093_HB2352eng
HB2352 Engrossed LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 AN ACT to implement the federal No Child Left Behind Act
2 of 2001.
3 WHEREAS, The General Assembly supports enhancement of the
4 current State assessment system in order to develop an
5 appropriate, high-quality, statewide K-12 assessment system,
6 based on the Illinois Learning Standards; and
7 WHEREAS, This enhanced statewide assessment system must
8 have a high level of credibility, reliability, and validity
9 and must provide continuity with the assessment system in
10 place prior to the changes made by this amendatory Act of the
11 93rd General Assembly; and
12 WHEREAS, The changes in the assessment system made by
13 this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly are a direct
14 result of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
15 (Public Law 107-110), which requires the testing of all
16 students as well as enhancements to the system in order to
17 provide timely results that are meaningful and educationally
18 useful for educators, parents, and the broader community;
19 therefore
20 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
21 represented in the General Assembly:
22 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
23 Section 2-3.64 as follows:
24 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.64)
25 Sec. 2-3.64. State goals and assessment.
26 (a) Beginning in the 1998-1999 school year, the State
27 Board of Education shall establish standards and
28 periodically, in collaboration with local school districts,
29 conduct studies of student performance in the learning areas
30 of fine arts and physical development/health.
HB2352 Engrossed -2- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 Beginning with the 1998-1999 school year until the
2 2005-2006 school year at the latest, the State Board of
3 Education shall annually test: (i) all pupils enrolled in the
4 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades in English language arts (reading,
5 writing, and English grammar) and mathematics; and (ii) all
6 pupils enrolled in the 4th and 7th grades in the biological
7 and physical sciences and the social sciences (history,
8 geography, civics, economics, and government). The maximum
9 time allowed for all actual testing required under this
10 paragraph shall not exceed 25 hours, as allocated among the
11 required tests by the State Board of Education, across all
12 grades tested.
13 Beginning no later than the 2005-2006 school year, the
14 State Board of Education shall annually test: (i) all pupils
15 enrolled in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in
16 reading and mathematics; (ii) all pupils enrolled in 3rd,
17 4th, 6th, and 8th grades in writing; (iii) all pupils
18 enrolled in the 4th and 7th grades in the biological and
19 physical sciences; and (iv) all pupils enrolled in 5th and
20 8th grades in the social sciences (history, geography,
21 economics, civics, and government). The State Board of
22 Education shall sample student performance in the learning
23 area of physical development and health in grades 4 and 7
24 through the science tests and in the learning area of fine
25 arts in grades 5 and 8 through the social sciences tests.
26 After the addition of subjects and grades as delineated in
27 this paragraph and including whatever other tests that may be
28 approved from time to time no later than the 2005-2006 school
29 year, the maximum time allowed for all State testing in
30 grades 3 through 8 shall not exceed 40 hours across those
31 grades.
32 The State Board of Education shall establish the academic
33 standards that are to be applicable to pupils who are subject
34 to State tests under this Section beginning with the
HB2352 Engrossed -3- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 1998-1999 school year. However, the State Board of Education
2 shall not establish any such standards in final form without
3 first providing opportunities for public participation and
4 local input in the development of the final academic
5 standards. Those opportunities shall include a
6 well-publicized period of public comment, public hearings
7 throughout the State, and opportunities to file written
8 comments. Beginning with the 1998-99 school year and
9 thereafter, the State tests will identify pupils in the 3rd
10 grade or 5th grade who do not meet the State standards.
11 If, by performance on the State tests or local
12 assessments or by teacher judgment, a student's performance
13 is determined to be 2 or more grades below current placement,
14 the student shall be provided a remediation program developed
15 by the district in consultation with a parent or guardian.
16 Such remediation programs may include, but shall not be
17 limited to, increased or concentrated instructional time, a
18 remedial summer school program of not less than 90 hours,
19 improved instructional approaches, tutorial sessions,
20 retention in grade, and modifications to instructional
21 materials. Each pupil for whom a remediation program is
22 developed under this subsection shall be required to enroll
23 in and attend whatever program the district determines is
24 appropriate for the pupil. Districts may combine students in
25 remediation programs where appropriate and may cooperate with
26 other districts in the design and delivery of those programs.
