Amd Part EE subpart E S1, Chap 56 of 2015; amd SS3012-d & 305, Ed L
Relates to annual performance review public comment period; directs the release of statewide English language arts and mathematics exam questions; relates to the addition of student characteristics for consideration of student performance; establishes a content review committee for reviewing standardized test items; relates to the board of regents; directs the commissioner to conduct a comprehensive review of education standards administered by the state education department; appropriates money therefor.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7303A
SPONSOR: Nolan TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend chapter 56 of the laws of 2015 amending the education
law relating to annual performance reviews of classroom teachers and
building principals, in relation to the public comment period; and to
amend the education law, in relation to annual teacher and principal
evaluations; to amend the education law, in relation to directing the
release of test questions on statewide English language arts and math-
ematics examinations; and making an appropriation therefor; to amend the
education law, in relation to the addition of student characteristics
for consideration of student performance; to amend the education law, in
relation to establishing a content review committee for the purpose of
reviewing new standardized test items; to amend the education law, in
relation to the board of regents; to amend the education law, in
relation to the teacher observations category; and to direct the commis-
sioner of education to conduct a comprehensive review of the education
standards administered by the state education department
PURPOSE:
This bill would make amendments to the education law to extend the time
for when the commissioner and Board of Regents must adopt regulations
and guidelines for implementing a statewide annual teacher and principal
evaluation system; extend the period in which school districts must
implement an approved evaluation system and delinks the increase in aid
for school districts to the implementation of the teacher and principal
evaluation system; require the state education department (SED) to
release significantly more test questions and answers and provides an
appropriation to do so; require SED to take certain student character-
istics into consideration when calculating state provided student growth
scores; allow districts to use the independent evaluator subcomponent as
part of a voluntary demonstration project; establish a standardized test
content review committee; require the commissioner to review the Common
Core learning standards; and amend the definition of "state-designed
supplemental assessments" under 3012-d of the education law.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one would require the commissioner to adopt regulations and
guidelines related to implementing a statewide annual teacher and prin-
cipal evaluation system by November 17th, 2015.
Section two would extend to November 15, 2016 or by September first of
each subsequent school year the deadline for when school districts are
required to have fully implemented an annual teacher and principal eval-
uations system, and would eliminate the contingency requirement for
school districts to fully implement the new evaluation system in order
to be eligible to receive an increase in aid for the 2015-2016 school
year and thereafter.
Section three would require SED to release by June 1, 2015 and annually
thereafter, a significant amount of test questions and corresponding
correct answers from the most recent grades three through eight English
language arts and math exams in order to provide sufficient feedback for
educators, parents, and students.
Section four would appropriate $8.4 million to allow SED to create and
print more test forms in order to eliminate standalone multiple choice
field testing and release a significant amount of test questions.
Section five would require SED to ensure that state-provided student
growth scores for certain teachers would consider certain factors, such
as English language learners, students with disabilities, students who
are in poverty status, as well as students' prior academic history.
Section six would no longer require school districts to use the impar-
tial independent trained evaluator subcomponent of the teacher observa-
tion category, but would instead allow school districts to use the inde-
pendent evaluator as part of a voluntary demonstration project that may
be established by SED.
Section seven and eight would require SED to establish a content review
committee to review new standardized test items and/or selected passages
for use on state exams in grades three through eight to ensure that
tests are presented at a readability level that is grade level appropri-
ate and provide that any contracts previously entered into by SED
related to standardized assessments must be amended in order to reflect
grade level appropriate test questions and content.
Section nine would require the commissioner to review the Common Core
learning standards.
Section ten would amend the definition of state designed supplemental
assessments in section 3012-d to include other locally selected measures
of student achievement that are approved by SED.
