State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SB0667

 
                                              LRB9203182NTsbA

 1        AN ACT regarding education.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.   The  School  Code  is  amended  by changing
 5    Sections 2-3.64 and 2-3.64a 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
 9    Board    of   Education   shall   establish   standards   and
10    periodically, in collaboration with local  school  districts,
11    conduct  studies of student performance in the learning areas
12    of fine arts and physical development/health.  Beginning with
13    the 1998-1999 school year, the State Board of Education shall
14    annually test: (i) all pupils enrolled in the 3rd,  5th,  and
15    8th  grades  in  English language arts (reading, writing, and
16    English  grammar)  and  mathematics;  and  (ii)  all   pupils
17    enrolled  in  the  4th  and  7th grades in the biological and
18    physical  sciences  and   the   social   sciences   (history,
19    geography,  civics,  economics,  and  government).  Beginning
20    with the 2004-2005 school year, the State Board of  Education
21    shall annually test all pupils enrolled in the 4th, 6th, 7th,
22    9th,  and  10th  grades  in  English  language arts (reading,
23    writing, and English grammar) and mathematics.   The  General
24    Assembly   shall   appropriate   sufficient   funds  for  the
25    implementation of this testing schedule and  to  ensure  that
26    the  tests  are  of  high  quality,  are aligned to the State
27    Standards, and provide educationally  useful  information  to
28    the  State,  local  educators,  and  the broader public.  The
29    modifications to the State assessment system imposed by  this
30    amendatory  Act  of  the  92nd General Assembly are a service
31    mandate as defined under the State  Mandates  Act.    If  the
 
                            -2-               LRB9203182NTsbA
 1    General  Assembly  does  not appropriate sufficient funds for
 2    the  implementation  of  the  modifications  to   the   State
 3    assessment  system  as  imposed by this amendatory Act of the
 4    92nd General Assembly and as described in this  Section,  the
 5    modifications  to  the  State  assessment system shall not be
 6    implemented.   The  State  Board  of  Education,  with  funds
 7    appropriated by the General Assembly, shall establish a pilot
 8    program for the  voluntary  participation  in  the  2003-2004
 9    school   year   of   any  school  district  that  desires  to
10    participate  in  the  State  tests  not  mandated  until  the
11    2004-2005 school year. The State  Board  of  Education  shall
12    establish the academic standards that are to be applicable to
13    pupils  who  are  subject  to  State tests under this Section
14    beginning with the 1998-1999 school year.  However, the State
15    Board of Education shall not establish any such standards  in
16    final  form  without first providing opportunities for public
17    participation and local input in the development of the final
18    academic standards.   Those  opportunities  shall  include  a
19    well-publicized  period  of  public  comment, public hearings
20    throughout the  State,  and  opportunities  to  file  written
21    comments. Beginning with the 2001-2002 school year, the State
22    Board  of  Education,  in  collaboration  with  the  regional
23    offices  of  education  and  school  districts, shall develop
24    materials and fund activities and professional development to
25    raise  awareness,  knowledge,  and  the  capacity  of   local
26    educators  to  align  school and classroom practices with the
27    State Standards and to use the results of the State tests  to
28    improve   instruction  and  student  learning.   The  General
29    Assembly shall allocate sufficient funds  to  ensure  a  high
30    quality  implementation  of  this effort.  Beginning with the
31    1998-99 school year and  thereafter,  the  State  tests  will
32    identify pupils in the 3rd grade or 5th grade who do not meet
33    the  State  Standards.  If, by performance on the State tests
34    or local assessments or  by  teacher  judgment,  a  student's
 
