96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB6893

 

Introduced , by Rep. LaShawn K. Ford

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.64  from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.64

    Amends the School Code. With respect to students in grades kindergarten, one, 2, 4, 5, and 7, prohibits the Chicago school district from using a State test that is designed for students who are in a grade that is more than 2 grade levels higher than the grade the student is currently in or was in when he or she previously took a State test, whichever is applicable for the student's particular grade.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
52-3.64 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.64)
7    Sec. 2-3.64. State goals and assessment.
8    (a) Beginning in the 1998-1999 school year, the State Board
9of Education shall establish standards and periodically, in
10collaboration with local school districts, conduct studies of
11student performance in the learning areas of fine arts and
12physical development/health.
13    Beginning with the 1998-1999 school year until the
142004-2005 school year, the State Board of Education shall
15annually test: (i) all pupils enrolled in the 3rd, 5th, and 8th
16grades in English language arts (reading, writing, and English
17grammar) and mathematics; and (ii) all pupils enrolled in the
184th and 7th grades in the biological and physical sciences and
19the social sciences (history, geography, civics, economics,
20and government). Unless the testing required to be implemented
21no later than the 2005-2006 school year under this subsection
22(a) is implemented for the 2004-2005 school year, for the
232004-2005 school year, the State Board of Education shall test:

 

 

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1(i) all pupils enrolled in the 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades in
2English language arts (reading and English grammar) and
3mathematics and (ii) all pupils enrolled in the 4th and 7th
4grades in the biological and physical sciences. The maximum
5time allowed for all actual testing required under this
6paragraph shall not exceed 25 hours, as allocated among the
7required tests by the State Board of Education, across all
8grades tested.
9    Beginning no later than the 2005-2006 school year, the
10State Board of Education shall annually test: (i) all pupils
11enrolled in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in
12reading and mathematics and (ii) all pupils enrolled in the 4th
13and 7th grades in the biological and physical sciences. In
14addition, the State Board of Education shall test (1) all
15pupils enrolled in the 5th and 8th grades in writing during the
162006-2007 school year; (2) all pupils enrolled in the 5th, 6th,
17and 8th grades in writing during the 2007-2008 school year; and
18(3) all pupils enrolled in the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th grades in
19writing during the 2008-2009 school year and each school year
20thereafter. After the addition of grades and change in subjects
21as delineated in this paragraph and including whatever other
22tests that may be approved from time to time no later than the
232005-2006 school year, the maximum time allowed for all State
24testing in grades 3 through 8 shall not exceed 38 hours across
25those grades.
26    Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, the State Board

 

 

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1of Education shall not test pupils under this subsection (a) in
2physical development and health, fine arts, and the social
3sciences (history, geography, civics, economics, and
4government). The State Board of Education shall not test pupils
5under this subsection (a) in writing during the 2005-2006
6school year.
7    The State Board of Education shall establish the academic
8standards that are to be applicable to pupils who are subject
9to State tests under this Section beginning with the 1998-1999
10school year. However, the State Board of Education shall not
11establish any such standards in final form without first
12providing opportunities for public participation and local
13input in the development of the final academic standards. Those
14opportunities shall include a well-publicized period of public
15comment, public hearings throughout the State, and
16opportunities to file written comments. Beginning with the
171998-99 school year and thereafter, the State tests will
18identify pupils in the 3rd grade or 5th grade who do not meet
19the State standards.
20    If, by performance on the State tests or local assessments
21or by teacher judgment, a student's performance is determined
22to be 2 or more grades below current placement, the student
23shall be provided a remediation program developed by the
24district in consultation with a parent or guardian. Such
25remediation programs may include, but shall not be limited to,
26increased or concentrated instructional time, a remedial

 

 

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1summer school program of not less than 90 hours, improved
2instructional approaches, tutorial sessions, retention in
3grade, and modifications to instructional materials. Each
4pupil for whom a remediation program is developed under this
5subsection shall be required to enroll in and attend whatever
6program the district determines is appropriate for the pupil.
7Districts may combine students in remediation programs where
8appropriate and may cooperate with other districts in the
9design and delivery of those programs. The parent or guardian
10of a student required to attend a remediation program under
11this Section shall be given written notice of that requirement
12by the school district a reasonable time prior to commencement
13of the remediation program that the student is to attend. The
14State shall be responsible for providing school districts with
15the new and additional funding, under Section 2-3.51.5 or by
16other or additional means, that is required to enable the
17districts to operate remediation programs for the pupils who
18are required to enroll in and attend those programs under this
19Section. Every individualized educational program as described
20in Article 14 shall identify if the State test or components
21thereof are appropriate for that student. The State Board of
22Education shall develop rules and regulations governing the
23administration of alternative tests prescribed within each
24student's individualized educational program which are
25appropriate to the disability of each student.
26    All pupils who are in a State approved transitional

