Public Education Standards and Assessments

The bill repeals the requirement that the state participate in a consortium of states that creates a set of assessments to measure students' college and career readiness.

The bill allows the department of education (department), at the request of the state board of education (state board) and to the extent possible under the federal education law or under a federal waiver, to recommend to the state board state assessment options for use by local education providers. The state assessment options would have to provide a valid measurement of the level of student achievement of the state academic standards and be sufficient to support statewide accountability and comparability.

Under existing law, the department selects an assessment to administer to students in tenth grade (tenth-grade test) and a curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam (exam) to administer to students in eleventh grade. The department is required to consider competitive bids for the tenth-grade test and the exam every 5 years. The bill repeals the requirement to reconsider competitive bids every 5 years. No later than July 1, 2021, the bill requires the state board, instead of the department, to select the tenth-grade test and the exam.

The bill allows the department to reduce the administration of state assessments if the department, at the direction of the state board, participates in a pilot assessment program authorized in the federal education law.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)