HB-4142, As Passed House, February 15, 2005

SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 4142

     A bill to amend 1970 PA 38, entitled

"An act to provide for assessment and remedial assistance programs

of students in reading, mathematics and vocational education,"

by amending section 2 (MCL 388.1082).

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 2. (1) The statewide assessment program of educational

progress shall cover all students annually  at two in at least 2

elementary and middle school grade levels in public schools. If the

federal government requires assessments at additional grade levels

under the no child left behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110, the

superintendent of public instruction shall ensure that this state

complies with those requirements.

     (2) The  department of education, hereinafter referred to as

the department, superintendent of public instruction shall develop

and conduct the assessment program  ,  and may utilize the

assistance of appropriate testing organizations  and/or or testing

specialist specialists.  The program shall expand the current

basic skills testing inventory in grades 4 and 7 coordinated by the

department. Beginning with assessments conducted in the 2005-2006

school year, all of the following apply to the assessment program:

     (a) The superintendent of public instruction shall ensure that

any contractor used for scoring an assessment instrument supplies

an individual report for each student that will identify for the

student's parents and teachers whether the student met expectations

or failed to meet expectations for each standard, to allow the

student's parents and teachers to assess and remedy problems before

the student moves to the next grade.

     (b) The superintendent of public instruction shall ensure that

any contractor used for scoring, developing, or processing an

assessment instrument meets quality management standards commonly

used in the assessment industry, including at least meeting level 2

of the capability maturity model developed by the software

engineering institute of Carnegie Mellon university for the 2005-

2006 school year assessments and at least meeting level 3 of the

capability maturity model for subsequent assessments.

     (c) The superintendent of public instruction shall ensure that

any contract it enters into for scoring, administering, or

developing an assessment instrument includes specific deadlines for

all steps of the assessment process, including, but not limited to,

deadlines for the correct testing materials to be supplied to

schools and for the correct results to be returned to schools, and

includes penalties for noncompliance with these deadlines.

     (d) The superintendent of public instruction shall ensure that

the assessment instruments meet all of the following:

     (i) Are designed to test students on grade level content

expectations in all subjects tested for each grade level tested.

     (ii) Comply with requirements of the no child left behind act

of 2001, Public Law 107-110.

     (iii) Are consistent with the code of fair testing practices in

education prepared by the joint committee on testing practices of

the American psychological association.

     (iv) Are factually accurate. If the superintendent of public

instruction determines that a question is not factually accurate

and should be removed from an assessment instrument, the state

board and the superintendent shall ensure that the question is

removed from the assessment instrument.

     (3) The program shall assess competencies in the basic skills

and collect and utilize other relevant information essential to the

assessment program.

     (4) Based on information from the program, the public schools

shall identify students  shall be identified  who have

extraordinary need for assistance to improve their competence in

the basic skills and shall identify students who have demonstrated

extraordinary competence in multiple subject areas who should be

recommended for advancement.

     (5) Information from the program shall be given to each school

as soon as possible to assist it in its efforts to improve the

achievement of students in the basic skills.