                            -3-               LRB9203182NTsbA
 1    performance  is  determined  to  be  2  or  more grades below
 2    current  placement,  the  student   shall   be   provided   a
 3    remediation program developed by the district in consultation
 4    with  a  parent  or  guardian.  Such remediation programs may
 5    include,  but  shall  not  be  limited   to,   increased   or
 6    concentrated  instructional  time,  a  remedial summer school
 7    program of not less than  90  hours,  improved  instructional
 8    approaches,   tutorial  sessions,  retention  in  grade,  and
 9    modifications to instructional  materials.   Each  pupil  for
10    whom a remediation program is developed under this subsection
11    shall  be  required  to enroll in and attend whatever program
12    the  district  determines  is  appropriate  for  the   pupil.
13    Districts  may combine students in remediation programs where
14    appropriate and may cooperate with  other  districts  in  the
15    design  and  delivery  of  those  programs.   The  parent  or
16    guardian  of  a  student  required  to  attend  a remediation
17    program under this Section shall be given written  notice  of
18    that  requirement  by  the  school district a reasonable time
19    prior to commencement of the  remediation  program  that  the
20    student  is  to  attend.   The State shall be responsible for
21    providing  school  districts  with  the  new  and  additional
22    funding, under Section 2-3.51.5 or  by  other  or  additional
23    means,  that  is  required to enable the districts to operate
24    remediation programs for  the  pupils  who  are  required  to
25    enroll  in  and  attend  those  programs  under this Section.
26    Every individualized  educational  program  as  described  in
27    Article  14  shall  identify  if the State test or components
28    thereof are appropriate for that student.  For  those  pupils
29    for  whom  the  State  tests  or  components  thereof are not
30    appropriate, the State Board of Education shall develop rules
31    and regulations governing the administration  of  alternative
32    tests   prescribed   within   each  student's  individualized
33    educational program which are appropriate to  the  disability
34    of  each  student.   All  pupils  who are in a State approved
 
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 1    transitional  bilingual  education  program  or  transitional
 2    program of instruction shall participate in the State  tests.
 3    Any  student  who  has  been  enrolled  in  a  State approved
 4    bilingual education program less than 3 academic years  shall
 5    be exempted if the student's lack of English as determined by
 6    an  English  language proficiency test would keep the student
 7    from understanding the  test,  and  that  student's  district
 8    shall  have  an  alternative  test  program in place for that
 9    student.  The State Board of Education shall appoint  a  task
10    force  of  concerned parents, teachers, school administrators
11    and  other  professionals  to  assist  in  identifying   such
12    alternative  tests.   Reasonable accommodations as prescribed
13    by the  State  Board  of  Education  shall  be  provided  for
14    individual  students  in  the  testing  procedure.   All test
15    procedures prescribed by the State Board of  Education  shall
16    require:  (i) that each test used for State and local student
17    testing under this Section identify by name the pupil  taking
18    the  test; (ii) that the name of the pupil taking the test be
19    placed on the test at the time the test is taken; (iii)  that
20    the  results  or scores of each test taken under this Section
21    by a pupil  of  the  school  district  be  reported  to  that
22    district  and  identify  by  name  the pupil who received the
23    reported results or scores; and  (iv)  that  the  results  or
24    scores  of  each  test  taken  under  this  Section  be  made
25    available  to  the  parents  of  the pupil; and (v) that each
26    pupil  taking  the  State  tests  be  given  an  individually
27    identifiable, confidential, and consistent number that  shall
28    be  placed  on  every  State test taken by that pupil for the
29    purposes of showing the pupil's  learning  growth  made  over
30    time  and  aiding  school  districts  in meeting the learning
31    needs  of  each  pupil.   In  addition,  beginning  with  the
32    2000-2001 school year and in each school year thereafter, the
33    highest scores and performance levels attained by  a  student
34    on  the  Prairie  State  Achievement Examination administered
 
