CHAPTER 498
FORMERLY
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 26
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1
SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE STATE TASK FORCE ON EDUCATION FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH BY ESTABLISHING A COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF A STATEWIDE MASTERY EXAMINATION PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, our Nation's economic growth and future development depend on the ability of our schools to produce students capable of meeting the skill needs of the marketplace; and
WHEREAS, to accurately measure progress in improving student achievement and to assure equal opportunity in improving student performance across the State, a statewide testing system that focuses on student mastery of specific required knowledges. skills and abilities may be needed; and
WHEREAS, mastery examinations could measure how well a student has mastered specific subject matter as opposed to most standardized tests which only measure how well a student performs relative to others who took the test: and
WHEREAS, the State Task Force on Education for Economic Growth recommended that mutely examinations be used to raise standards for student performance and reduce the inconsistency of standards across the State; and
WHEREAS, after months of study the Task Force on Education for Economic Growth cited as its number one priority the need to improve student achievement in Delaware.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 132nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that the concept of using mastery examinations to raise student performance should be examined and studied.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a study be undertaken to determine how mastery examinations might be instituted over a phased-in period for courses and subjects required for graduation in Delaware.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate will establish a Steering Committee to oversee the study of a mastery examination program in the State of Delaware. This Committee should include representatives from the Department of Public Instruction, institutions of higher education, local school districts, the Delaware School Boards' Association, the Delaware State Education Association, the Delaware Association of School Administrators. Parent-Teacher Associations and members of the community-at-large. Members of the Mastery Test Advisory Committee should be considered as the nucleus of this group.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Steering Committee shall be charged with studying the means by which a plan for mastery examinations might be established. This plan shall be developed under the aegis of the Department of Public Instruction and shall be submitted to the Governor, the General Assembly and the Education Improvements Monitoring Committee as created by Executive Order No. 138, no later than January 30. 1985.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in discussing the development of the mastery examination program, the Steering Committee may consider a combination of approaches. such as acquiring new tests, redesigning existing tests or identifying existing tests as mastery examinations.
Approved August 13, 1984.