basic skills' shall include mathematics and the communication skills of reading and writing. The minimum standards for readiness and Grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and 11 shall be designed to reflect the level of skill mastery, as determined by the State Board of Education, each student is expected to have attained at the various grades.
(b)(1) Establish a state basic skills assessment program that shall include the administration to all public school students at the beginning of grade one a readiness test that will be designed to measure a student's readiness to begin the formal school curriculum. The results of the readiness test shall be used to provide appropriate developmental activities in the first grade.
(2) Provide for the administration of the readiness test at the beginning of the school year in grade one. Based on the results of the test, the school district shall advise the parents of any student not indicating readiness for first grade work to secure a complete physical examination for that child. Such advice by the school district shall contain information about local governmental health services that are available.
(c)(1) As a part of the basic skills assessment program, develop or select criterion-referenced tests that can measure student achievement in reading and mathematics in grades one, two and three against the standard established for each of those respective grades.
(2) Cause to be administered the tests provided for herein to all public school students at the end of grades one, two and three. The purpose of the tests shall be that of diagnosis of student deficiencies and that of an aid in determining instruction needed by the student in achieving the minimum statewide standard established for each respective grade.
(d)(1) As a part of the basic skills assessment program, develop or select criterion-referenced tests that can measure student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in grades six and eight against the standard established for each of those respective grades.
(2) Cause to be administered the test provided for grade six to all public school students at the end of grade six and shall cause to be administered the test provided for grade eight to all public school students at the end of grade eight. The purpose of the tests shall be that of diagnosis of student deficiencies and that of an aid in determining instruction needed by the student in achieving the minimum statewide standard established for each respective grade.
(e) Develop or select, and field test, tests that will measure student achievement in the basic skills areas of reading, writing, and mathematics at the end of grade 11 which shall include items requiring the application of school skills to life situations. The field test shall be conducted for the purpose of establishing the reliability and validity of the test.
(f) Beginning in the school year 1981-82 and continuing through the school year 1984-85, administer the test specified in item (e) of this section to all students in grade eleven for the purpose of collecting baseline data. The Department of Education shall use the baseline data for the purpose of program assessment and shall provide assistance to those schools or districts in which the data indicate that program adjustment or modification is most needed due to inordinate numbers of children not passing the test. The State Board of Education shall use the baseline data for the purpose of determining the high school credentials to be awarded students not meeting the minimum achievement scores.
(a) Beginning with the school year 1985-86, the eleventh grade examination may be no longer administered and the board shall cause to be administered an exit examination to all tenth grade students in their second year of high school, beginning with grade nine. Local school districts shall establish remedial programs to assist those students who do not pass the examination. Passage of this exit examination is a condition for the receipt of a state high school diploma for those students who otherwise meet the requirements for the diploma during the school year 1989-90 and thereafter. Additionally, during the school year 1989-90 and thereafter, individuals participating in adult education programs must pass the exit examination as an additional requirement for the receipt of a state high school diploma. Failure to pass the examination obligates the student to enroll in a remedial program. Students who do not pass the examination in the tenth grade on their first attempt must retake the test in the eleventh grade and may retake the test twice in the twelfth grade subsequent years to include one attempt in the next year and two attempts in the third year, thereby providing students with four opportunities to pass the exit examination. If an individual exits the school system at the end of the twelfth grade without having passed the exit examination, he shall be awarded an appropriate State certificate indicating the number of credits earned and grades completed or may be offered the opportunity to:
(1) accept a certificate indicating the number of credits earned and grades completed instead of a diploma;
(2) return in the fall as a senior if he is under the maximum age for attending high school, fully enroll in school, and retake the exit examination twice if necessary in the same manner it is offered to other seniors;
(3) enroll in the summer school exit exam program established below; or
(4) enroll in adult education.
For a student who has failed to pass the exit examination after four chances and who certifies that his military, educational, or other career goals must be placed on hold as a result of his failure to pass the exit exam, a summer testing of the exit exam following a remediation program in summer school after the student's twelfth grade year may be offered to allow these students to move forward with their career in a timely manner. If the student fails the exit exam following this summer program, he must then be offered the options (1), (2), or (4) referred to above. All costs related to the summer school program and summer testing of the exit exam must be paid by the student.
(g)(b) Use utmost care to insure that to the maximum extent feasible, within existing knowledge and technology cultural bias is eliminated in the tests administered as a part of the basic skills assessment program.
(h)(c) Purchase and distribute necessary materials for the assessment program and train state and local staff and teachers to administer the tests in the assessment program and to interpret the results of those tests.
(i)(d) Provide for the security and integrity of the tests that are administered under the assessment program.
(j)(e) Revise and update the tests administered under the assessment program as deemed appropriate by the department.
(k)(f) Render advice and aid to school districts concerning their curricula and the assessment program.
(l)(g) Report the results of the program annually to the Governor, the General Assembly, the school districts and to the general public, together with any recommendations of the South Carolina Basic Skills Advisory Commission created pursuant to Section 59-30-20.
(m) Consult with such commission concerning the implementation of, or major changes to, the provisions of this chapter.
(n)(h) Provide school districts with information concerning basic instructional programs which have been demonstrated to be effective in developing readiness skills or in the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. The Department of Education shall encourage school districts to adopt programs that are determined to be appropriate to the needs of their students.
(o) Provide appropriate office space, staff, equipment and supplies to the Basic Skills Advisory Commission.
Establish statewide educational objectives in science for grades one through eight and establish minimum standards of student achievement for grades three, six, and eight. The State Board of Education, through the Department of Education, also shall develop and field-test, as part of the Basic Skills Assessment Program, criterion-referenced tests that will measure student achievement in science in grades three, six, and eight against the standards established for each of these respective grades and cause to be administered the tests provided for herein to all public school students at the end of grades three, six, and eight. The purpose of the test is that of diagnosis of student deficiencies and that of an aid in determining instruction needed by the student in achieving the minimum statewide standard established for each respective grade."
SECTION 10. Section 59-30-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-30-30. All public school boards, through their local school districts, shall:
(a) participate in the basic skills assessment program established by this chapter.
(b) adopt appropriate policies to ensure that a continuous assessment is made of an individual student's progress in relation to the statewide minimum standards of student achievement for kindergarten through grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and 11 grade 12.
(c) prior to the beginning of the 1979-80 school year provide appropriate in-service training for all certified personnel implementing the basic skills assessment program to insure ensure efficient and effective methods of instruction.
(d) use the results of the tests administered under the basic skills assessment program to help in the diagnosis of student deficiencies.
(e) provide basic instruction to aid the student in bringing his performance up to the statewide minimum standards proficiency for a particular grade when a deficiency is indicated by the results of the tests administered under the basic skills assessment program or other assessment procedures.
(f)(1) provide in writing test result information to any parent or guardian of a dependent child when the parent or guardian requests such information.
(2) provide test information and explanations of deficiencies to a parent or guardian of a dependent child found to have deficiencies and make suggestions for appropriate assistance to be given to the dependent child by the dependent child's parent or guardian."
SECTION 11. Sections 59-30-20 and 59-30-50 of the 1976 Code are repealed.
SECTION 12. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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