SENATE BILL No. 608

July 11, 2001, Introduced by Senators PETERS, SMITH, BYRUM, DE BEAUSSAERT,

DINGELL, YOUNG, SCOTT, MURPHY, CHERRY, KOIVISTO, MILLER, HART

and EMERSON and referred to the Committee on Education.

A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled

"The revised school code,"

by amending sections 1279 and 1279c (MCL 380.1279 and 380.1279c),

section 1279 as amended by 1997 PA 175 and section 1279c as

amended by 1995 PA 289.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

1 Sec. 1279. (1) The board of a school district or public

2 school academy shall administer state assessments to high school

3 pupils in the subject areas of communications skills, mathemat-

4 ics, science, and, beginning with pupils scheduled to graduate in

5 2000, social studies. The board shall include on the pupil's

6 high school transcript all of the following:

7 (a) For each high school graduate who has completed a

8 subject area assessment under this section, the pupil's scaled

9 score on the assessment.

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1 (b) If the pupil's scaled score on a subject area assessment

2 falls within the range required under subsection (2) for a cate-

3 gory established under subsection (2), an indication that the

4 pupil has achieved state endorsement for that subject area.

5 (c) The number of school days the pupil was in attendance at

6 school each school year during high school and the total number

7 of school days in session for each of those school years.

8 (2) The department shall develop scaled scores for reporting

9 subject area assessment results for each of the subject areas

10 under this section. Subject to approval by the state board, the

11 superintendent of public instruction shall establish 3 categories

12 for each subject area indicating basic competency, above average,

13 and outstanding, and shall establish the scaled score range

14 required for each category. The department shall design and dis-

15 tribute to school districts, intermediate school districts,

16 public school academies, and nonpublic schools a simple and con-

17 cise document that describes these categories in each subject

18 area and indicates the scaled score ranges for each category in

19 each subject area. A school district or public school academy

20 may award a high school diploma to a pupil who successfully com-

21 pletes local school district or public school academy require-

22 ments established in accordance with state law for high school

23 graduation, regardless of whether the pupil is eligible for any

24 state endorsement.

25 (3) The assessments administered for the purposes of this

26 section shall be administered to pupils during the last 30 school

27 days of grade 11. The department shall ensure that the

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1 assessments are scored and the scores are returned to pupils,

2 their parents or legal guardians, and school districts or public

3 school academies not later than the beginning of the pupil's

4 first semester of grade 12. Not later than fall 1999, the THE

5 department shall arrange for those portions of a pupil's assess-

6 ment that cannot be scored mechanically to be scored in Michigan

7 by persons who are Michigan teachers, retired Michigan teachers,

8 or Michigan school administrators and who have been trained in

9 scoring the assessments. The returned scores shall indicate the

10 pupil's scaled score for each subject area assessment, the range

11 of scaled scores for each subject area, and the range of scaled

12 scores required for each category established under

13 subsection (2). In reporting the scores to pupils, parents, and

14 schools, the department shall provide specific, meaningful, and

15 timely feedback on the pupil's performance on the assessment.

16 (4) For each pupil who does not achieve state endorsement in

17 1 or more subject areas, the board of the school district or

18 public school academy in which the pupil is enrolled shall pro-

19 vide that there be at least 1 meeting attended by at least the

20 pupil and a member of the school district's or public school

21 academy's staff or a local or intermediate school district con-

22 sultant who is proficient in the measurement and evaluation of

23 pupils. The school district or public school academy may provide

24 the meeting as a group meeting for pupils in similar

25 circumstances. If the pupil is a minor, the school district or

26 public school academy shall invite and encourage the pupil's

27 parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis to attend the

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1 meeting and shall mail a notice of the meeting to the pupil's

2 parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis. The purpose

3 of this meeting and any subsequent meeting under this subsection

4 shall be to determine an educational program for the pupil

5 designed to have the pupil achieve state endorsement in each

6 subject area in which he or she did not achieve state

7 endorsement. In addition, a school district or public school

8 academy may provide for subsequent meetings with the pupil con-

9 ducted by a high school counselor or teacher designated by the

10 pupil's high school principal, and shall invite and encourage the

11 pupil's parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis to

12 attend the subsequent meetings. The school district or public

13 school academy shall provide special programs for the pupil or

14 develop a program using the educational programs regularly pro-

15 vided by the district unless the board of the school district or

16 public school academy decides otherwise and publishes and

17 explains its decision in a public justification report.

18 (5) A pupil who wants to repeat an assessment administered

19 under this section may repeat the assessment, without charge to

20 the pupil, in the next school year or after graduation. An indi-

21 vidual may repeat an assessment at any time the school district

22 or public school academy administers an applicable assessment

23 instrument or during a retesting period under subsection (7).

24 (6) The department shall ensure that the length of the

25 assessments used for the purposes of this section and the com-

26 bined total time necessary to administer all of the assessments,

27 including social studies, are the shortest possible that will

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1 still maintain the degree of reliability and validity of the

2 assessment results determined necessary by the department. The

3 department shall ensure that the maximum total combined length of

4 time that schools are required to set aside for administration of

5 all of the assessments used for the purposes of this section,

6 including social studies, does not exceed 8 hours. However, this

7 subsection does not limit the amount of time that individuals may

8 have to complete the assessments.

9 (7) The department shall establish, schedule, and arrange

10 periodic retesting periods throughout the year for individuals

11 who desire to repeat an assessment under this section. The

12 department shall coordinate the arrangements for administering

13 the repeat assessments and shall ensure that the retesting is

14 made available at least within each intermediate school district

15 and, to the extent possible, within each school district.