27 The parent or guardian of a student required to attend a
28 remediation program under this Section shall be given written
29 notice of that requirement by the school district a
30 reasonable time prior to commencement of the remediation
31 program that the student is to attend. The State shall be
32 responsible for providing school districts with the new and
33 additional funding, under Section 2-3.51.5 or by other or
34 additional means, that is required to enable the districts to
HB2352 Engrossed -4- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 operate remediation programs for the pupils who are required
2 to enroll in and attend those programs under this Section.
3 Every individualized educational program as described in
4 Article 14 shall identify if the State test or components
5 thereof are appropriate for that student. For those pupils
6 for whom the State tests or components thereof are not
7 appropriate, The State Board of Education shall develop rules
8 and regulations governing the administration of alternative
9 tests prescribed within each student's individualized
10 educational program which are appropriate to the disability
11 of each student.
12 All pupils who are in a State approved transitional
13 bilingual education program or transitional program of
14 instruction shall participate in the State tests. Any
15 student who has been enrolled in a State approved bilingual
16 education program less than 3 cumulative academic years may
17 take an accommodated State test, to be known as the Illinois
18 Measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE), shall be
19 exempted if the student's lack of English as determined by an
20 English language proficiency test would keep the student from
21 understanding the regular State test. If the school district
22 determines, on a case-by-case individual basis, that IMAGE
23 would likely yield more accurate and reliable information on
24 what the student knows and can do, the school district may
25 make a determination to assess the student using IMAGE for a
26 period that does not exceed 2 additional consecutive years,
27 provided that the student has not yet reached a level of
28 English language proficiency sufficient to yield valid and
29 reliable information on what the student knows and can do on
30 the regular State test., and that student's district shall
31 have an alternative test program in place for that student.
32 The State Board of Education shall appoint a task force of
33 concerned parents, teachers, school administrators and other
34 professionals to assist in identifying such alternative
HB2352 Engrossed -5- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 tests.
2 Reasonable accommodations as prescribed by the State
3 Board of Education shall be provided for individual students
4 in the testing procedure. All test procedures prescribed by
5 the State Board of Education shall require: (i) that each
6 test used for State and local student testing under this
7 Section identify by name the pupil taking the test; (ii) that
8 the name of the pupil taking the test be placed on the test
9 at the time the test is taken; (iii) that the results or
10 scores of each test taken under this Section by a pupil of
11 the school district be reported to that district and identify
12 by name the pupil who received the reported results or
13 scores; and (iv) that the results or scores of each test
14 taken under this Section be made available to the parents of
15 the pupil. In addition, beginning with the 2000-2001 school
16 year and in each school year thereafter, the highest scores
17 and performance levels attained by a student on the Prairie
18 State Achievement Examination administered under subsection
19 (c) of this Section and any Prairie State Achievement Awards
20 received by the student shall become part of the student's
21 permanent record and shall be entered on the student's
22 transcript pursuant to regulations that the State Board of
23 Education shall promulgate for that purpose in accordance
24 with Section 3 and subsection (e) of Section 2 of the
25 Illinois School Student Records Act. Beginning with the
26 1998-1999 school year and in every school year thereafter,
27 scores received by students on the State assessment tests
28 administered in grades 3 through 8 shall be placed into
29 students' temporary records.
30 The State Board of Education shall establish a period of
31 time, to be referred to as the State test window, common
32 month in each school year for which State testing shall occur
33 to meet the objectives of this Section. However, if the
34 schools of a district are closed and classes are not
HB2352 Engrossed -6- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 scheduled during any week that is established by the State
2 Board of Education as the State test window week of the month
3 when State testing under this Section shall occur, the school
4 district may (at the discretion of the State Board of
5 Education) move its State test window one week earlier or one
6 week later than the established State test window, administer
7 the required State testing at any time up to 2 weeks
8 following the week established by the State Board of
9 Education for the testing, so long as the school district
10 gives the State Board of Education written notice of its
11 intention to deviate from the established schedule by
12 December 1 of the school year in which falls the State test
13 window week established by the State Board of Education for
14 the testing. The maximum time allowed for all actual testing
15 required under this subsection during the school year shall
16 not exceed 25 hours as allocated among the required tests by
17 the State Board of Education.