 

 

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1bilingual education program or transitional program of
2instruction shall participate in the State tests. The time
3allotted to take the State tests, however, may be extended as
4determined by the State Board of Education by rule. Any student
5who has been enrolled in a State approved bilingual education
6program less than 3 cumulative academic years may take an
7accommodated Limited English Proficient student academic
8content assessment, as determined by the State Board of
9Education, if the student's lack of English as determined by an
10English language proficiency test would keep the student from
11understanding the regular State test. If the school district
12determines, on a case-by-case individual basis, that a Limited
13English Proficient student academic content assessment would
14likely yield more accurate and reliable information on what the
15student knows and can do, the school district may make a
16determination to assess the student using a Limited English
17Proficient student academic content assessment for a period
18that does not exceed 2 additional consecutive years, provided
19that the student has not yet reached a level of English
20language proficiency sufficient to yield valid and reliable
21information on what the student knows and can do on the regular
22State test.
23    Reasonable accommodations as prescribed by the State Board
24of Education shall be provided for individual students in the
25testing procedure. All test procedures prescribed by the State
26Board of Education shall require: (i) that each test used for

 

 

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1State and local student testing under this Section identify by
2name the pupil taking the test; (ii) that the name of the pupil
3taking the test be placed on the test at the time the test is
4taken; (iii) that the results or scores of each test taken
5under this Section by a pupil of the school district be
6reported to that district and identify by name the pupil who
7received the reported results or scores; and (iv) that the
8results or scores of each test taken under this Section be made
9available to the parents of the pupil. In addition, in each
10school year the scores attained by a student on the Prairie
11State Achievement Examination administered under subsection
12(c) of this Section and any Prairie State Achievement Awards
13received by the student shall become part of the student's
14permanent record and shall be entered on the student's
15transcript pursuant to regulations that the State Board of
16Education shall promulgate for that purpose in accordance with
17Section 3 and subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Illinois
18School Student Records Act. Beginning with the 1998-1999 school
19year and in every school year thereafter, scores received by
20students on the State assessment tests administered in grades 3
21through 8 shall be placed into students' temporary records.
22    The State Board of Education shall establish a period of
23time, to be referred to as the State test window, in each
24school year for which State testing shall occur to meet the
25objectives of this Section. However, if the schools of a
26district are closed and classes are not scheduled during any

 

 

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1week that is established by the State Board of Education as the
2State test window, the school district may (at the discretion
3of the State Board of Education) move its State test window one
4week earlier or one week later than the established State test
5window, so long as the school district gives the State Board of
6Education written notice of its intention to deviate from the
7established schedule by December 1 of the school year in which
8falls the State test window established by the State Board of
9Education for the testing.
10    (a-5) All tests administered pursuant to this Section shall
11be academically based. For the purposes of this Section
12"academically based tests" shall mean tests consisting of
13questions and answers that are measurable and quantifiable to
14measure the knowledge, skill, and ability of students in the
15subject matters covered by tests. The scoring of academically
16based tests shall be reliable, valid, unbiased and shall meet
17the guidelines for test development and use prescribed by the
18American Psychological Association, the National Council of
19Measurement and Evaluation, and the American Educational
20Research Association. Academically based tests shall not
21include assessments or evaluations of attitudes, values, or
22beliefs, or testing of personality, self-esteem, or
23self-concept. Nothing in this amendatory Act is intended, nor
24shall it be construed, to nullify, supersede, or contradict the
25legislative intent on academic testing expressed during the
26passage of HB 1005/P.A. 90-296. Nothing in this Section is

 

 

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1intended, nor shall it be construed, to nullify, supersede, or
2contradict the legislative intent on academic testing
3expressed in the preamble of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
4General Assembly.
5    The State Board of Education shall monitor the use of short
6answer questions in the math and reading assessments or in
7other assessments in order to demonstrate that the use of short
8answer questions results in a statistically significant
9improvement in student achievement as measured on the State
10assessments for math and reading or on other State assessments
11and is justifiable in terms of cost and student performance.
12    (b) It shall be the policy of the State to encourage school
13districts to continuously test pupil proficiency in the
14fundamental learning areas in order to: (i) provide timely
15information on individual students' performance relative to
16State standards that is adequate to guide instructional
17strategies; (ii) improve future instruction; and (iii)
18complement the information provided by the State testing system
19described in this Section. To assist school districts in
20testing pupil proficiency in reading in the primary grades, the
21State Board shall make optional reading inventories for
22diagnostic purposes available to each school district that
23requests such assistance. Districts that administer the
24reading inventories may develop remediation programs for
25students who perform in the bottom half of the student
26population. Those remediation programs may be funded by moneys

 

 