Section eleven would provide for the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law the commissioner and Board of Regents are required to
adopt changes to the annual teacher and principal evaluations by June
30, 2015. Additionally, under current law, school districts must fully
implement the new requirements under section 3012-d by November 15, 2015
or by September 1st of the following year in order to be eligible to
receive an increase in aid. This bill would extend the deadline for the
adoption of regulations until November 17, 2015, so that the Board has
sufficient time to carefully consider input from educators, administra-
tors, and other stakeholders in order to properly implement a new evalu-
ation system and to comply with the timelines established in the State
Administrative Procedure Act. Students should not be denied necessary
resources for a sound education due to the inability of adults to make
agreements, and this bill would eliminate the contingency that school
districts must implement a new evaluation system in order to be eligible
to receive an increase in aid. Although school districts currently must
implement the new evaluation system by November 15, 2015 or by September
1, 2016, it would be in the best interest of students to further extend
such deadline by one year.
The bill would also make other changes to strengthen the evaluation and
testing process. The bill would seek to improve the instructional value
of the grades 3-8 ELA and math assessments by providing appropriate
funding to ensure that more test questions and their corresponding
answers are released to educators, students, and parents. The bill would
also require that teachers with state-provided growth scores would have
certain student characteristics taken into consideration to ensure
scores more accurately reflect a teacher's students.
School districts and other stakeholders have noted that the requirement
for an independent trained evaluator would be an unfunded mandate for
some schools, and it has been argued that the independent evaluators
would not understand the dynamics of individual classrooms as well as
the administrators that currently work within the school district.
Introducing the independent evaluators as a voluntary subcomponent gives
school districts flexibility to determine the best system to evaluate
their teachers and principals.
It is important to ensure assessments are given at a grade appropriate
level and in a timeframe that is appropriate for students. The content
review committee provided for in this bill, which would include teachers
and educational experts, would review future assessments to ensure that
assessment content is grade level appropriate. The bill would also
require the commissioner to review the Common Core learning standards.
Additionally, the bill would also provide that other locally selected
measures of student achievement are included in the definition of state
designed supplemental assessments if a school district elects to use the
locally selected measure of student performance. Allowing for more
locally selected measures will ensure that school districts have a wide
array of tests and assessments they may use to their liking to measure
this subcomponent of student performance.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This bill would provide $8.4 million to the State Education Department.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7303--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 4, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. NOLAN, KAMINSKY, FAHY, PAULIN, JAFFEE, LIFTON,
LINARES, McDONALD, MOSLEY, OTIS, RUSSELL, RYAN, SCHIMEL, ZEBROWSKI --
read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend chapter 56 of the laws of 2015 amending the education
law relating to annual performance reviews of classroom teachers and
building principals, in relation to the public comment period; and to
amend the education law, in relation to annual teacher and principal
evaluations; to amend the education law, in relation to directing the
release of test questions on statewide English language arts and math-
ematics examinations; and making an appropriation therefor; to amend
the education law, in relation to the addition of student character-
istics for consideration of student performance; to amend the educa-
tion law, in relation to establishing a content review committee for
the purpose of reviewing new standardized test items; to amend the
education law, in relation to the board of regents; to amend the
education law, in relation to the teacher observations category; and
to direct the commissioner of education to conduct a comprehensive
review of the education standards administered by the state education
department
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 1 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws
2 of 2015, amending the education law relating to annual performance
3 reviews of classroom teachers and building principals, is amended to
4 read as follows:
5 Section 1. Authority of the commissioner. Notwithstanding any
6 provisions of section 3012-c of the education law to the contrary, the
7 commissioner of the state education department, is hereby authorized and
8 directed to, subject to the provisions of section 207 of the education
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
A LBD10854-14-5
A. 7303--A 2
1 law, adopt regulations of the commissioner and guidelines no later than
2 [June 30] November 17, 2015, to implement a statewide annual teacher and
3 principal evaluation system in New York state pursuant to section 3012-d
4 of the education law, as added by this act, after consulting with
5 experts and practitioners in the fields of education, economics and
6 psychometrics and taking into consideration the parameters set forth in
7 the letter from the Chancellor of the Board of Regents and acting
8 commissioner dated December 31, 2014, to the New York State Director of
9 State Operations. The commissioner shall also establish a process to
10 accept public comments and recommendations regarding the adoption of
11 regulations pursuant to section 3012-d of the education law and consult
12 in writing with the Secretary of the United States Department of Educa-
13 tion on weights, measures and ranking of evaluation categories and
14 subcomponents and shall release the response from the Secretary upon
15 receipt thereof but in any event prior to publication of the regulations
16 hereunder.