18 (a-5) All tests administered pursuant to this Section
19 shall be academically based. For the purposes of this
20 Section "academically based tests" shall mean tests
21 consisting of questions and answers that are measurable and
22 quantifiable to measure the knowledge, skill, and ability of
23 students in the subject matters covered by tests. The
24 scoring of academically based tests shall be reliable, valid,
25 unbiased and shall meet the guidelines for test development
26 and use prescribed by the American Psychological Association,
27 the National Council of Measurement and Evaluation, and the
28 American Educational Research Association. Academically based
29 tests shall not include assessments or evaluations of
30 attitudes, values, or beliefs, or testing of personality,
31 self-esteem, or self-concept. Nothing in this amendatory Act
32 is intended, nor shall it be construed, to nullify,
33 supersede, or contradict the legislative intent on academic
34 testing expressed during the passage of HB 1005/P.A. 90-296.
HB2352 Engrossed -7- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 Nothing in this Section is intended, nor shall it be
2 construed, to nullify, supersede, or contradict the
3 legislative intent on academic testing expressed in the
4 preamble of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.
5 Beginning in the 1998-1999 school year, the State Board
6 of Education may, on a pilot basis, include in the State
7 assessments in reading and math at each grade level tested no
8 more than 2 short answer questions, where students have to
9 respond in brief to questions or prompts or show
10 computations, rather than select from alternatives that are
11 presented. In the first year that such questions are used,
12 scores on the short answer questions shall not be reported on
13 an individual student basis but shall be aggregated for each
14 school building in which the tests are given. State-level,
15 school, and district scores shall be reported both with and
16 without the results of the short answer questions so that the
17 effect of short answer questions is clearly discernible.
18 Beginning in the second year of this pilot program, scores on
19 the short answer questions shall be reported both on an
20 individual student basis and on a school building basis in
21 order to monitor the effects of teacher training and
22 curriculum improvements on score results.
23 The State Board of Education shall monitor not continue
24 the use of short answer questions in the math and reading
25 assessments or in other assessments in order to demonstrate,
26 or extend the use of such questions to other State
27 assessments, unless this pilot project demonstrates that the
28 use of short answer questions results in a statistically
29 significant improvement in student achievement as measured on
30 the State assessments for math and reading or on other State
31 assessments and is justifiable in terms of cost and student
32 performance.
33 (b) It shall be the policy of the State to encourage
34 school districts to continuously test pupil proficiency in
HB2352 Engrossed -8- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 the fundamental learning areas in order to: (i) provide
2 timely information on individual students' performance
3 relative to State standards that is adequate to guide
4 instructional strategies; (ii) improve future instruction;
5 and (iii) complement the information provided by the State
6 testing system described in this Section. Each district's
7 school improvement plan must address specific activities the
8 district intends to implement to assist pupils who by teacher
9 judgment and test results as prescribed in subsection (a) of
10 this Section demonstrate that they are not meeting State
11 standards or local objectives. Such activities may include,
12 but shall not be limited to, summer school, extended school
13 day, special homework, tutorial sessions, modified
14 instructional materials, other modifications in the
15 instructional program, reduced class size or retention in
16 grade. To assist school districts in testing pupil
17 proficiency in reading in the primary grades, the State Board
18 shall make optional reading inventories for diagnostic
19 purposes available to each school district that requests such
20 assistance. Districts that administer the reading
21 inventories may develop remediation programs for students who
22 perform in the bottom half of the student population. Those
23 remediation programs may be funded by moneys provided under
24 the School Safety and Educational Improvement Block Grant
25 Program established under Section 2-3.51.5. Nothing in this
26 Section shall prevent school districts from implementing
27 testing and remediation policies for grades not required
28 under this Section.