16 (8) A school district or public school academy shall provide

17 accommodations to a pupil with disabilities for the assessments

18 required under this section, as provided under section 504 of

19 title V of the rehabilitation act of 1973, Public Law 93-112, 29

20 U.S.C. 794; subtitle A of title II of the Americans with disabil-

21 ities act of 1990, Public Law 101-336, 42 U.S.C. 12131 to 12134;

22 and the implementing regulations for those statutes.

23 (9) For the purposes of this section, the state board shall

24 develop or select and approve assessment instruments to measure

25 pupil performance in communications skills, mathematics, social

26 studies, and science. The assessment instruments shall be based

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1 on the state board model core academic content standards

2 objectives.

3 (10) All assessment instruments developed or selected and

4 approved by the state under any statute or rule for a purpose

5 related to K to 12 education shall be objective-oriented and con-

6 sistent with the state board model core academic content stan-

7 dards objectives.

8 (11) A person who has graduated from high school after 1996

9 and who has not previously taken an assessment under this section

10 may take an assessment used for the purposes of this section,

11 without charge to the person, at the school district from which

12 he or she graduated from high school at any time that school dis-

13 trict administers the assessment or during a retesting period

14 scheduled under subsection (7) and have his or her scaled score

15 on the assessment included on his or her high school transcript.

16 If the person's scaled score on a subject area assessment falls

17 within the range required under subsection (2) for a category

18 established under subsection (2), the school district shall also

19 indicate on the person's high school transcript that the person

20 has achieved state endorsement for that subject area.

21 (12) Not later than July 1 of each year, until 2000, the

22 department shall submit a comprehensive report to the legislature

23 on the status of the assessment program under this section. The

24 report shall include at least all of the following:

25 (a) The annual pupil assessment data.

26 (b) A description of the feedback provided to pupils,

27 parents, and schools.

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1 (c) A description of any significant alterations made in the

2 program by the department or state board during the period cov-

3 ered by the report.

4 (d) Any recommendations by the department or state board for

5 legislative changes to the program.

6 (e) An update of the reports of the assessment advisory com-

7 mittees of the state board.

8 (13) Pupils scheduled to graduate in 1998 who took the

9 assessments used for the purposes of this section during the

10 1996-97 school year may repeat 1 or more of the assessments

11 during the 1997-98 school year. The department, in cooperation

12 with school districts and public school academies, shall make

13 arrangements for repeat assessments to be available for these

14 pupils in each school district that operates a high school during

15 the 1997-98 school year in time for these pupils to repeat the

16 assessments before graduation. The repeat assessments may be

17 administered at times other than regular school hours.

18 (13) (14) A child who is a student in a nonpublic school

19 or home school may take an assessment under this section. To

20 take an assessment, a child who is a student in a home school

21 shall contact the school district in which the child resides, and

22 that school district shall administer the assessment, or the

23 child may take the assessment at a nonpublic school if allowed by

24 the nonpublic school. Upon request from a nonpublic school, the

25 department shall supply assessments and the nonpublic school may

26 administer the assessment.

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1 (14) (15) The purpose of the assessment under this section

2 is to assess pupil performance in mathematics, science, social

3 studies, and communication arts for the purpose of improving aca-

4 demic achievement and establishing a statewide standard of

5 competency. The assessment under this section provides a common

6 measure of data that will contribute to the improvement of

7 Michigan schools' curriculum and instruction by encouraging

8 alignment with Michigan's curriculum framework standards. These

9 standards are based upon the expectations of what pupils should

10 know and be able to do by the end of grade 11.

11 (15) (16) Not later than 90 days after the effective date

12 of this subsection, the state board shall appoint an 11-member

13 assessment administration advisory committee to advise the state

14 board on Michigan education assessment program (MEAP) tests and

15 on the assessments used for state endorsements under this

16 section. This advisory committee shall be composed of represen-

17 tatives of school districts, intermediate school districts,

18 school administrators, teachers, and parents, with the appoint-

19 ments reflecting the geographic and population diversity of

20 school districts in this state. The representatives of school

21 districts and intermediate school districts shall be persons who

22 are expert in testing or test administration. This advisory com-

23 mittee shall evaluate these tests and assessments and make recom-

24 mendations to the state board and department on issues related to

25 administration, scoring, and reporting and use of results of

26 these tests and assessments, including, but not limited to,

27 length of the tests and assessments; the time of the testing

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1 period during the school year; feedback provided to pupils,

2 parents, and schools; accurate and relevant reporting of results

3 to the general public; the selection of a retesting period and

4 procedures and arrangements for repeating tests or assessments;

5 local scoring and other general issues regarding scoring of tests

6 and assessments; categories of scoring on the MEAP tests and cat-

7 egories of state endorsement under this section; and professional

8 development for teachers to assist in preparing pupils to have

9 the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed on the tests and

10 assessments.

11 (16) (17) As used in this section:

12 (a) "Communications skills" means reading and writing.

13 (b) "Social studies" means geography, history, economics,

14 and American government.

15 Sec. 1279c. The state board, THE DEPARTMENT, the board of

16 each school district, and each public school academy shall ensure

17 that the Michigan educational assessment program (MEAP) tests are

18 not used to measure pupils' values or attitudes.

19 Enacting section 1. This amendatory act is intended to

20 return to the superintendent of public instruction, the depart-

21 ment of education, and the state board of education certain func-

22 tions relating to state assessments transferred to the department

23 of treasury under Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7, MCL

24 388.995.

25 Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take

26 effect unless all of the following bills of the 91st Legislature

27 are enacted into law:

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1 (a) Senate Bill No. 607.

2

3 (b) Senate Bill No. 609.

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5 (c) Senate Bill No. 610.

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