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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.