29 (c) Beginning with the 2000-2001 school year, each
30 school district that operates a high school program for
31 students in grades 9 through 12 shall annually administer the
32 Prairie State Achievement Examination established under this
33 subsection to its students as set forth below. The Prairie
34 State Achievement Examination shall be developed by the State
HB2352 Engrossed -9- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 Board of Education to measure student performance in the
2 academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and
3 social sciences. The State Board of Education shall
4 establish the academic standards that are to apply in
5 measuring student performance on the Prairie State
6 Achievement Examination including the minimum examination
7 score in each area that will qualify a student to receive a
8 Prairie State Achievement Award from the State in recognition
9 of the student's excellent performance. Each school district
10 that is subject to the requirements of this subsection (c)
11 shall afford all students 2 opportunities to take the Prairie
12 State Achievement Examination beginning as late as practical
13 during the second semester of grade 11, but in no event
14 before March 1. The State Board of Education shall annually
15 notify districts of the weeks during which these test
16 administrations shall be required to occur. Every
17 individualized educational program as described in Article 14
18 shall identify if the Prairie State Achievement Examination
19 or components thereof are appropriate for that student. Each
20 student, exclusive of a student whose individualized
21 educational program developed under Article 14 identifies the
22 Prairie State Achievement Examination as inappropriate for
23 the student, shall be required to take the examination in
24 grade 11. For each academic area the State Board of
25 Education shall establish the score that qualifies for the
26 Prairie State Achievement Award on that portion of the
27 examination. Any student who fails to earn a qualifying
28 score for a Prairie State Achievement Award in any one or
29 more of the academic areas on the initial test administration
30 or who wishes to improve his or her score on any portion of
31 the examination shall be permitted to retake such portion or
32 portions of the examination during grade 12. Districts shall
33 inform their students of the timelines and procedures
34 applicable to their participation in every yearly
HB2352 Engrossed -10- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 administration of the Prairie State Achievement Examination.
2 Students receiving special education services whose
3 individualized educational programs identify the Prairie
4 State Achievement Examination as inappropriate for them
5 nevertheless shall have the option of taking the examination,
6 which shall be administered to those students in accordance
7 with standards adopted by the State Board of Education to
8 accommodate the respective disabilities of those students. A
9 student who successfully completes all other applicable high
10 school graduation requirements but fails to receive a score
11 on the Prairie State Achievement Examination that qualifies
12 the student for receipt of a Prairie State Achievement Award
13 shall nevertheless qualify for the receipt of a regular high
14 school diploma.
15 (d) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, all
16 schools in this State that are part of the sample drawn by
17 the National Center for Education Statistics, in
18 collaboration with their school districts and the State Board
19 of Education, shall administer the biennial State academic
20 assessments of 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics
21 under the National Assessment of Educational Progress carried
22 out under Section m11(b)(2) of the National Education
23 Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010) if the Secretary of
24 Education pays the costs of administering the assessments.
25 (e) Beginning no later than the 2005-2006 school year,
26 subject to available federal funds to this State for the
27 purpose of student assessment, the State Board of Education
28 shall provide additional tests and assessment resources that
29 may be used by school districts for local diagnostic
30 purposes. These tests and resources shall include without
31 limitation additional high school writing, physical
32 development and health, and fine arts assessments. The State
33 Board of Education shall annually distribute a listing of
34 these additional tests and resources, using funds available
HB2352 Engrossed -11- LRB093 03343 NHT 03361 b
1 from appropriations made for student assessment purposes.
2 (f) For the assessment and accountability purposes of
3 this Section, "all pupils" includes those pupils enrolled in
4 a public or State-operated elementary school, secondary
5 school, or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing
6 body or board of control, a charter school operating in
7 compliance with the Charter Schools Law, a school operated by
8 a regional office of education under Section 13A-3 of this
9 Code, a public university laboratory school, Department of
10 Corrections School District 428, a residential school
11 operated by a State agency, and the Illinois Mathematics and
12 Science Academy.
13 (Source: P.A. 91-283, eff. 7-29-99; 92-604, eff. 7-1-02.)
14 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15 becoming law.