STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 5540--B A. 7442--B
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
May 16, 2013
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sens. LAVALLE, LATIMER, MARCHIONE -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted
to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. NOLAN, RUSSELL, JAFFEE, LUPARDO,
THIELE, SKARTADOS, LIFTON, FAHY -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted
to the Committee on Education in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec.
2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to assess, bi-sect and
critique through truth in testing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 7-B to
2 read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 7-B
4 TRUTH IN TESTING FOR THE COMMON CORE
5 Section 349-a. Definitions.
6 349-b. Disclosure.
7 349-c. Reporting.
8 349-d. Appeals process.
9 349-e. Students with disabilities.
10 349-f. English language learners.
11 349-g. Extenuating circumstances.
12 349-h. Independent audit.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11036-04-4
S. 5540--B 2 A. 7442--B
1 349-i. State-wide survey.
2 § 349-a. Definitions. As used in this article: 1. "Test" or "common
3 core state test" means any state created, developed or administered test
4 given in New York state to students in English language arts and math-
5 ematics that test students' knowledge and skills relating to common core
6 standards.
7 2. "Common core" means the New York state P-12 common core learning
8 standards (CCLS) for English language arts and mathematics on which New
9 York state common core tests will be based.
10 3. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of education of the state of
11 New York.
12 4. "Test subject" means any individual to whom a test is administered.
13 5. "Test agency" means organization, association, corporation, part-
14 nership or individual that develops, sponsors or administers a test
15 provided however that the department shall not be included within the
16 definition of a test agency for purposes of this article.
17 6. "Test year" means the twelve-month period commencing September
18 first during which the test agency administers a particular test.
19 7. "Child with a disability" or a "student with a disability" shall be
20 defined in section forty-four hundred one of this chapter.
21 8. "English language learner" means a test subject whose native
22 language is not English.
23 9. "Anchor items" or "linking items" means items based on the same
24 material in different forms on a test or multiple tests given in the
25 same year to different grade levels or in different years to the same
26 grade level that are scaled in such a way to ensure that a given score
27 represents the same level of performance, regardless of the test form or
28 year, that are used to link different forms of a test and equate them;
29 and to ensure that such items represent a stable level of difficulty
30 over time.
31 10. "Field test items" means un-scored items that are used to gather
32 data for use on future scored tests.
33 § 349-b. Disclosure. 1. Thirty days after the administration of any
34 common core state test in English language arts and mathematics given to
35 test subjects, fifty percent of the test items, after excluding anchor
36 items or linking items, and field test items shall be released to the
37 public.
38 2. After the second year of administration of a common core state
39 test, full disclosure of all test items that are the basis for test
40 subjects' scores, shall be released to the public. Posting of test items
41 and correct answers on the department's website shall constitute full
42 disclosure required by this section.
43 § 349-c. Reporting. The commissioner, beginning July first, two thou-
44 sand fifteen and annually thereafter, shall report to the governor, the
45 speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the
46 chair of the assembly higher education committee and the chair of the
47 senate higher education committee on: 1. the effectiveness of common
48 core state tests in enhancing student learning and performance;
49 2. the fairness and appropriateness of test items for each grade
50 level, including the percentage of test items found to be above grade
51 level;
52 3. the correlation between test scores and grade point averages of
53 test subjects taking common core state tests;
54 4. a statistical analysis of student performance based on socioeconom-
55 ic, gender, race and ethnicity, and regional factors;
S. 5540--B 3 A. 7442--B
1 5. the effectiveness of the test agency as the test development
2 vendor; and
3 6. factors to be considered in determining whether to continue with
4 the current test agency, or other vendor as a test agency, or utilize
5 partnership for assessment of readiness for college and careers (PARCC)
6 tests in two thousand sixteen.
7 § 349-d. Appeals process. The commissioner shall develop guidelines
8 and procedures for parental appeals of test subjects' scores based on
9 clear proof that such test subjects' scores are not reflective of such
10 test subjects' abilities. Such proof may include but not be limited to
11 grades received on classroom work during the test year or scores
12 received on past common core state tests given to the test subject in
13 previous years.
14 § 349-e. Students with disabilities. Students with disabilities shall
15 be provided with the testing accommodations specified in their individ-
16 ual education programs (IEPs) or their section five hundred four accom-
17 modation plans (504 Plans).
18 § 349-f. English language learners. The commissioner shall develop
19 testing accommodation guidelines for English language learners that may
20 include time extensions, separate test locations, translated editions,
21 bilingual dictionaries and glossaries, oral translations for lower-inci-
22 dent languages and written responses in native languages.
23 § 349-g. Extenuating circumstances. The commissioner shall develop a
24 procedure to allow a test subject to receive a one-time waiver from
25 taking a common core state test based on extenuating circumstances or
26 good cause shown pursuant to the commissioner's regulations.
27 § 349-h. Independent audit. Not later than May first, two thousand
28 fifteen the commissioner shall undertake to have a comprehensive inde-
29 pendent audit performed by an independent contractor, not affiliated
30 with a test agency. Such contractor shall have a background and exper-
31 tise in educational testing. The audit shall review and evaluate the
32 common core testing program in the state. The scope of the audit shall
33 include but not be limited to test preparation; whether tests were fair,
34 unbiased, properly pre-tested and grade appropriate, including the
35 percentage of test items found to be above grade level; whether the
36 tests were properly administered and scored; and, how the department
37 dealt with teacher, student and parent concerns, complaints and appeals.
38 Such audit shall be completed by October fifteenth, two thousand fifteen
39 and a copy shall be transmitted to the governor, the temporary president
40 of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs of the higher
41 education committees in each house.
42 § 349-i. State-wide survey. 1. The commissioner shall conduct a state-
43 wide survey of school administrators, teachers and the deans of teacher
44 education at New York state colleges and universities relating to the
45 amount of time spent on common core state test preparation and the
46 impact of such preparation on the quality of instruction. Respondents to
47 such survey may choose to remain anonymous. The survey shall include,
48 but not be limited to questions related to student and teacher morale,
49 test preparation time and the impact on curriculum, the amount of time
50 teachers spend aligning curriculum to common core state tests, the over-
51 all impact testing has on the classroom environment, the effects that
52 the common core testing program in New York state has on the ability of
53 teacher education programs to place student teachers in surrounding
54 school districts, and any other relevant questions regarding the impact
55 of common core state exams, including the percentage of test items found
56 to be above grade level.
S. 5540--B 4 A. 7442--B
1 2. This survey shall result in a report by the department that
2 compiles the data received from the survey and that details the results
3 and provides conclusions. Such report shall be submitted to the gover-
4 nor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate,
5 the chair of the assembly higher education committee and the chair of
6 the senate higher education committee by December thirty-first, two
7 thousand fourteen.
8 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that any rules
9 or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act shall be
10 promulgated and take effect 180 days after its enactment.