FYI -- Update on SDE Opt-out arguments – SDE cites “federal law” having a requirement that students take tests. The part of Federal code they cite (20 USC 6311(b)(3)(c) -- pasted below) does not mandate that students take a statewide mastery examination. The section being referenced by SDE (and school districts that are being strong-armed by SDE) only requires that states administer exams, and for such exams to be made available to all students (i.e. regardless of disability, limited language proficiency, etc.) -- and by requires it means threatens with loss of Title 1 funds. Federal law does not place a mandate on each child to take a test. This same section of federal code also requires such tests to be used for purposes for which such assessments are valid and reliable and that the assessments used are of adequate technical quality for each purpose required... The SBAC in a field-test form does not meet these criteria. Furthermore, it is not apparent that the results will be used for the purported purpose of a mastery examination -- to provide diagnostic information to educators for the edification of their students. Furthermore, state law defines a mastery examination as, among other things, an exam “approved by the State Board of Education”. The SBAC is not even a test yet. It’s a field test and not yet validated. So either the State Board of Education has not approved SBAC as a mastery exam (because it doesn’t qualify as a test) or SBE approved an inadequate field test as a mastery exam. 20 U.S. Code § 6311 - State plans (b) Academic standards, academic assessments, and accountability (3) Academic assessments (C) Requirements Such assessments shall— (i) be the same academic assessments used to measure the achievement of all children; (ii) be aligned with the State’s challenging academic content and student academic achievement standards, and provide coherent information about student attainment of such standards; (iii) be used for purposes for which such assessments are valid and reliable, and be consistent with relevant, nationally recognized professional and technical standards; (iv) be used only if the State educational agency provides to the Secretary evidence from the test publisher or other relevant sources that the assessments used are of adequate technical quality for each purpose required under this chapter and are consistent with the requirements of this section, and such evidence is made public by the Secretary upon request; (v) (I) except as otherwise provided for grades 3 through 8 under clause vii, measure the proficiency of students in, at a minimum, mathematics and reading or language arts, and be administered not less than once during— (aa) grades 3 through 5; (bb) grades 6 through 9; and (cc) grades 10 through 12; (II) beginning not later than school year 2007–2008, measure the proficiency of all students in science and be administered not less than one time during— (aa) grades 3 through 5; (bb) grades 6 through 9; and (cc) grades 10 through 12; (vi) involve multiple up-to-date measures of student academic achievement, including measures that assess higher-order thinking skills and understanding; (vii) beginning not later than school year 2005–2006, measure the achievement of students against the challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards in each of grades 3 through 8 in, at a minimum, mathematics, and reading or language arts, except that the Secretary may provide the State 1 additional year if the State demonstrates that exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, such as a natural disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial resources of the State, prevented full implementation of the academic assessments by that deadline and that the State will complete implementation within the additional 1-year period; (viii) at the discretion of the State, measure the proficiency of students in academic subjects not described in clauses (v), (vi), (vii) in which the State has adopted challenging academic content and academic achievement standards; (ix) provide for— (I) the participation in such assessments of all students; (II) the reasonable adaptations and accommodations for students with disabilities (as defined under section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1401 (3)]) necessary to measure the academic achievement of such students relative to State academic content and State student academic achievement standards; and (III) the inclusion of limited English proficient students, who shall be assessed in a valid and reliable manner and provided reasonable accommodations on assessments administered to such students under this paragraph, including, to the extent practicable, assessments in the language and form most likely to yield accurate data on what such students know and can do in academic content areas, until such students have achieved English language proficiency as determined under paragraph (7); (x) notwithstanding subclause (III), the academic assessment (using tests written in English) of reading or language arts of any student who has attended school in the United States (not including Puerto Rico) for three or more consecutive school years, except that if the local educational agency determines, on a case-by-case individual basis, that academic assessments in another language or form would likely yield more accurate and reliable information on what such student knows and can do, the local educational agency may make a determination to assess such student in the appropriate language other than English for a period that does not exceed two additional consecutive years, provided that such student has not yet reached a level of English language proficiency sufficient to yield valid and reliable information on what such student knows and can do on tests (written in English) of reading or language arts; (xi) include students who have attended schools in a local educational agency for a full academic year but have not attended a single school for a full academic year, except that the performance of students who have attended more than 1 school in the local educational agency in any academic year shall be used only in determining the progress of the local educational agency; (xii) produce individual student interpretive, descriptive, and diagnostic reports, consistent with clause (iii) that allow parents, teachers, and principals to understand and address the specific academic needs of students, and include information regarding achievement on academic assessments aligned with State academic achievement standards, and that are provided to parents, teachers, and principals, as soon as is practicably possible after the assessment is given, in an understandable and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand; (xiii) enable results to be disaggregated within each State, local educational agency, and school by gender, by each major racial and ethnic group, by English proficiency status, by migrant status, by students with disabilities as compared to nondisabled students, and by economically disadvantaged students as compared to students who are not economically disadvantaged, except that, in the case of a local educational agency or a school, such disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student; (xiv) be consistent with widely accepted professional testing standards, objectively measure academic achievement, knowledge, and skills, and be tests that do not evaluate or assess personal or family beliefs and attitudes, or publicly disclose personally identifiable information; and (xv) enable itemized score analyses to be produced and reported, consistent with clause (iii), to local educational agencies and schools, so that parents, teachers, principals, and administrators can interpret and address the specific academic needs of students as indicated by the students’ achievement on assessment items.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 09:29:34 +0000
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