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 1    under subsection (c) of this Section shall become part of the
 2    student's permanent  record  and  shall  be  entered  on  the
 3    student's  transcript  pursuant to regulations that the State
 4    Board of Education  shall  promulgate  for  that  purpose  in
 5    accordance  with Section 3 and subsection (e) of Section 2 of
 6    the Illinois School Student Records Act.  Beginning with  the
 7    1998-1999  school  year  and in every school year thereafter,
 8    scores received by students on  the  State  assessment  tests
 9    administered  in  grades  3 through 10 8 shall be placed into
10    students' temporary records.  The State  Board  of  Education
11    shall  establish a common month in each school year for which
12    State testing shall occur to  meet  the  objectives  of  this
13    Section.   However,  if  the schools of a district are closed
14    and classes  are  not  scheduled  during  any  week  that  is
15    established  by  the  State Board of Education as the week of
16    the month when State testing under this Section shall  occur,
17    the school district may administer the required State testing
18    at  any  time up to 2 weeks following the week established by
19    the State Board of Education for the testing, so long as  the
20    school  district  gives  the State Board of Education written
21    notice of its  intention  to  deviate  from  the  established
22    schedule  by December 1 of the school year in which falls the
23    week established by the State  Board  of  Education  for  the
24    testing.   Results from all State tests shall be disseminated
25    to school districts, schools, and the  broader  public  in  a
26    format  that  is  understandable  and  can be used to improve
27    instructional practices.  The results from all  State  tests,
28    except  the writing test, shall be disseminated no later than
29    45 days before the end of the State fiscal year in which  the
30    tests  are  administered.  The results from the State writing
31    test shall be disseminated before the beginning of the school
32    year  following  the  school  year  in  which  the  test   is
33    administered.    It  shall be a goal of the committee created
34    under Section 2-3.64a of this Code to  work  with  the  State
 
                            -6-               LRB9203182NTsbA
 1    Board  of  Education  to  identify  strategies  to  score and
 2    disseminate the results of the State  writing  test  earlier.
 3    The  maximum  time  allowed  for  all actual testing required
 4    under this subsection during the school year shall not exceed
 5    1.5 25 hours per subject per  year  as  allocated  among  the
 6    required tests by the State Board of Education.
 7        (a-5)  All  tests  administered  pursuant to this Section
 8    shall  be  academically  based  and  aligned  to  the   State
 9    Standards.   For  the  purposes of this Section "academically
10    based tests" shall mean tests  consisting  of  questions  and
11    answers  that  are measurable and quantifiable to measure the
12    knowledge, skill, and ability  of  students  in  the  subject
13    matters  covered  by  tests.   The  academically-based annual
14    tests administered pursuant to this Section and their scoring
15    of  academically  based  tests  shall  be  reliable,   valid,
16    unbiased  and  shall meet the guidelines for test development
17    and use prescribed by the American Psychological Association,
18    the National Council of Measurement and Evaluation,  and  the
19    American Educational Research Association. Academically based
20    tests   shall  not  include  assessments  or  evaluations  of
21    attitudes, values, or beliefs,  or  testing  of  personality,
22    self-esteem,  or self-concept. Nothing in this amendatory Act
23    is  intended,  nor  shall  it  be  construed,   to   nullify,
24    supersede,  or  contradict the legislative intent on academic
25    testing expressed during the passage of HB 1005/P.A. 90-296.
26        Beginning in the 1998-1999 school year, the  State  Board
27    of  Education  may,  on  a  pilot basis, include in the State
28    assessments in reading and math at each grade level tested no
29    more than 2 short answer questions, where  students  have  to
30    respond   in   brief   to   questions   or  prompts  or  show
31    computations, rather than select from alternatives  that  are
32    presented.   In  the first year that such questions are used,
33    scores on the short answer questions shall not be reported on
34    an individual student basis but shall be aggregated for  each
 
