83R5919 VOO-D
By: Reynolds H.B. No. 1056
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state assessment of public school students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 28.014(c) and (f), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) The agency, in consultation with the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, shall adopt an end-of-course
assessment instrument for each course developed under this section
to ensure the rigor of the course. A school district shall, in
accordance with State Board of Education rules, administer the
end-of-course assessment instrument to a student enrolled in a
course developed under this section. A [Each school] district may
[shall] adopt a policy that requires a student's performance on the
end-of-course assessment instrument to account for not more than 15
percent of the student's final grade for the course. [A student's
performance on an end-of-course assessment instrument administered
under this subsection may be used, on a scale of 0-40, in
calculating whether the student satisfies the graduation
requirements established under Section 39.025.]
(f) To the extent applicable, the commissioner shall draw
from curricula and instructional materials developed under Section
[Sections] 28.008 [and 61.0763] in developing a course and related
instructional materials under this section. Not later than
September 1, 2010, the State Board of Education shall adopt
essential knowledge and skills for each course developed under this
section. The State Board of Education shall make each course
developed under this section and the related instructional
materials available to school districts not later than the
2014-2015 school year. [As required by Subsection (c), a school
district shall adopt a policy requiring a student's performance on
an end-of-course assessment instrument administered under that
subsection to account for 15 percent of the student's grade for a
course developed under this section not later than the 2014-2015
school year.] This subsection expires September 1, 2015.
SECTION 2. Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The agency shall also adopt end-of-course assessment
instruments for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, Algebra II,
geometry, biology, chemistry, physics, English I, English II,
English III, world geography, world history, and United States
history. The Algebra I, Algebra II, and geometry end-of-course
assessment instruments must be administered with the aid of
technology. A school district shall comply with State Board of
Education rules regarding administration of the assessment
instruments listed in this subsection and may [shall] adopt a
policy that requires a student's performance on an end-of-course
assessment instrument for a course listed in this subsection in
which the student is enrolled to account for not more than 15
percent of the student's final grade for the course. [If a student
retakes an end-of-course assessment instrument for a course listed
in this subsection, as provided by Section 39.025, a school
district is not required to use the student's performance on the
subsequent administration or administrations of the assessment
instrument to determine the student's final grade for the course.]
If a student is in a special education program under Subchapter A,
Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee shall determine whether any allowable modification is
necessary in administering to the student an assessment instrument
required under this subsection. The State Board of Education shall
administer the assessment instruments. The State Board of
Education shall adopt a schedule for the administration of
end-of-course assessment instruments that complies with the
requirements of Subsection (c-3).
SECTION 3. Section 39.025, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), (b), (b-2), and (e)
and adding Subsections (a-4) and (a-5) to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a student
participating in the recommended or advanced high school program to
be administered each end-of-course assessment instrument listed in
Section 39.023(c) and requiring a student participating in the
minimum high school program to be administered an end-of-course
assessment instrument listed in Section 39.023(c) only for a course
in which the student is enrolled and for which an end-of-course
assessment instrument is administered. [A student is required to
achieve, in each subject in the foundation curriculum under Section
28.002(a)(1), a cumulative score that is at least equal to the
product of the number of end-of-course assessment instruments
administered to the student in that subject and a scale score that
indicates satisfactory performance, as determined by the
commissioner under Section 39.0241(a). A student must achieve a
minimum score as determined by the commissioner to be within a
reasonable range of the scale score under Section 39.0241(a) on an
end-of-course assessment instrument for the score to count towards
the student's cumulative score. For purposes of this subsection, a
student's cumulative score is determined using the student's
highest score on each end-of-course assessment instrument
administered to the student. A student may not receive a high
school diploma until the student has performed satisfactorily on
the end-of-course assessment instruments in the manner provided
under this subsection. This subsection does not require a student
to demonstrate readiness to enroll in an institution of higher
education.]
(a-1) The commissioner by rule shall determine a method by
which a student's satisfactory performance on an advanced placement
test, an international baccalaureate examination, an SAT Subject
Test, or another assessment instrument determined by the
commissioner to be at least as rigorous as an end-of-course
assessment instrument adopted under Section 39.023(c) may be used
as a factor in determining whether the student satisfies the
requirements of Subsection (a) and Subsection (a-2), (a-3), or
(a-4), as applicable to the student[, including the cumulative
score requirement of that subsection]. The commissioner by rule
may determine a method by which a student's satisfactory
performance on a Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT)
assessment or a preliminary American College Test (ACT) assessment
may be used as a factor in determining whether the student satisfies
the requirements of Subsection (a) and Subsection (a-2), (a-3), or
(a-4), as applicable to the student.
