September 22, 2004, Introduced by Reps. Palmer and Voorhees and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending sections 1279 and 1279d (MCL 380.1279 and 380.1279d),
section 1279 as amended by 1997 PA 175 and section 1279d as added
by 2002 PA 640.
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,
4 mathematics, science, and
, beginning with pupils scheduled to
5 graduate in 2000, social studies. The board shall include on
6 the pupil's high school transcript all of the following:
7 (a) For each high school graduate who has completed a subject
8 area assessment under this section, the pupil's scaled score on
9 the assessment.
1 (b) If the pupil's scaled score on a subject area assessment
2 falls within the range required under subsection (2) for a
3 category 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 department
shall establish
12 3 categories for each subject area indicating basic competency,
13 above average, and outstanding, and shall establish the scaled
14 score range required for each category. The department shall
15 design and distribute to school districts, intermediate school
16 districts, public school academies, and nonpublic schools a
17 simple and concise document that describes these categories in
18 each subject area and indicates the scaled score ranges for each
19 category in each subject area. A school district or public
20 school academy may award a high school diploma to a pupil who
21 successfully completes local school district or public school
22 academy requirements established in accordance with state law for
23 high school graduation, regardless of whether the pupil is
24 eligible for any state endorsement.
25 (3) The assessments administered for the purposes of this
26 section shall be
administered to pupils during the last 30 90
27 school days of grade 11. The department shall ensure that the
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
6 assessment that cannot be scored mechanically to be scored in
7 Michigan by persons who are Michigan teachers, retired Michigan
8 teachers, or Michigan school administrators and who have been
9 trained in scoring the assessments. The returned scores shall
10 indicate the pupil's scaled score for each subject area
11 assessment, the range of scaled scores for each subject area, and
12 the range of scaled scores required for each category established
13 under subsection (2). In reporting the scores to pupils,
14 parents, and schools, the department shall provide specific,
15 meaningful, and timely feedback on the pupil's performance on the
16 assessment.
17 (4) For each pupil who does not achieve state endorsement in
18 1 or more subject areas, the board of the school district or
19 public school academy in which the pupil is enrolled shall
20 provide that there be at least 1 meeting attended by at least the
21 pupil and a member of the school district's or public school
22 academy's staff or a local or intermediate school district
23 consultant who is proficient in the measurement and evaluation of
24 pupils. The school district or public school academy may provide
25 the meeting as a group meeting for pupils in similar
26 circumstances. If the pupil is a minor, the school district or
27 public school academy shall invite and encourage the pupil's
1 parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis to attend the
2 meeting and shall mail a notice of the meeting to the pupil's
3 parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis. The purpose
4 of this meeting and any subsequent meeting under this subsection
5 shall be to determine an educational program for the pupil
6 designed to have the pupil achieve state endorsement in each
7 subject area in which he or she did not achieve state
8 endorsement. In addition, a school district or public school
9 academy may provide for subsequent meetings with the pupil
10 conducted by a high school counselor or teacher designated by the
11 pupil's high school principal, and shall invite and encourage the
12 pupil's parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis to
13 attend the subsequent meetings. The school district or public
14 school academy shall provide special programs for the pupil or
15 develop a program using the educational programs regularly
16 provided by the district unless the board of the school district
17 or public school academy decides otherwise and publishes and
18 explains its decision in a public justification report.
19 (5) A pupil who wants to repeat an assessment administered
20 under this section may repeat the assessment, without charge to
21 the pupil, in the next school year or after graduation. An
22 individual may repeat an assessment at any time the school
23 district or public school academy administers an applicable
24 assessment instrument or during a retesting period under
25 subsection (7).
26 (6) The department shall ensure that the length of the
27 assessments used for the purposes of this section and the
1 combined total time necessary to administer all of the
2 assessments, including social studies, are the shortest possible
3 that will still maintain the degree of reliability and validity
4 of the assessment results determined necessary by the
5 department. The department shall ensure that the maximum total
6 combined length of time that schools are required to set aside
7 for administration of all of the assessments used for the
8 purposes of this section, including social studies, does not
9 exceed 8 hours. However, this subsection does not limit the
10 amount of time that individuals may have to complete the
11 assessments.
12 (7) The department shall establish, schedule, and arrange
13 periodic retesting periods throughout the year for individuals
14 who desire to repeat an assessment under this section. The
15 department shall coordinate the arrangements for administering
16 the repeat assessments and shall ensure that the retesting is
17 made available at least within each intermediate school district
18 and, to the extent possible, within each school district.
19 (8) A school district or public school academy shall provide
20 accommodations to a pupil with disabilities for the assessments
21 required under this section, as provided under section 504 of
22 title V of the
rehabilitation act of 1973, Public Law 93-112,
23 29 U.S.C. USC
794; subtitle A of title II of the Americans with
24 disabilities act of 1990,
Public Law 101-336, 42 U.S.C. USC
25 12131 to 12134; and the implementing regulations for those
26 statutes.