                            -7-               LRB9203182NTsbA
 1    school  building  in which the tests are given.  State-level,
 2    school, and district scores shall be reported both  with  and
 3    without the results of the short answer questions so that the
 4    effect  of  short  answer  questions  is clearly discernible.
 5    Beginning in the second year of this pilot program, scores on
 6    the short answer questions  shall  be  reported  both  on  an
 7    individual  student  basis  and on a school building basis in
 8    order  to  monitor  the  effects  of  teacher  training   and
 9    curriculum improvements on score results.
10        The  State  Board of Education shall not continue the use
11    of  short  answer  questions  in   the   math   and   reading
12    assessments,  or  extend  the  use of such questions to other
13    State assessments, unless  this  pilot  project  demonstrates
14    that   the  use  of  short  answer  questions  results  in  a
15    statistically significant improvement in student  achievement
16    as measured on the State assessments for math and reading and
17    is justifiable in terms of cost and student performance.
18        (b)  It  shall  be  the  policy of the State to encourage
19    school  districts   to   continuously   assess   test   pupil
20    proficiency  in  the  fundamental learning areas in order to:
21    (i)  provide  timely  information  on  individual   students'
22    performance  relative  to State standards that is adequate to
23    guide   instructional   strategies;   (ii)   improve   future
24    instruction; and (iii) complement,  but  not  duplicate,  the
25    information  provided  by the State assessment testing system
26    described  in   this   Section.    Each   district's   school
27    improvement   plan   must  address  specific  activities  the
28    district intends to implement to assist pupils who by teacher
29    judgment and test results as prescribed in subsection (a)  of
30    this  Section  demonstrate  that  they  are not meeting State
31    Standards or local objectives. Such activities  may  include,
32    but  shall  not be limited to, summer school, extended school
33    day,   special   homework,   tutorial   sessions,    modified
34    instructional   materials,   other   modifications   in   the
 
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 1    instructional  program,  reduced  class  size or retention in
 2    grade.   To  assist  school  districts   in   testing   pupil
 3    proficiency in reading in the primary grades, the State Board
 4    shall   make  optional  reading  inventories  for  diagnostic
 5    purposes available to each school district that requests such
 6    assistance.    Districts   that   administer   the    reading
 7    inventories may develop remediation programs for students who
 8    perform  in the bottom half of the student population.  Those
 9    remediation programs may be funded by moneys  provided  under
10    the  School  Safety  and  Educational Improvement Block Grant
11    Program established under Section 2-3.51.5.  Nothing in  this
12    Section  shall  prevent  school  districts  from implementing
13    testing and remediation  policies  for  grades  not  required
14    under this Section.
15        (c)  Beginning  with  the  2000-2001  school  year,  each
16    school  district  that  operates  a  high  school program for
17    students in grades 9 through 12 shall annually administer the
18    Prairie State Achievement Examination established under  this
19    subsection  to  its students as set forth below.  The Prairie
20    State Achievement Examination shall be developed by the State
21    Board of Education to  measure  student  performance  in  the
22    academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and
23    social   sciences.    The  State  Board  of  Education  shall
24    establish  the  academic  standards  that  are  to  apply  in
25    measuring  student   performance   on   the   Prairie   State
26    Achievement  Examination  including  the  minimum examination
27    score in each area that will qualify a student to  receive  a
28    Prairie State Achievement Award from the State in recognition
29    of the student's excellent performance.  Each school district
30    that  is  subject  to the requirements of this subsection (c)
31    shall afford all students 2 opportunities to take the Prairie
32    State Achievement Examination beginning as late as  practical
33    during  the  second  semester  of  grade  11, but in no event
34    before March 1.  The State Board of Education shall  annually
 
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 1    notify  districts  of  the  weeks  during  which  these  test
 2    administrations   shall   be   required   to   occur.   Every
 3    individualized educational program as described in Article 14
 4    shall identify if the Prairie State  Achievement  Examination
 5    or  components thereof are appropriate for that student. Each
 6    student,  exclusive  of  a   student   whose   individualized
 7    educational program developed under Article 14 identifies the
 8    Prairie  State  Achievement  Examination as inappropriate for
 9    the student, shall be required to  take  the  examination  in
10    grade  11.   For  each  academic  area  the  State  Board  of
11    Education  shall  establish  the score that qualifies for the
12    Prairie State  Achievement  Award  on  that  portion  of  the
13    examination.   Any  student  who  fails  to earn a qualifying
14    score for a Prairie State Achievement Award  in  any  one  or
15    more of the academic areas on the initial test administration
16    or  who  wishes to improve his or her score on any portion of
17    the examination shall be permitted to retake such portion  or
18    portions of the examination during grade 12.  Districts shall
19    inform   their  students  of  the  timelines  and  procedures
20    applicable   to   their   participation   in   every   yearly
21    administration of the Prairie State Achievement  Examination.
22    Students   receiving   special   education   services   whose
23    individualized  educational  programs  identify  the  Prairie
24    State  Achievement  Examination  as  inappropriate  for  them
25    nevertheless shall have the option of taking the examination,
26    which  shall  be administered to those students in accordance
27    with standards adopted  by the State Board  of  Education  to
28    accommodate the respective disabilities of those students.  A
29    student  who successfully completes all other applicable high
30    school graduation requirements but fails to receive  a  score
31    on  the  Prairie State Achievement Examination that qualifies
32    the student for receipt of a Prairie State Achievement  Award
33    shall  nevertheless qualify for the receipt of a regular high
34    school diploma.
 