17 § 2. Subdivision 11 of section 3012-d of the education law, as added
18 by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015,
19 is amended to read as follows:
20 11. [Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, no] Every
21 school district shall [be eligible for an apportionment of general
22 support for public schools from the funds appropriated for the
23 2015--2016 school year and any year thereafter in excess of the amount
24 apportioned to such school district in the respective base year unless
25 such school district has submitted documentation that has been] submit
26 documentation to be approved by the commissioner by November fifteenth,
27 two thousand [fifteen] sixteen, or by September first of each subsequent
28 year, demonstrating that it has fully implemented the standards and
29 procedures for conducting annual teacher and principal evaluations of
30 teachers and principals in accordance with the requirements of this
31 section and the regulations issued by the commissioner. [Provided
32 further that any apportionment withheld pursuant to this section shall
33 not occur prior to April first of the current year and shall not have
34 any effect on the base year calculation for use in the subsequent school
35 year. For purposes of this section, "base year" shall mean the base year
36 as defined in paragraph b of subdivision one of section thirty-six
37 hundred two of this chapter, and "current year" shall mean the current
38 year as defined in paragraph a of subdivision one of section thirty-six
39 hundred two of this chapter.]
40 § 3. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
41 subdivision 51-a to read as follows:
42 51-a. On or before June first, two thousand fifteen, and each year
43 thereafter, the commissioner shall release a significant amount of test
44 questions and corresponding correct answers from each of the most
45 recently administered English language arts and mathematics examinations
46 in grades three through eight of that year. The number of questions and
47 answers released shall not be so significant as to hinder or impair the
48 validity and/or reliability of future examinations but shall provide
49 enough of an overview of each examination so that teachers, administra-
50 tors, principals, parents and students can be provided with sufficient
51 feedback on the types of questions administered and by July first, two
52 thousand fifteen, and each year thereafter, the commissioner shall
53 release the general student success rate in answering such questions
54 correctly.
55 § 4. The sum of eight million four hundred thousand dollars
56 ($8,400,000), or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appro-
A. 7303--A 3
1 priated to the department of education out of any moneys in the state
2 treasury in the general fund to the credit of the state purposes
3 account, not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for
4 the purpose of carrying out the provisions of subdivision 51-a of
5 section 305 of the education law, as added by section three of this act,
6 and in order to create and print more forms of state standardized
7 assessments in order to eliminate stand-alone multiple choice field
8 tests and release a significant amount of test questions. Such moneys
9 shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers
10 certified or approved by the commissioner of education in the manner
11 prescribed by law.
12 § 5. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 3012-d
13 of the education law, as added by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of
14 chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
15 (1) For the first subcomponent, (A) for a teacher whose course ends in
16 a state-created or administered test for which there is a state-provided
17 growth model, such teacher shall have a state-provided growth score
18 based on such model, which shall take into consideration certain student
19 characteristics, as determined by the commissioner, including but not
20 limited to students with disabilities, poverty status, English language
21 learner status and prior academic history; and (B) for a teacher whose
22 course does not end in a state-created or administered test such teacher
23 shall have a student learning objective (SLO) consistent with a goal-
24 setting process determined or developed by the commissioner, that
25 results in a student growth score; provided that, for any teacher whose
26 course ends in a state-created or administered assessment for which
27 there is no state-provided growth model, such assessment must be used as
28 the underlying assessment for such SLO;
29 § 6. Paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 3012-d of the education
30 law, as added by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the
31 laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
32 b. Teacher observations category. The observations category for teach-
33 ers shall be based on a state-approved rubric and shall include up to
34 three subcomponents. Such category must include: [(1)] a subcomponent
35 based on classroom observations conducted by a principal or other
36 trained administrator and [must] may also include [(2)], as part of a
37 voluntary demonstration project that may be established by the depart-
38 ment, a subcomponent based on classroom observations by an impartial
39 independent trained evaluator or evaluators selected by the district. An
40 independent trained evaluator may be employed within the school
41 district, but not the same school building, as the teacher being evalu-
42 ated. Such category may also include a subcomponent based on classroom
43 observations conducted by a trained peer teacher rated effective or
44 highly effective from the same school or from another school in the
45 district.
