71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 2977
A-Engrossed
Senate Bill 749
Ordered by the Senate April 19
Including Senate Amendments dated April 19
Sponsored by Senator STARR
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
Requires Department of Education to include national
comparisons based upon empirical national norms in statewide
assessments { + for reading and mathematics + } implemented by
department.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to student assessments; creating new provisions; and
amending ORS 329.075, 329.465 and 329.485.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 329.075 is amended to read:
329.075. (1) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, in
accordance with ORS 183.025 and 183.310 to 183.550, as necessary
for the statewide implementation of this chapter. The rules shall
be prepared in consultation with appropriate representatives from
the educational and business and labor communities.
(2) The Department of Education shall be responsible for
coordinating research, planning and public discussion so that
activities necessary to the implementation of this chapter can be
achieved. Actions by the department to fulfill this
responsibility and to increase student achievement may include,
but are not limited to:
(a) Updating Common Curriculum Goals to meet rigorous academic
standards;
(b) Developing criterion-referenced assessments including
performance-based, content-based and other assessment mechanisms
to test knowledge and skills;
(c) Establishing criteria for Certificates of Initial Mastery
and Advanced Mastery, and for benchmarks at grades 3, 5, 8 and
10;
(d) Establishing criteria for early childhood improvement
programs;
(e) Amending the application process for school improvement
grants;
(f) Researching and developing public school choice plans;
(g) Working with the Education and Workforce Policy Advisor and
the Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development to
develop no fewer than six broad career indorsement areas of
study; and
(h) Establishing criteria for learning options that may include
alternative learning centers.
{ + (3) The Department of Education shall include in any
assessments for reading and mathematics developed by the
department under subsection (2) of this section national
comparisons for benchmarks at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 and for the
Certificate of Initial Mastery. The national comparisons shall
provide information concerning all students and may be aggregated
to provide comparative information on schools and school
districts in Oregon. The national comparisons shall be based upon
empirical national norms that are not older than seven years at
the time of the assessment. The department shall provide the
information from the assessments to teachers in a sufficiently
timely manner so that teachers may utilize the information to
better focus instruction for the purpose of improving student
achievement. + }
{ - (3) - } { + (4) + } The State Board of Education shall
create, by rule, a process for school districts to initiate and
propose pilot programs. The rules shall include a process for
waivers of rules and regulations and a process for approval of
the proposed pilot programs.
{ - (4) - } { + (5) + } The Department of Education shall
make school districts and the public aware of public school
choice options available within our current public education
framework.
{ - (5) - } { + (6) + } The Department of Education shall:
(a) Evaluate pilot programs developed pursuant to ORS 329.690
using external evaluators to provide data that specify the
educational effectiveness, implementation requirements and costs
of the programs and to describe what training, funding and
related factors are required to replicate pilot programs that are
shown to be effective;
(b) Present to the State Board of Education and the appropriate
legislative committee an annual evaluation of all pilot programs;
and
(c) Include funding for the implementation and evaluation of
pilot programs in the Department of Education budget.
{ - (6) - } { + (7) + } As used in this section:
(a) 'Criterion-referenced assessment' means testing of the
knowledge or ability of a student with respect to some standard.
(b) 'Content-based assessment' means testing of the
understanding of a student of a predetermined body of knowledge.
(c) 'Performance-based assessment' means testing of the ability
of a student to use knowledge and skills to create a complex or
multifaceted product or complete a complex task.
SECTION 2. ORS 329.465 is amended to read:
329.465. (1) By the end of the 1995-1996 school year, the State
Board of Education shall revise and adopt standards and
requirements for the Certificate of Initial Mastery and design a
plan that enables school districts to phase in academic standards
so that students have opportunities to obtain a Certificate of
Initial Mastery by no later than the 1998-1999 school year, in
the manner designated in the state board's plan.
(2) The State Board of Education shall prescribe the standards,
pursuant to ORS 329.025 and 329.035, that a student must meet in
order to obtain a Certificate of Initial Mastery. The Certificate
of Initial Mastery shall be based on a series of
performance-based assessments and content assessments benchmarked
to mastery levels at approximately grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. The
assessment methods shall include work samples and tests and may
include portfolios. { + All statewide standardized assessments
for reading and mathematics shall provide national comparisons
based upon empirical national norms that are not older than seven
years at the time of the assessment.
(3) + } The state board shall establish a certificate for
students who, with additional services and accommodations, do not
meet the Certificate of Initial Mastery standards.
{ + (4) + } Students shall be allowed to collect credentials
over a period of years, culminating in a project or exhibition
that demonstrates attainment of the required knowledge and skills
that have been measured by a variety of valid assessment methods.