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1provided under the School Safety and Educational Improvement
2Block Grant Program established under Section 2-3.51.5.
3    (c) Beginning with the 2000-2001 school year, each school
4district that operates a high school program for students in
5grades 9 through 12 shall annually administer the Prairie State
6Achievement Examination established under this subsection to
7its students as set forth below. The Prairie State Achievement
8Examination shall be developed by the State Board of Education
9to measure student performance in the academic areas of
10reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social sciences.
11Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, however, the State
12Board of Education shall not test a student in the social
13sciences (history, geography, civics, economics, and
14government) as part of the Prairie State Achievement
15Examination unless the student is retaking the Prairie State
16Achievement Examination in the fall of 2004. In addition, the
17State Board of Education shall not test a student in writing as
18part of the Prairie State Achievement Examination during the
192005-2006 school year. The State Board of Education shall
20establish the academic standards that are to apply in measuring
21student performance on the Prairie State Achievement
22Examination including the minimum examination score in each
23area that will qualify a student to receive a Prairie State
24Achievement Award from the State in recognition of the
25student's excellent performance. Each school district that is
26subject to the requirements of this subsection (c) shall afford

 

 

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1all students one opportunity to take the Prairie State
2Achievement Examination beginning as late as practical during
3the spring semester of grade 11, but in no event before March
41. The State Board of Education shall annually notify districts
5of the weeks during which this test administration shall be
6required to occur. Every individualized educational program as
7described in Article 14 shall identify if the Prairie State
8Achievement Examination or components thereof are appropriate
9for that student. Each student, exclusive of a student whose
10individualized educational program developed under Article 14
11identifies the Prairie State Achievement Examination as
12inappropriate for the student, shall be required to take the
13examination in grade 11. For each academic area the State Board
14of Education shall establish the score that qualifies for the
15Prairie State Achievement Award on that portion of the
16examination. Districts shall inform their students of the
17timelines and procedures applicable to their participation in
18every yearly administration of the Prairie State Achievement
19Examination. Students receiving special education services
20whose individualized educational programs identify the Prairie
21State Achievement Examination as inappropriate for them
22nevertheless shall have the option of taking the examination,
23which shall be administered to those students in accordance
24with standards adopted by the State Board of Education to
25accommodate the respective disabilities of those students. A
26student who successfully completes all other applicable high

 

 

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1school graduation requirements but fails to receive a score on
2the Prairie State Achievement Examination that qualifies the
3student for receipt of a Prairie State Achievement Award shall
4nevertheless qualify for the receipt of a regular high school
5diploma. In no case, however, shall a student receive a regular
6high school diploma without taking the Prairie State
7Achievement Examination, unless the student is exempted from
8taking the Prairie State Achievement Examination under this
9subsection (c) because (i) the student's individualized
10educational program developed under Article 14 of this Code
11identifies the Prairie State Achievement Examination as
12inappropriate for the student, (ii) the student is exempt due
13to the student's lack of English language proficiency under
14subsection (a) of this Section, (iii) the student is enrolled
15in a program of Adult and Continuing Education as defined in
16the Adult Education Act, (iv) the school district is not
17required to test the individual student for purposes of
18accountability under federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
19requirements, or (v) the student is otherwise identified by the
20State Board of Education through rules as being exempt from the
21assessment.
22    (d) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, all schools
23in this State that are part of the sample drawn by the National
24Center for Education Statistics, in collaboration with their
25school districts and the State Board of Education, shall
26administer the biennial State academic assessments of 4th and

 

 

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18th grade reading and mathematics under the National Assessment
2of Educational Progress carried out under Section 411(b)(2)
3m11(b)(2) of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20
4U.S.C. 9010) if the Secretary of Education pays the costs of
5administering the assessments.
6    (e) Beginning no later than the 2005-2006 school year,
7subject to available federal funds to this State for the
8purpose of student assessment, the State Board of Education
9shall provide additional tests and assessment resources that
10may be used by school districts for local diagnostic purposes.
11These tests and resources shall include without limitation
12additional high school writing, physical development and
13health, and fine arts assessments. The State Board of Education
14shall annually distribute a listing of these additional tests
15and resources, using funds available from appropriations made
16for student assessment purposes.
17    (f) For the assessment and accountability purposes of this
18Section, "all pupils" includes those pupils enrolled in a
19public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school,
20or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or
21board of control, a charter school operating in compliance with
22the Charter Schools Law, a school operated by a regional office
23of education under Section 13A-3 of this Code, or a public
24school administered by a local public agency or the Department
25of Human Services.
26    (g) With respect to students in grades kindergarten, one,

 

 

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12, 4, 5, and 7, a school district organized under Article 34 of
2this Code is prohibited from using a State test under this
3Section that is designed for students who are in a grade that
4is more than 2 grade levels higher than the grade the student
5is currently in or was in when he or she previously took a
6State test under this Section, whichever is applicable for the
7student's particular grade.
8(Source: P.A. 96-430, eff. 8-13-09; revised 11-3-09.)