46 § 7. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
47 subdivision 53 to read as follows:
48 53. The commissioner is authorized and directed to establish a
49 content review committee for the purposes of reviewing all standardized
50 test items and/or selected passages used on English language arts and
51 mathematics state assessments for grades three through eight to ensure:
52 (a) they are grade level appropriate, in general; (b) they are presented
53 at a readability level that is grade-level appropriate; (c) they are
54 within grade-level expectations; and (d) they appropriately measure the
55 learning standards approved by the board of regents applicable to such
56 subject and/or grade level. The review of such items and passages shall
A. 7303--A 4
1 be conducted prior to their use in such assessments provided however,
2 for the two thousand fifteen--two thousand sixteen school year only, if
3 such requirement would prevent the ability of such assessments to be
4 administered, then items or passages that have not been reviewed may be
5 used. Provided further, the content review committee shall review any
6 new standardized test items and/or selected passages prior to their use
7 in such assessments. Such committee shall also ensure that any new test
8 items and/or selected passages are fair and appropriately measure the
9 learning standards approved by the board of regents applicable to such
10 subject and/or grade level. Such committee shall also ensure that
11 adequate and appropriate time is given to students for the adminis-
12 tration of such assessments, provided however that subdivision forty-
13 nine of this section must be complied with. The content review commit-
14 tee shall include classroom teachers and experienced educators in the
15 content area and/or grade level of the items/passages being reviewed,
16 including teachers of students with disabilities and English language
17 learners.
18 § 8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
19 the contrary, any previously entered into contract by the education
20 department related to standardized test items and/or passages for use on
21 state assessments in grades three through eight shall be amended to
22 incorporate the provisions of section seven of this act and any required
23 approval of such contract amendments by a state agency shall be expe-
24 dited to ensure compliance with section seven of this act.
25 § 9. The commissioner of education shall conduct a comprehensive
26 review of the education standards administered by the state education
27 department and seek input from education stakeholders when conducting
28 such review. The review shall examine aspects of the learning standards
29 adopted by the board of regents in 2011 including but not limited to:
30 whether curriculum materials and modules are aligned to standards and
31 fully available to school districts, age and grade appropriateness of
32 such standards, and current progress of the implementation of such stan-
33 dards. The review shall also contain recommendations on how to modify
34 the standards if deemed necessary and appropriate provided such recom-
35 mended modifications shall be in accordance with federal requirements.
36 This review shall be completed on or before June 30, 2016. Upon
37 completion of the review the board of regents shall consider the find-
38 ings of the review and vote to accept or reject any recommendations made
39 by the commissioner within 60 days.
40 § 10. Paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 3012-d of the education
41 law, as added by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the
42 laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
43 d. "State-designed supplemental assessment" shall mean a selection of
44 state tests or assessments developed or designed by the state education
45 department, or that the state education department purchased or acquired
46 from (i) another state; (ii) an institution of higher education; or
47 (iii) a commercial or not-for-profit entity, provided that such entity
48 must be objective and may not have a conflict of interest or appearance
49 of a conflict of interest; such definition may include tests or assess-
50 ments that have been previously designed or acquired by local districts,
51 but only if the state education department significantly modifies growth
52 targets or scoring bands for such tests or assessments or otherwise
53 adapts the test or assessment to the state education department's
54 requirements and may include other locally selected measures of student
55 achievement provided that such measures are approved by the department.
A. 7303--A 5
1 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
2 nothing in this act shall prevent or impair the commissioner of educa-
3 tion from complying with the provisions of section three of this act
4 prior to its effective date and provided further that, if this act takes
5 effect after June 1, 2015, the commissioner of education shall have
6 thirty days from such effective date to comply with the provisions of
7 section three of this act; and provided further that section seven of
8 this act shall take effect December 1, 2015.
