Chapter 0254 - 532R - H Ver of SB1291

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-741, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-741. Assessment of pupils

A. The state board of education shall:

1. Adopt rules for purposes of this article pursuant to title 41, chapter 6.

2. Adopt and implement a statewide assessment to measure pupil achievement of the state board adopted board-adopted academic standards in reading, writing and mathematics in at least four grades designated by the state board. The state board shall determine the manner of implementation. The state board may administer assessments of the academic standards in social studies and science, except that a pupil shall not be required to meet or exceed the social studies or science standards measured by the statewide assessment.

3. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this section are uniform throughout the state.

4. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this section are able to be scored in an objective manner and that the tests are not intended to advocate any sectarian, partisan or denominational viewpoint.

5. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this article collect only types of pupil nontest data that are approved by the state board of education at a public meeting and published on the website of the state board of education pursuant to paragraph 7 of this subsection.

6. Include within its budget all costs pertaining to the tests prescribed in this article. If sufficient monies are appropriated, the state board may provide achievement test services to school districts that request assistance in testing pupils in grades additional to those required by this section.

7. Survey teachers, principals and superintendents on achievement‑related nontest indicators, including information on graduation rates by ethnicity and dropout rates by ethnicity for each grade level. Before the survey, the state board of education shall approve at a public meeting the nontest indicators on which data will be collected and shall post in a prominent position on the home page of the state board's website a link to the nontest indicators entitled "What nontest data does the state of Arizona collect about Arizona pupils?". The linked web page shall state the types of data collected, the reasons for the collection of the data and the entities with which the data is shared. In conducting the survey and collecting data, the state board of education shall not violate the provisions of the family educational rights and privacy act (P.L. 93‑380), as amended, nor or disclose personally identifiable information.

8. Establish a fair and consistent method and standard by which test scores from schools in a district may be evaluated taking into consideration demographic data. The state board shall establish intervention strategies to assist schools with scores below the acceptable standard. The state board shall annually review district and school scores and shall offer assistance to school districts in analyzing data and implementing intervention strategies. The state board shall use the adopted test and methods of data evaluation for a period of at least ten years.

9. Participate in other assessments that provide national comparisons as needed.

10. Require in the contract for the statewide assessment pursuant to this section that test scores and assessment data from the third grade reading portion of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to this section be received by local education agencies on or before May 15 of each academic year and that the scores and assessment data from all other portions of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to this section be received by local education agencies on or before May 25 of each academic year. The state board shall impose penalties on the contractor for scores received after these dates.

B. The achievement tests adopted by the state board as provided in subsection A of this section shall be given at least annually. Nontest indicator data and other information shall be collected at the same time as the collection of achievement test data.

C. Local school district governing boards shall:

1. Administer the tests prescribed in subsection A of this section.

2. Survey teachers, principals and superintendents on achievement related achievement-related nontest indicator data as required by the state board, including information related to district graduation and dropout rates. In conducting the survey and collecting data, the governing board shall not violate the provisions of the family educational rights and privacy act (P.L. 93‑380), as amended, nor or disclose personally identifiable information.

D. Any additional assessments for high school pupils that are adopted by the state board of education after November 24, 2009 shall be designed to measure college and career readiness of pupils.

E. A test for penmanship shall not be required pursuant to this article.

F. If a local education agency requests a raw data file of assessment data for the pupils tested at the local education agency, the department of education shall fulfill the request in a format that is usable for assessment diagnostics within thirty days after the request. The local education agency shall follow all applicable student data privacy laws and may not publicly disclose individual student achievement results. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 15-743, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-743. Test results; annual report; five-year cumulative summary

A. The state board of education shall provide annual reports for every school and school district and the state as a whole. The state board shall annually submit these reports to school districts, the legislature and the county school superintendents and shall make them available to the public. The state board shall publish and distribute the reports by September 1 and shall also provide a cumulative summary of the reports every five years. The annual reports and cumulative summary results shall include:

1. Average and range scores on the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15‑741.

2. Standardized test scores by subject area according to percentiles and stanines for the school, school district, county, state and nation.

3. Achievement‑related nontest indicator data collected in the survey of teachers, principals and superintendents as required by section 15‑741, including information related to dropout rates by ethnicity for each grade level and graduation rates and postsecondary employment and education by ethnicity. In reporting such data, the state board of education shall not violate the provisions of the family educational rights and privacy act (P.L. 93‑380), as amended, or disclose personally identifiable information.

4. The numbers of pupils who have completed the academic standards at grades three, eight and twelve.

B. Test results on individual pupils shall not be made available to the public by name or individually identifiable reference.

C. The state board shall provide a copy of the results from the tests prescribed in section 15‑741, subsection A for each school district to that school district. Results may not be released to the public until ten days after the reports are provided to each school district.

D. The state board shall provide each school district participating in the testing program with a copy of each pupil's standardized norm‑referenced test scores in reading, language arts and mathematics, and the associated grade equivalents, percentiles and stanines for the school, school district, county, state and nation, a report of pupil progress on an ongoing and annual basis, showing the trends in gain or loss in pupil achievement over time in reading, language arts and mathematics for all years in which pupils are enrolled in the school district for an entire school year and for which this information is available and a report of the pupil progress for pupils not enrolled in a district for an entire school year. The state board shall also provide each school district with each pupil's statewide assessment scores and the statewide assessment scores for the school, school district, county and state.

E. The school district shall provide a parent or guardian of each pupil participating in the standardized norm‑referenced testing part of the program with a copy of the pupil's scores in reading, language arts and mathematics, and the percentiles and stanines. The school district shall provide a parent or guardian of each pupil with a copy of the pupil's scores on the statewide assessment and the associated scores for the school, school district, county and state. The school district shall make available to the public through the reports those scores for each school in the school district and for the school district, county, state and nation.

F. Any testing window established and executed by the department of education or the state board of education for the administration of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15‑741 may not be longer than four consecutive school weeks and shall ensure that local education agencies receive test scores and assessment data from the third grade reading portion of the statewide assessment on or before May 15 of each academic year and that the scores and assessment data from all other portions of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15‑741 are received by local education agencies on or before May 25 of each academic year. The department of education or the state board may not prohibit the superintendent or the staff of a local education agency from sharing statewide assessment data with the local education agency's district governing board or governing body or otherwise impede the sharing of statewide assessment data.

G. Notwithstanding subsection F of this section and sections 15‑741 and 15‑742, the department of education, subject to review and approval by the state board of education, may adjust the testing window for the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15‑741 in academic years that the state board of education is revising current proficiency levels or is establishing new proficiency levels for the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15‑741. END_STATUTE