83R2787 CAS-F
By: Ratliff H.B. No. 670
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state and school district 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. [Each school district shall
adopt a policy that requires a student's performance on the
end-of-course assessment instrument to account for 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 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 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 Subsection (a-1) and adding Subsection (a-4) to read as
follows:
(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 any nationally recognized norm-referenced [another]
assessment instrument used by institutions of higher education to
award course credit based on satisfactory performance on the
[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 to satisfy [as a factor in determining
whether the student satisfies] the requirements concerning an
end-of-course assessment instrument in an equivalent subject as
prescribed by [of] Subsection (a), including the cumulative score
requirement of that subsection. The commissioner shall [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 to satisfy [as a factor in determining
whether the student satisfies] the requirements concerning an
end-of-course assessment instrument in an equivalent subject as
prescribed by [of] Subsection (a), including the cumulative score
requirement of that subsection. A student who fails to perform
satisfactorily on a test or other assessment instrument authorized
under this subsection, other than a Preliminary Scholastic
Assessment Test (PSAT) or a preliminary American College Test
(ACT), may retake that assessment instrument for purposes of this
subsection or may take the appropriate end-of-course assessment
instrument. A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on a
Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) or a preliminary
American College Test (ACT) must take the appropriate end-of-course
assessment instrument. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary for the administration of this subsection.
(a-4) The commissioner shall determine a method by which a
student's successful completion of a dual credit course, as
determined in accordance with commissioner rule, provided through
an institution of higher education, may be used to satisfy the
requirements concerning an end-of-course assessment instrument in
an equivalent subject as prescribed by Subsection (a), including
the cumulative score requirement of that subsection. A student who
fails to successfully complete a dual credit course may retake the
course in an effort to successfully complete the course for
purposes of this subsection or may take the appropriate
end-of-course assessment instrument. The commissioner shall adopt
rules as necessary for the administration of this subsection.
SECTION 4. Section 39.026, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.026. LOCAL OPTION. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this title, in place of [In addition to] the assessment
instruments adopted by the agency and administered by the State
Board of Education, a school district board of trustees may adopt
and provide for administration by district employees of
[administer] criterion-referenced or norm-referenced assessment
instruments[, or both,] at any grade level for which administration
of assessment instruments is required under Section 39.023. A
norm-referenced assessment instrument adopted and administered
under this section must be economical, nationally recognized, and
state-approved. A district shall document and report to the agency
the results of assessment instruments adopted and administered
under this section. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary for the administration of this section, including rules
for documenting and reporting results of assessment instruments
adopted and administered under this section and for using the
assessment instruments for purposes of this code in place of the
assessment instruments otherwise required under this subchapter.
SECTION 5. Section 39.023(o), Education Code, is repealed.
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.