March 2, 2004, Introduced by Senator SWITALSKI and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1279 (MCL 380.1279), as amended by 1997 PA
175.
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 the
6 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.
10 (b) If the pupil's scaled score on a subject area assessment
1 falls within the range required under subsection (2) for a
2 category established under subsection (2), an indication that the
3 pupil has achieved state endorsement for that subject area.
4 (c) The number of school days the pupil was in attendance at
5 school each school year during high school and the total number
6 of school days in session for each of those school years.
7 (2) The department
superintendent of public instruction
8 shall develop scaled scores for reporting subject area assessment
9 results for each of the subject areas under this section.
10 Subject to approval by the state board, the superintendent of
11 public instruction shall establish 3 categories for each subject
12 area indicating basic competency, above average, and outstanding,
13 and shall establish the scaled score range required for each
14 category. The department
superintendent of public instruction
15 shall design and distribute to school districts, intermediate
16 school districts, public school academies, and nonpublic schools
17 a 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 school
27 days of grade 11. The department
superintendent of public
1 instruction shall ensure that the assessments are scored and the
2 scores are returned to pupils, their parents or legal guardians,
3 and school districts or public school academies not later than
4 the beginning of the pupil's first semester of grade 12. Not
5 later than fall 1999, the
department superintendent of public
6 instruction shall arrange for those portions of a pupil's
7 assessment that cannot be scored mechanically to be scored in
8 Michigan by persons who are Michigan teachers, retired Michigan
9 teachers, or Michigan school administrators and who have been
10 trained in scoring the assessments. The returned scores shall
11 indicate the pupil's scaled score for each subject area
12 assessment, the range of scaled scores for each subject area, and
13 the range of scaled scores required for each category established
14 under subsection (2). In reporting the scores to pupils,
15 parents, and schools, the
department superintendent of public
16 instruction shall provide specific, meaningful, and timely
17 feedback on the pupil's performance on the assessment.
18 (4) For each pupil who does not achieve state endorsement in
19 1 or more subject areas, the board of the school district or
20 public school academy in which the pupil is enrolled shall
21 provide that there be at least 1 meeting attended by at least the
22 pupil and a member of the school district's or public school
23 academy's staff or a local or intermediate school district
24 consultant who is proficient in the measurement and evaluation of
25 pupils. The school district or public school academy may provide
26 the meeting as a group meeting for pupils in similar
27 circumstances. If the pupil is a minor, the school district or
1 public school academy shall invite and encourage the pupil's
2 parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis to attend the
3 meeting and shall mail a notice of the meeting to the pupil's
4 parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis. The purpose
5 of this meeting and any subsequent meeting under this subsection
6 shall be to determine an educational program for the pupil
7 designed to have the pupil achieve state endorsement in each
8 subject area in which he or she did not achieve state
9 endorsement. In addition, a school district or public school
10 academy may provide for subsequent meetings with the pupil
11 conducted by a high school counselor or teacher designated by the
12 pupil's high school principal, and shall invite and encourage the
13 pupil's parent, legal guardian, or person in loco parentis to
14 attend the subsequent meetings. The school district or public
15 school academy shall provide special programs for the pupil or
16 develop a program using the educational programs regularly
17 provided by the district unless the board of the school district
18 or public school academy decides otherwise and publishes and
19 explains its decision in a public justification report.
20 (5) A pupil who wants to repeat an assessment administered
21 under this section may
repeat the assessment , not more than
22 once. The repeat assessment shall be without charge to the
23 pupil. , in
the next school year or after graduation. An
24 individual may repeat
an take a repeat assessment at any time
25 during the next school year or after graduation when the school
26 district or public school academy administers an applicable
27 assessment instrument or during a retesting period under
1 subsection (7).
2 (6) The department
superintendent of public instruction
3 shall ensure that the length of the assessments used for the
4 purposes of this section and the combined total time necessary to
5 administer all of the assessments, including social studies, are
6 the shortest possible that will still maintain the degree of
7 reliability and validity of the assessment results determined
8 necessary by the department
superintendent of public
9 instruction. The department
superintendent of public
10 instruction shall ensure that the maximum total combined length
11 of time that schools are required to set aside for administration
12 of all of the assessments used for the purposes of this section,
13 including social studies, does not exceed 8 hours. However, this
14 subsection does not limit the amount of time that individuals may
15 have to complete the assessments.
16 (7) The department
superintendent of public instruction
17 shall establish, schedule, and arrange periodic retesting periods
18 throughout the year for individuals who desire to repeat an
19 assessment under this
section. The department superintendent
20 of public instruction shall coordinate the arrangements for
21 administering the repeat assessments and shall ensure that the
22 retesting is made available at least within each intermediate
23 school district and, to the extent possible, within each school
24 district.
25 (8) A school district or public school academy shall provide
26 accommodations to a pupil with disabilities for the assessments
27 required under this section, as provided under section 504 of
1 title V of the
rehabilitation act of 1973, Public Law 93-112,
2 29 U.S.C. USC
794; subtitle A of title II of the Americans with
3 disabilities act of 1990,
Public Law 101-336, 42 U.S.C. USC
4 12131 to 12134; and the implementing regulations for those
5 statutes.