27 (9) For the purposes
of this section, the state board
1 department shall develop or select and approve assessment
2 instruments to measure pupil performance in communications
3 skills, mathematics, social studies, and science. The assessment
4 instruments shall be
based on the state board model core
5 academic content standards objectives under section 1278.
6 (10) All assessment instruments developed or selected and
7 approved by the state under any statute or rule for a purpose
8 related to K to 12 education shall be objective-oriented and
9 consistent with the state board model core academic content
10 standards objectives.
11 (11) A person who has graduated from high school after 1996
12 and who has not previously taken an assessment under this section
13 may take an assessment used for the purposes of this section,
14 without charge to the person, at the school district from which
15 he or she graduated from high school at any time that school
16 district administers the assessment or during a retesting period
17 scheduled under subsection (7) and have his or her scaled score
18 on the assessment included on his or her high school transcript.
19 If the person's scaled score on a subject area assessment falls
20 within the range required under subsection (2) for a category
21 established under subsection (2), the school district shall also
22 indicate on the person's high school transcript that the person
23 has achieved state endorsement for that subject area.
24 (12) Not later
than July 1 of each year until 2000, the
25 department shall
submit a comprehensive report to the legislature
26 on the status of the
assessment program under this section. The
27 report shall include
at least all of the following:
1 (a) The annual
pupil assessment data.
2 (b) A description
of the feedback provided to pupils,
3 parents, and schools.
4 (c) A description
of any significant alterations made in the
5 program by the department
or state board during the period
6 covered by the report.
7 (d) Any
recommendations by the department or state board for
8 legislative changes to
the program.
9 (e) An update of
the reports of the assessment advisory
10 committees of the
state board.
11 (13) Pupils
scheduled to graduate in 1998 who took the
12 assessments used for
the purposes of this section during the
13 1996-97 school year
may repeat 1 or more of the assessments
14 during the 1997-98
school year. The department, in cooperation
15 with school districts
and public school academies, shall make
16 arrangements for
repeat assessments to be available for these
17 pupils in each school
district that operates a high school during
18 the 1997-98 school
year in time for these pupils to repeat the
19 assessments before
graduation. The repeat assessments may be
20 administered at times
other than regular school hours.
21 (12) (14) A
child who is a student in a nonpublic school or
22 home school may take an assessment under this section. To take
23 an assessment, a child who is a student in a home school shall
24 contact the school district in which the child resides, and that
25 school district shall administer the assessment, or the child may
26 take the assessment at a nonpublic school if allowed by the
27 nonpublic school. Upon request from a nonpublic school, the
1 department shall supply assessments and the nonpublic school may
2 administer the assessment.
3 (13) (15) The
purpose of the assessment under this section
4 is to assess pupil performance in mathematics, science, social
5 studies, and communication arts for the purpose of improving
6 academic achievement and establishing a statewide standard of
7 competency. The assessment under this section provides a common
8 measure of data that will contribute to the improvement of
9 Michigan schools' curriculum and instruction by encouraging
10 alignment with Michigan's curriculum framework standards. These
11 standards are based upon the expectations of what pupils should
12 know and be able to do by the end of grade 11.
13 (14) (16)
Not later than 90 days after the effective date of
14 this subsection, the
state board The department
shall appoint an
15 11-member assessment administration advisory committee to advise
16 the state board on Michigan education assessment program (MEAP)
17 tests and on the assessments used for state endorsements under
18 this section. This advisory committee shall be composed of
19 representatives of school districts, intermediate school
20 districts, school administrators, teachers, and parents, with the
21 appointments reflecting the geographic and population diversity
22 of school districts in this state. The representatives of school
23 districts and intermediate school districts shall be persons who
24 are expert in testing or test administration. This advisory
25 committee shall evaluate these tests and assessments and make
26 recommendations to the state
board and department on issues
27 related to administration, scoring, and reporting and use of
1 results of these tests and assessments, including, but not
2 limited to, length of the tests and assessments; the time of the
3 testing period during the school year; feedback provided to
4 pupils, parents, and schools; accurate and relevant reporting of
5 results to the general public; the selection of a retesting
6 period and procedures and arrangements for repeating tests or
7 assessments; local scoring and other general issues regarding
8 scoring of tests and assessments; categories of scoring on the
9 MEAP tests and categories of state endorsement under this
10 section; and professional development for teachers to assist in
11 preparing pupils to have the necessary skills and knowledge to
12 succeed on the tests and assessments.
13 (15) (17) As
used in this section:
14 (a) "Communications skills" means reading and writing.
15 (b) "Social studies" means geography, history, economics, and
16 American government.
17 Sec. 1279d. If the department of treasury, superintendent
18 of public instruction, or any other state agency has reason to
19 suspect that there are irregularities in a school district's or
20 public school academy's administration of, or preparation of
21 pupils for, a Michigan educational assessment program (MEAP)
22 test, the department of
treasury, or any superintendent of
23 public instruction, or other state agency shall not report the
24 suspected irregularities to any person or entity not involved in
25 the scoring or administration of the test before notifying the
26 school district or public school academy of the suspected
27 irregularities and allowing at least 5 business days for school
1 officials to respond.