                            -10-              LRB9203182NTsbA
 1    (Source:  P.A. 90-566, eff.  1-2-98;  90-789,  eff.  8-14-98;
 2    91-283, eff. 7-29-99.)

 3        (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a)
 4        Sec.   2-3.64a.  State   Assessment   System  Policy  and
 5    Implementation   Testing   Review   Committee.    The   State
 6    Superintendent of Education, with the  advice  of  the  Joint
 7    Education  Committee,  shall  appoint  a committee of no more
 8    than 20 consisting of one  parent  parents,  one  student,  4
 9    teachers,  4 school administrators, one school district board
10    member,   2   university-based   assessment   experts,    one
11    representative  of  higher  education, and one representative
12    from the business community.   The  State  Superintendent  of
13    Education  shall  also  be  a  member of this Committee.  The
14    Committee shall be appointed by September 30, 2001.  Half  of
15    the  appointed  members  on  the Committee shall serve 3-year
16    terms, while the other half shall  serve  2-year  terms.  The
17    State  Superintendent  of  Education may reappoint any member
18    upon  completion  of  the  member's  term  and   shall   make
19    appointments  in  a  timely  manner  to fill any resignation.
20    This committee shall have the  responsibility  and  concerned
21    citizens to review the State assessment system, including the
22    Illinois  Goals  and Assessment Program tests administered by
23    the State Board  of  Education,  and  the  efforts  to  raise
24    awareness  and the capacity to implement the State Standards.
25    The Committee shall take any actions necessary to ensure  the
26    assessment   system,  including  the  tests,  administration,
27    reporting,  and   professional   development   described   in
28    subsection  (a)  of  Section  2-3.64 of this Code, is of high
29    quality and educationally  useful  and  understandable.   The
30    State   Superintendent   of   Education   shall  appoint  the
31    Committee's chairperson, from among the appointed members, to
32    serve for a 2-year term. The Committee shall  select  one  of
33    the  parent  representatives  as  its chairman. The Committee
 
                            -11-              LRB9203182NTsbA
 1    shall meet on an ongoing basis to review the quality  of  the
 2    content,  and  design,  implementation,  and reporting of the
 3    tests (including whether the requirements of subsection (a-5)
 4    of Section 2-3.64 have been met), the time and money expended
 5    at the local and state levels to prepare for  and  administer
 6    the  tests,  the  collective results of the tests as measured
 7    against the stated purpose of  testing  student  performance,
 8    and  other  issues  involving  the  tests  identified  by the
 9    Committee.  The Committee shall be  jointly  staffed  by  the
10    State  Board  of  Education  and a university selected by the
11    Committee.  Funding for the staffing shall be included in the
12    State Board of Education's assessment budget.  The  Committee
13    shall  make periodic reports and recommendations to the State
14    Board of Education, the broader  public,  Superintendent  and
15    the  General Assembly concerning the overall State assessment
16    system, including the State tests and related issues.
17    (Source: P.A. 89-184, eff. 7-19-95; 90-789, eff. 8-14-98.)

18        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act  takes  effect  on
19    July 1, 2001.

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