(a-2) To graduate under the recommended high school program
[In addition to the cumulative score requirements under Subsection
(a)], a student must achieve a score that meets or exceeds the score
determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a) on
end-of-course assessment instruments for the following:
(1) English III;
(2) [and] Algebra II; and
(3) biology, chemistry, or physics [end-of-course
assessment instruments to graduate under the recommended high
school program].
(a-3) To graduate under the advanced high school program [In
addition to the cumulative score requirements under Subsection
(a)], a student must:
(1) achieve a score that meets or exceeds the score
determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a-1) on
end-of-course assessment instruments for the following:
(A) English III; and
(B) Algebra II; and
(2) achieve a score that meets or exceeds the score
determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a) on
end-of-course assessment instruments for biology, chemistry, or
physics [in order to graduate under the advanced high school
program].
(a-4) To graduate under the minimum high school program, a
student must achieve a score that meets or exceeds the score
determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a) on
end-of-course assessment instruments for the following:
(1) English III;
(2) Algebra I; and
(3) biology, chemistry, or physics.
(a-5) The admission, review, and dismissal committee of a
student in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter
29, shall determine whether, to receive a high school diploma, the
student is required to achieve satisfactory performance on
end-of-course assessment instruments.
(b) Each time an end-of-course assessment instrument is
administered, a student who failed to achieve the [a minimum] score
requirement under this section may [Subsection (a) shall] retake
the assessment instrument. A student who fails to perform
satisfactorily on an Algebra II or English III end-of-course
assessment instrument under the college readiness performance
standard, as provided under Section 39.024(b), may retake the
assessment instrument. [Any other student may retake an
end-of-course assessment instrument for any reason.] A student is
not required to retake a course as a condition of retaking an
end-of-course assessment instrument.
(b-2) If a school district determines that a student, on
completion of grade 11, is unlikely to achieve the [cumulative]
score requirement under this section [requirements] for one or more
end-of-course assessment instruments as necessary [subjects
prescribed by Subsection (a)] for receiving a high school diploma,
the district shall require the student to enroll in a corresponding
content-area college preparatory course for which an end-of-course
assessment instrument has been adopted, if available. A student
who enrolls in a college preparatory course described by this
subsection shall be administered an end-of-course assessment
instrument for the course, with the end-of-course assessment
instrument scored on a scale as determined by the commissioner [not
to exceed 20 percent of the cumulative score requirements required
to graduate as determined under Subsection (a)]. A student may use
the student's score on the end-of-course assessment instrument for
the college preparatory course towards satisfying the [cumulative]
score requirement under this section [requirements prescribed by
Subsection (a)].
(e) The commissioner shall establish a required performance
level for an assessment instrument adopted under Subsection (d)
that is at least as rigorous as the performance level required to be
met under Subsection (a-2), (a-3), or (a-4), as applicable to the
student [(a)].
SECTION 4. Section 39.0262, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.0262. LIMITATION ON INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS FOR STUDENT
PREPARATION FOR OR ADMINISTRATION OF [DISTRICT-REQUIRED]
ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS [IN CERTAIN SUBJECT AREAS]. (a) A [In a
subject area for which assessment instruments are administered
under Section 39.023, a] school district may not administer
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023 or locally
required assessment instruments designed to prepare students for
state-administered assessment instruments to any student on more
than 10 percent of the instructional days in any school year. [A
campus-level planning and decision-making committee established
under Section 11.251 may limit the administration of locally
required assessment instruments under this subsection to 10 percent
or a lower percentage of the instructional days in any school year.]
(b) The prohibition prescribed by this section does not
apply to the administration of a college preparation assessment
instrument, an advanced placement test, or an international
baccalaureate examination [, or an assessment instrument
administered under Section 39.023].
(c) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
SECTION 5. Section 39.025, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to students entering the ninth grade during
the 2013-2014 school year or a later school year. For students
entering a grade above ninth grade during the 2013-2014 school
year, Section 39.025, Education Code, as that section existed
before amendment by this Act, applies, and that section is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2013-2014
school year.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.