{ - (3) - } { + (5) + } Requirements for the Certificate of
Initial Mastery shall:
(a) Ensure that students have the necessary knowledge and
demonstrate the skills to read, write, problem solve, reason and
communicate;
(b) Ensure that students have the opportunity to demonstrate
the ability to learn, think, retrieve information and use
technology;
(c) Ensure that students have the opportunity to demonstrate
that they can work effectively as individuals and as an
individual in group settings; and
(d) Ensure that student assessment is based on academic content
standards in mathematics, science, history, geography, economics,
civics, English, second languages, the arts and physical
education.
{ - (4) - } { + (6) + } Prior to July 1, 1997, school
districts shall submit plans to the Department of Education
setting forth the steps the district will take to ensure that its
programs meet the requirements necessary for students to obtain a
Certificate of Initial Mastery. Each district's plan shall
demonstrate how alternative learning program options will be
available for students working toward a Certificate of Initial
Mastery and a diploma.
{ - (5) - } { + (7) + } The provisions of this section may
be applied individually as appropriate to students enrolled in
special education programs under ORS chapter 343.
{ - (6) - } { + (8) + } The Department of Education shall
develop procedures to accommodate out-of-state students, students
taught by a parent, legal guardian or private teacher as
described in ORS 339.030, private school students transferring
into public schools and migrant children from other states and
countries.
{ - (7) - } { + (9) + } Nothing in this section is intended
to apply the Certificates of Mastery programs or standards to
private school students or students taught by a parent, legal
guardian or private teacher as described in ORS 339.030.
SECTION 3. ORS 329.485 is amended to read:
329.485. (1)(a) The Department of Education shall implement
statewide a valid { + , + } { - and - } reliable { + and fair
+ }assessment system for all students that meets { + high + }
technical { - adequacy - } standards { + and includes
national comparisons for reading and mathematics based upon
empirical national norms that are not older than seven years at
the time of the assessment + }. The assessment system, to be
completed by the year 2000, shall include criterion-referenced
assessments including performance-based assessments,
content-based assessments, as those terms are defined in ORS
329.075, and other valid methods to measure the academic content
standards and to identify students who meet or exceed the
standards for each mastery level leading to the Certificate of
Initial Mastery and the Certificate of Advanced Mastery. However,
until this plan is operational, assessment shall continue at
grades 3, 5, 8 and 10.
(b) The Department of Education shall develop the statewide
assessment system in:
(A) Mathematics, to be implemented by the 1995-1996 school
year.
(B) English, to be implemented by the 1996-1997 school year.
(C) Science, to be implemented by the 1997-1998 school year.
(D) History, geography, economics and civics, to be implemented
by the 1998-1999 school year.
(2) Prior to full statewide implementation of the assessment
system pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the State
Board of Education by rule shall establish criteria for
determining whether students have demonstrated the knowledge and
skills necessary to perform successfully at each level in the
manner described in ORS 329.465, 329.475 and 329.855.
(3) Each year the resident district shall be accountable for
determining the student's progress toward achieving the standards
at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. Progress toward the standards shall be
measured in a manner that clearly enables the student and parents
to know whether the student is making progress toward meeting or
exceeding the standards at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. In addition,
the district shall adopt a grading system based on the local
school district board adopted course content of the district's
curriculum. The grading system shall clearly enable the student
and parents to know how well the student is achieving course
requirements.
{ + (4) School districts are encouraged to assess students
annually at selected nonbenchmarked grades using tests that meet
the same criteria as those adopted for the statewide assessments.
The purposes of these tests are to:
(a) Prepare students for the Certificate of Initial Mastery;
(b) Predict performance on the statewide assessment system; and
(c) Maintain continuity of information for the benefit of
teachers, parents, students and administrators. + }
{ - (4) - } { + (5) + } If a student has not met or has
exceeded all of the standards at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, the
school district shall make additional services or alternative
educational or public school options available to the student.
{ - (5) - } { + (6) + } If the student to whom additional
services or alternative educational options have been made
available does not meet or exceed the standards within one year,
the school district, with the consent of the parents, shall make
an appropriate placement, which may include an alternative
education program or the transfer of the student to another
public school in the district or to a public school in another
district that agrees to accept the student. The district that
receives the student shall be entitled to payment. The payment
shall consist of:
(a) An amount equal to the district expenses from its local
revenues for each student in average daily membership, payable by
the resident district in the same year; and
(b) Any state and federal funds the attending district is
entitled to receive payable as provided in ORS 339.133 (2).
SECTION 4. { + The amendments to ORS 329.075, 329.465 and
329.485 by sections 1 to 3 of this 2001 Act first apply to
statewide assessments conducted during the 2002-2003 school
year. + }
----------