6 (9) For the purposes
of this section, the state board
7 superintendent of public instruction shall develop or select and
8 approve assessment instruments to measure pupil performance in
9 communications skills, mathematics, social studies, and science.
10 The assessment instruments shall be based on the state board
11 model core academic content standards objectives under section
12 1278.
13 (10) All assessment instruments developed or selected and
14 approved by the state under any statute or rule for a purpose
15 related to K to 12 education shall be objective-oriented and
16 consistent with the state board model core academic content
17 standards objectives under section 1278.
18 (11) A person who has graduated from high school after 1996
19 and who has not previously taken an assessment under this section
20 may take an assessment used for the purposes of this section,
21 without charge to the person, at the school district from which
22 he or she graduated from high school at any time that school
23 district administers the assessment or during a retesting period
24 scheduled under subsection (7) and have his or her scaled score
25 on the assessment included on his or her high school transcript.
26 If the person's scaled score on a subject area assessment falls
27 within the range required under subsection (2) for a category
1 established under subsection (2), the school district shall also
2 indicate on the person's high school transcript that the person
3 has achieved state endorsement for that subject area.
4 (12) Not later
than July 1 of each year until 2000, the
5 department shall
submit a comprehensive report to the legislature
6 on the status of the
assessment program under this section. The
7 report shall include
at least all of the following:
8 (a) The annual
pupil assessment data.
9 (b) A description
of the feedback provided to pupils,
10 parents, and schools.
11 (c) A description
of any significant alterations made in the
12 program by the
department or state board during the period
13 covered by the report.
14 (d) Any
recommendations by the department or state board for
15 legislative changes to
the program.
16 (e) An update of
the reports of the assessment advisory
17 committees of the
state board.
18 (13) Pupils
scheduled to graduate in 1998 who took the
19 assessments used for
the purposes of this section during the
20 1996-97 school year
may repeat 1 or more of the assessments
21 during the 1997-98
school year. The department, in cooperation
22 with school districts
and public school academies, shall make
23 arrangements for
repeat assessments to be available for these
24 pupils in each school
district that operates a high school during
25 the 1997-98 school
year in time for these pupils to repeat the
26 assessments before
graduation. The repeat assessments may be
27 administered at times
other than regular school hours.
1 (12) (14) A
child who is a student in a nonpublic school or
2 home school may take an assessment under this section. To take
3 an assessment, a child who is a student in a home school shall
4 contact the school district in which the child resides, and that
5 school district shall administer the assessment, or the child may
6 take the assessment at a nonpublic school if allowed by the
7 nonpublic school. Upon request from a nonpublic school, the
8 department superintendent of public instruction shall
supply
9 assessments and the nonpublic school may administer the
10 assessment.
11 (13) (15) The
purpose of the assessment under this section
12 is to assess pupil performance in mathematics, science, social
13 studies, and communication arts for the purpose of improving
14 academic achievement and establishing a statewide standard of
15 competency. The assessment under this section provides a common
16 measure of data that will contribute to the improvement of
17 Michigan schools' curriculum and instruction by encouraging
18 alignment with Michigan's curriculum framework standards. These
19 standards are based upon the expectations of what pupils should
20 know and be able to do by the end of grade 11.
21 (14) (16)
Not later than 90 days after the effective date of
22 this subsection, the
state board The superintendent of
public
23 instruction shall appoint an 11-member assessment administration
24 advisory committee to
advise the state board superintendent of
25 pubic instruction on Michigan education assessment program (MEAP)
26 tests and on the assessments used for state endorsements under
27 this section. This advisory committee shall be composed of
1 representatives of school districts, intermediate school
2 districts, school administrators, teachers, and parents, with the
3 appointments reflecting the geographic and population diversity
4 of school districts in this state. The representatives of school
5 districts and intermediate school districts shall be persons who
6 are expert in testing or test administration. This advisory
7 committee shall evaluate these tests and assessments and make
8 recommendations to the state
board superintendent of public
9 instruction and department on issues related to administration,
10 scoring, and reporting and use of results of these tests and
11 assessments, including, but not limited to, length of the tests
12 and assessments; the time of the testing period during the school
13 year; feedback provided to pupils, parents, and schools; accurate
14 and relevant reporting of results to the general public; the
15 selection of a retesting period and procedures and arrangements
16 for repeating tests or assessments; local scoring and other
17 general issues regarding scoring of tests and assessments;
18 categories of scoring on the MEAP tests and categories of state
19 endorsement under this section; and professional development for
20 teachers to assist in preparing pupils to have the necessary
21 skills and knowledge to succeed on the tests and assessments.
22 (15) (17) As
used in this section:
23 (a) "Communications skills" means reading and writing.
24 (b) "Social studies" means geography, history, economics, and
25 American government.