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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
52-3.64a-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5)
7    Sec. 2-3.64a-5. State goals and assessment.
8    (a) For the assessment and accountability purposes of this
9Section, "students" includes those students enrolled in a
10public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school,
11or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or
12board of control, a charter school operating in compliance with
13the Charter Schools Law, a school operated by a regional office
14of education under Section 13A-3 of this Code, or a public
15school administered by a local public agency or the Department
16of Human Services.
17    (b) The State Board of Education shall establish the
18academic standards that are to be applicable to students who
19are subject to State assessments under this Section. The State
20Board of Education shall not establish any such standards in
21final form without first providing opportunities for public
22participation and local input in the development of the final
23academic standards. Those opportunities shall include a

 

 

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1well-publicized period of public comment and opportunities to
2file written comments.
3    (c) Beginning no later than the 2014-2015 school year, the
4State Board of Education shall annually assess all students
5enrolled in grades 3 through 8 in English language arts and
6mathematics.
7    Beginning no later than the 2017-2018 school year, the
8State Board of Education shall annually assess all students in
9science at one grade in grades 3 through 5, at one grade in
10grades 6 through 8, and at one grade in grades 9 through 12.
11    The State Board of Education shall annually assess schools
12that operate a secondary education program, as defined in
13Section 22-22 of this Code, in English language arts and
14mathematics. The State Board of Education shall administer no
15more than 3 assessments, per student, of English language arts
16and mathematics for students in a secondary education program.
17One of these assessments shall include a college and career
18ready determination that shall be accepted by this State's
19public institutions of higher education, as defined in the
20Board of Higher Education Act, for the purpose of student
21application or admissions consideration.
22    Students who are not assessed for college and career ready
23determinations may not receive a regular high school diploma
24unless the student is exempted from taking State assessments
25under subsection (d) of this Section because (i) the student's
26individualized educational program developed under Article 14

 

 

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1of this Code identifies the State assessment as inappropriate
2for the student, (ii) the student is enrolled in a program of
3adult and continuing education, as defined in the Adult
4Education Act, (iii) the school district is not required to
5assess the individual student for purposes of accountability
6under federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requirements,
7(iv) the student has been determined to be an English language
8learner, referred to in this Code as a student with limited
9English proficiency, and has been enrolled in schools in the
10United States for less than 12 months, or (v) the student is
11otherwise identified by the State Board of Education, through
12rules, as being exempt from the assessment.
13    The State Board of Education shall not assess students
14under this Section in subjects not required by this Section.
15    Districts shall inform their students of the timelines and
16procedures applicable to their participation in every yearly
17administration of the State assessments. The State Board of
18Education shall establish periods of time in each school year
19during which State assessments shall occur to meet the
20objectives of this Section.
21    (d) Every individualized educational program as described
22in Article 14 shall identify if the State assessment or
23components thereof are appropriate for the student. The State
24Board of Education shall develop rules governing the
25administration of an alternate assessment that may be available
26to students for whom participation in this State's regular

 

 

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1assessments is not appropriate, even with accommodations as
2allowed under this Section.
3    Students receiving special education services whose
4individualized educational programs identify them as eligible
5for the alternative State assessments nevertheless shall have
6the option of taking this State's regular assessment that
7includes a college and career ready determination, which shall
8be administered in accordance with the eligible accommodations
9appropriate for meeting these students' respective needs.
10    All students determined to be an English language learner,
11referred to in this Code as a student with limited English
12proficiency, shall participate in the State assessments,
13excepting those students who have been enrolled in schools in
14the United States for less than 12 months. Such students may be
15exempted from participation in one annual administration of the
16English language arts assessment. Any student determined to be
17an English language learner, referred to in this Code as a
18student with limited English proficiency, shall receive
19appropriate assessment accommodations, including language
20supports, which shall be established by rule. Approved
21assessment accommodations must be provided until the student's
22English language skills develop to the extent that the student
23is no longer considered to be an English language learner,
24referred to in this Code as a student with limited English
25proficiency, as demonstrated through a State-identified
26English language proficiency assessment.

 

 

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1    (e) The results or scores of each assessment taken under
2this Section shall be made available to the parents of each
3student.
4    In each school year, the scores attained by a student on
5the State assessment that includes a college and career ready
6determination must be placed in the student's permanent record
7and must be entered on the student's transcript pursuant to
8rules that the State Board of Education shall adopt for that
9purpose in accordance with Section 3 of the Illinois School
10Student Records Act. In each school year, the scores attained
11by a student on the State assessments administered in grades 3
12through 8 must be placed in the student's temporary record.
13    (f) All schools shall administer an academic assessment of
14English language proficiency in oral language (listening and
15speaking) and reading and writing skills to all children
16determined to be English language learners, referred to in
17Section 14C-3 of this Code as children with limited
18English-speaking ability.
19    (g) All schools in this State that are part of the sample
20drawn by the National Center for Education Statistics, in
21collaboration with their school districts and the State Board
22of Education, shall administer the biennial academic
23assessments under the National Assessment of Educational
24Progress carried out under Section 411(b)(2) of the federal
25National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010) if
26the U.S. Secretary of Education pays the costs of administering

 

 

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1the assessments.
2    (h) Subject to available funds to this State for the
3purpose of student assessment, the State Board of Education
4shall provide additional assessments and assessment resources
5that may be used by school districts for local assessment
6purposes. The State Board of Education shall annually
7distribute a listing of these additional resources.
8    (i) For the purposes of this subsection (i), "academically
9based assessments" means assessments consisting of questions
10and answers that are measurable and quantifiable to measure the
11knowledge, skills, and ability of students in the subject
12matters covered by the assessments. All assessments
13administered pursuant to this Section must be academically
14based assessments. The scoring of academically based
15assessments shall be reliable, valid, and fair and shall meet
16the guidelines for assessment development and use prescribed by
17the American Psychological Association, the National Council
18on Measurement in Education, and the American Educational
19Research Association.
20    The State Board of Education shall review the use of all
21assessment item types in order to ensure that they are valid
22and reliable indicators of student performance aligned to the
23learning standards being assessed and that the development,
24administration, and scoring of these item types are justifiable
25in terms of cost.
26    (j) The State Superintendent of Education shall appoint a

 

 

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1committee of no more than 21 members, consisting of parents,
2teachers, school administrators, school board members,
3assessment experts, regional superintendents of schools, and
4citizens, to review the State assessments administered by the
5State Board of Education. The Committee shall select one of its
6members as its chairperson. The Committee shall meet on an
7ongoing basis to review the content and design of the
8assessments (including whether the requirements of subsection
9(i) of this Section have been met), the time and money expended
10at the local and State levels to prepare for and administer the
11assessments, the collective results of the assessments as
12measured against the stated purpose of assessing student
13performance, and other issues involving the assessments
14identified by the Committee. The Committee shall make periodic
15recommendations to the State Superintendent of Education and
16the General Assembly concerning the assessments.
17    (k) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
18implement this Section.
19(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14.)