093_HB0471
LRB093 04739 NHT 04795 b
1 AN ACT relating to education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
5 Section 2-3.64a as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a)
7 Sec. 2-3.64a. State Testing Review Committee; State
8 Assessment System Review Committee.
9 (a) The State Superintendent shall appoint a committee
10 of no more than 20 consisting of parents, teachers, school
11 administrators, and concerned citizens to review the Illinois
12 Goals and Assessment Program tests administered by the State
13 Board of Education. The Committee shall select one of the
14 parent representatives as its chairman. The Committee shall
15 meet on an ongoing basis to review the content and design of
16 the tests (including whether the requirements of subsection
17 a-5 of Section 2-3.64 have been met), the time and money
18 expended at the local and state levels to prepare for and
19 administer the tests, the collective results of the tests as
20 measured against the stated purpose of testing student
21 performance, and other issues involving the tests identified
22 by the Committee. The Committee shall make periodic
23 recommendations to the State Superintendent and the General
24 Assembly concerning the tests. On the effective date of this
25 amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the State
26 Testing Review Committee is dissolved.
27 (b) The General Assembly finds and declares all of the
28 following:
29 (1) In order to ensure that the Illinois Learning
30 Standards are being met in Illinois' public schools, a
31 new State assessment system should be explored.
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1 (2) The new State assessment system must meet the
2 needs of and have significance for Illinois' teachers and
3 students.
4 (3) The new State assessment system should be
5 meaningful to higher education and employers.
6 (4) The new State assessment system must be cost
7 efficient.
8 (5) The new State assessment system must ultimately
9 result in less overall standardized testing.
10 (6) Teachers must have a thorough knowledge base of
11 the Illinois Learning Standards and the use of local and
12 State assessments to improve student learning.
13 (7) A series of State-sponsored, locally
14 administered diagnostic assessments need to be available
15 to school districts as well as their staffs.
16 (8) The new State assessment must be aligned to the
17 Illinois Learning Standards.
18 (9) The new State assessment system must be well
19 constructed, must be grade-level appropriate with
20 effective testing procedures, and must be able to be used
21 by school districts as well as their staffs.
22 (10) The new State assessment system must be kept
23 in place for at least 5 years following its
24 implementation.
25 (11) The State Assessment System Review Committee
26 must explore the potential of annual State assessment
27 aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards.
28 (c) The State Assessment System Review Committee is
29 created, which shall consist of the following members:
30 (1) One parent, appointed by the Illinois PTA
31 Congress of Parents and Teachers.
32 (2) One person appointed by the Governor.
33 (3) One representative of the business community,
34 appointed by the Illinois Business Education Coalition.
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1 (4) One representative from a regional office of
2 education, appointed by the Illinois Association of
3 Regional Superintendents of Schools.
4 (5) One school board member, appointed by the
5 Illinois Association of School Boards.
6 (6) Four school administrators, with one
7 administrator appointed by the Chicago Board of
8 Education, one principal appointed by the Illinois
9 Principals Association, one administrator appointed by
10 the Large Unit District Association, and one
11 administrator appointed by the Illinois Association of
12 School Administrators.
13 (7) Four teachers, with 2 appointed by the Illinois
14 Education Association and 2 appointed by the Illinois
15 Federation of Teachers.
16 (8) Two representatives of higher education, one
17 who is an expert in the field of assessment and one from
18 admissions, appointed by the Chairperson of the Board of
19 Higher Education.
20 (9) The State Superintendent of Education or his or
21 her designee.
22 (d) Members of the State Assessment System Review
23 Committee shall be initially appointed by July 1, 2003.
24 Members shall serve 2-year terms. A chairperson of the
25 Committee shall be selected by the appointed members from
26 among its membership. The chairperson shall serve a 2-year
27 term. The Committee shall meet at the call of the
28 chairperson, who shall develop the agenda for the meetings
29 with the advice of the members.
30 (e) The State Assessment System Review Committee shall
31 explore a State assessment system consistent with the General
32 Assembly's findings and declarations under subsection (b) of
33 this Section and the requirements of subsection (a-5) of
34 Section 2-3.64 of this Code. The Committee shall be provided
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1 staff from the State Board of Education and outside sources
2 with expertise in assessment, and such staff shall be
3 directed by the chairperson of the Committee. Funding for
4 the staffing shall be included in the State Board of
5 Education's assessment budget. The Committee shall report
6 its recommendations for the State assessment system to the
7 Governor, General Assembly, and State Board of Education on
8 or before January 1, 2005. Following its initial report, the
9 Committee shall periodically meet to review the
10 implementation of the State assessment system and ensure that
11 the State assessment system meets the requirements of this
12 Section. Following its initial report, the Committee shall
13 issue an additional report to the Governor, General Assembly,
14 and State Board of Education regarding the implementation of
15 the State assessment system on or before January 1 of each
16 even-numbered year.
17 (Source: P.A. 89-184, eff. 7-19-95; 90-789, eff. 8-14-98.)
18 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19 becoming law.