MICHIGAN MERIT EXAM

House Bills 6412 and 6413

Sponsor:  Rep. Gillard

Committee:  Appropriations

Committee Analysis

SUMMARY:

House Bill 6412

House Bill 6412 would align the language in the Revised School Code to match changes made to the School Aid Act in PA 268 of 2008 (SB 1107).   Sec. 104b of the School Aid Act was amended to do the following:

·                      eliminate retakes of the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) except for the ACT portion of the assessment.

·                      require all non-free lunch eligible students to pay for retakes of the ACT.

·                      restrict MME writing exams to that which is included in the ACT.

·                      require that all three WorkKeys components be administered as part of the MME. 

·                      require the Department of Education to identify specific grade level content expectations to be taught before and after the middle of 11th grade, so that teachers will know what content will be covered within the MME.

House Bill 6413

Because students will no longer be allowed to retake the full MME, House Bill 6413 would amend the Michigan Promise Grant Act to clarify that a "state assessment test" for the purposes of this act would include the ACT for a student who had already taken the complete MME.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The FY 2008-09 School Aid appropriation for education assessments was reduced by $2 million as a result of the above changes.

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Mary Ann Cleary

                                                                                                                           Bethany Wicksall

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.