Req. No. 945 Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 STATE OF OKLAHOMA 1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021) SENATE BILL 642 By: Pugh AS INTRODUCED An Act relating to student assessments; amendin g 70 O.S. 2011, Section 1210.508, as last amended by Section 1, Chapter 479, O.S.L. 2019 (70 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 1210.508) , which relates to the statewide system of student assessments; removing language allowing administration of certain college- and career-readiness assessment ; allowing administration of certain multiple-aptitude battery beginning in certain school year; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency . BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2011, Section 1210.508, as last amended by Section 1, Chapter 479, O.S.L. 2019 (70 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 1210.508), is amended to read as follows: Section 1210.508. A. 1. By no later than December 31, 2016, the State Board of Education shall a dopt a statewide system of student assessments in c ompliance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) , as reauthorized and amended by P.L. No. 114-95, also known as the Every Student Succeeds Act ( ESSA). 2. The statewide student asse ssment system adopted by the Board pursuant to this subsection shall be aligned with the Oklahoma Req. No. 945 Page 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Academic Standards as ado pted by the Board and which prepare students for college and careers. B. 1. The Board shall is sue a request for proposals for the selection of assessments to be administered to stude nts in grades three through twelve as a part of the statewide student as sessment system adopted by the Board pursuant to this section. 2. The Board shall adopt assessm ents from the selected proposals that were submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection. The adopted assessments shall be administered by the Board for a period that is in coordination with the six -year subject area textbook adoption cycle unless the vendor does not fulfill the terms of the contract or fails to comply with or violate s the terms of the contract. The Board shall administer the assessments beginning with the 2017 -2018 school year. C. The statewide student assessment system adopted b y the Board pursuant to this section shall include assessments that: 1. Are aligned with the Oklahoma subject matter standards as adopted by the Board; 2. Provide a measure of comparability among other states; 3. Yield both norm-referenced scores and cr iterion-referenced scores; 4. Have a track record of statistical reliability and accura cy; and Req. No. 945 Page 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 5. For assessments administered in high school, provide a measure of future academic performance. D. For the 2016-2017 school year, the Board shall administer assessments in: 1. English Language Arts or Reading and Mathematics in grades three through eight and at least once in high school, during the grade span of nine through twelve; 2. Science not less than once during each grade span of three through five, six through nine and ten through twe lve; and 3. United States History not less than on ce during the grade span of nine through twelve. E. 1. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide student assessment system shall include assessments in: a. English Language Arts and Mathema tics in grades three through eight and at least onc e in high school, during the grade span of nine through twelve, b. Science not less than once during each grade span of three through five, six through nine and ten thr ough twelve, and c. United States History, with an emphasis on civics, not less than once during the grade span of nine through twelve. 2. Beginning with the 2017-2018 2021-2022 school year, the statewide student assessment system may include: Req. No. 945 Page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 a. assessments in Reading and Writing in certain grades as determined by the Board, and b. contingent upon the availability of funds, an additional nationally recognized college - and career- readiness assessment or assessments as recommended by the State Department of Education a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military, which will be administered to students in high school at no cost to the student. F. 1. Beginning with stu dents entering the ninth grade in the 2017-2018 school year, each student shall take the assessment or assessments included in the statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of this section in order to graduate from a public high school with a standard d iploma. All students shall take the assessment or assessments prior to graduation, unless otherwise exempt by law. 2. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the 2017-2018 school year, each student, in add ition to taking the assessment or assessments included in the statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of this section, shall meet any other high school graduation requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Secti on 5 of Enrolled House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma Req. No. 945 Page 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Legislature in order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma. 3. For students who start the ninth grade prior to or during the 2016-2017 school year, school districts shall adopt a plan that establishes the assessment or assessments those stude nts are required to take in order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma. The plan may also include any or all of the other high school graduati on requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled House Bill No. 32 18 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma Legislature that those students will be required to meet in order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma. 4. The Board shall promulgate ru les to ensure that students who transfer into an Oklahoma school district from out -of-state after the junior year of high school shall not be denied the opportunity to be awarded a standard diploma due to differing test ing requirements. G. In order to provide an indication of the levels of competency attained by the student