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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE RESOLUTION 994

2     AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend House Resolution 994 by replacing
3 everything after the heading of the resolution with the
4 following:
 
5     "WHEREAS, The Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English
6 (IMAGE) Test was developed as a proficiency test and not as a
7 test to measure student achievement relative to the Illinois
8 Learning Standards (ILS); and
 
9     WHEREAS, The United States Department of Education has
10 indicated through its peer review process that the IMAGE Test
11 is no longer an acceptable achievement test for English
12 Language Learner (ELL) students; and
 
13     WHEREAS, On February 15, 2008, the State Board of Education
14 received notification from the U.S. Department of Education
15 that the request for flexibility for ELL students made in a

 

 

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1 January 8th letter to the U.S. Department of Eduction was not
2 approved; and
 
3     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education has not produced an
4 acceptable replacement test to administer to students who are
5 learning English; instead, the State Board of Education
6 announced that the IMAGE Test will not be given in 2008 and
7 that students with limited proficiency in English will take the
8 same assessment test as English-speaking students; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Discontinuing the IMAGE Test or failing to
10 implement a similar alternative examination will negatively
11 impact students, schools, and districts throughout this State;
12 assessment data may be swayed by poor test scores of students
13 who simply do not understand English, resulting in schools or
14 districts failing to meet federal standards; and
 
15     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education has offered a short
16 term solution for 2008 that involves accommodations for the
17 Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and the Prairie
18 State Achievement Examination (PSAE), which include timing,
19 scheduling, setting, and presentation; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education has proposed a 5-year
21 English Language Learner Assessment Plan and a cost analysis
22 for the development and implementation of a transadapted ISAT

 

 

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1 for math and science; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The 5-year English Language Learner Assessment
3 Plan is a working document that must be flexible to accommodate
4 changes in the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the
5 peer review process, and new assessment requirements;
6 therefore, be it
 
7     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
9 urge the State Board of Education to be responsible for
10 communicating the lack of comparability of ELL assessment data
11 to that of previous years to stakeholder groups and for
12 denoting this on a school district's school report card under
13 Section 10-17a of the School Code; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to work
15 aggressively to implement the 5-year English Language Learner
16 Assessment Plan; and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That as this plan is implemented, the State Board
18 of Education recognize the importance of a comprehensive
19 communication plan and aggressively pursue a dialogue with
20 legislators, educators, students and their families,
21 communities, and other stakeholder groups; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That we urge the designation of appropriate
2 resources needed to adequately address the assessment of ELL
3 students; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
5 delivered to the State Board of Education and the U.S.
6 Department of Education.".