in a permanent record for potential future employers and institutions of higher education, school districts shall report on the high school transcri pt of the student the highest-achieved score on the assessment or assessments included in the statewide student assessment system adopted by the Req. No. 945 Page 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Board pursuant to subsection A of this section and any business - and industry-recognized endorsements attained. H. Students who do not perform at a proficiency level on assessments shall be remediat ed as established in the assessment requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma Legislature, subject to the availability of funding. I. 1. All assessments required by thi s section shall measure academic competencies in correlation with the subject matter standards adopted by the Board pursuant to Sections 11 -103.6 and 11- 103.6a of this title and referred to as the Oklahoma Academic Standards. The State Board of Education shall evaluate the subject matter standards to ensure the competencies reflect high standards, are specific, well-defined, measurable, challenging, and will prepare elementary students for next -grade-level course work and secondary students for postseconda ry studies at institutions of higher education or technology center schools without the need for remediation. All subject matter standards shall reflect the goals as set forth in Section 11 -103.6 of this title and of improving the state average ACT score. 2. The State Department of Education shall annually evaluate the results of the assessments. The State Board of Education shall ensure that preliminary results for a ll statewide assessments are reported to districts no later than June 20 of each year an d are Req. No. 945 Page 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 presented in a manner that yields detailed, diagnostic information for the purpose of guiding instruction and student remediation. As improvements are made to th e assessments required by this sectio n, the Board shall seek to increase the depth of kn owledge assessed for each subject. The State Board of Education shall seek to ensure that data yielded from the assessments required in this section are utilized at the school district level to inform ins truction, professional development, school improvem ent and remediation for students. 3. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability shall determine the cut scores for the performance levels on all statewide assessments. The Commission shall conduct an ongoing review to compare the statewide assessment content and performance descriptors with those of other states. Upon receipt of the review, the Commission may adjust the cut scores as necessary. 4. The State Board of Education, for the pur poses of conducting reliability and validity studie s, monitoring contractor adherence to professionally accepted testing standards, and providing recommendations for testing program improvement, shall retain the services of an established, independent agen cy or organization that is nationally recognized fo r its technical expertise in educational testing but is not engaged in the development of aptitude or achievement tests for elementary or secondary level grades. These national assessment experts shall an nually conduct studies of the Req. No. 945 Page 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 reliability and valid ity of the statewide assessments administered pursuant to this section. Validity studies shall include studies of decision validity and concurrent validity. J. 1. The State Board of Education shall prom ulgate rules setting the assessment window dates fo r each statewide assessment so that the assessments are administered according to recommended testing protocols, and so that the assessment results are reported back to school districts in a timely manner. The vendor shall provide a final electronic data file of all school site, school district, and state results to the State Department of Education and the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability prior to Augus t 20 of each year. The Department sh all forward the final data files for each school district and each school site in that district to the school district. The Board shall ensure the contract with the vendor includes a provision that the vendor report as sessment results directly to the Offi ce of Educational Quality and Accountability at the same time it is reported to the Board. 2. State, district, and site level results of all assessments required in this section shall be disaggregated by gender, race, ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as economi cally disadvantaged, except that such disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number of students in a category is insufficient to yield statisticall y reliable information or the results would reveal personally Req. No. 945 Page 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 identifiable information a bout an individual student. Each school site shall notify the student ’s parents of the school ’s performance levels in the Oklahoma School Testing Program as reported i n the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program at the end of each school year. K. The State Board of Education shall be responsible for the field-testing and validation of the statewide assessment system required in subsection A of this section. L. The State Board of Education shall develop, administer, and incorporate as a part of the Oklah oma School Testing Program, other assessment programs or procedures, including appropriate accommodations for the assessment of students with disabilities as required by the Individuals with Disabilities E ducation Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C., Section 1400 et seq . M. For purposes of developing and administering alternate assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, the State Board of Education sha ll not be subject to subsections D and E of Section 11-103.6a of this title. SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2021. SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, hea lth or safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof thi s act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval. 58-1-945 EB 1/21/2021 9:43:03 AM