CHAPTER 44
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 106
AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND STUDENT ASSESSMENT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :
WHEREAS, the Professional Development and Educator Accountability Act of 2000 established a State Testing Committee to review and report on the Delaware Student Testing Program and student accountability; and
WHEREAS, the report of the State Testing Committee concludes that the Delaware Student Testing Program is a measure of student performance relative to the state content standards but should not be the sole indicator of student performance; and
WHEREAS, the report of the State Testing Committee concludes that other indicators of student performance relative to the state content standards should be used in determining promotion and retention for students; and
WHEREAS, the role of the State Testing Committee should be continued to annually review the student assessment and student accountability system.
NOW THEREFORE:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend §151(h) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by renaming the subsection as (i) and inserting a new subsection (h) in lieu thereof to read as follows:
“ (h) Pursuant to §1270(d) of this Title, the Department shall conduct statewide annual assessments of student achievement for students in grades kindergarten through grade 10 not assessed pursuant to §151(b) of this title. All school districts and public schools shall participate in such assessments”
Section 2. Amend §152 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking the phrase “Standard Diploma” wherever it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase “Basic Diploma”.
Section 3. Amend §152 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking the phrase “Academic Diploma” wherever it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase “Standard Diploma.”
Section 4. Amend §152 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection (f) to read as follows:
“(f) Local school districts shall include a statement of a student’s performance relative to the state high school content standards as a component of a student’s high school transcript."
Section 5. Amend §153 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking the phrase “grade level proficiency" wherever it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “ a proficient level of performance relative to the state content standards”.
Section 6. Amend §153(b) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking §153(b) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
“(b) The Department may approve, after consultation with the Student Assessment and Accountability Committee established pursuant to §158 of this Title, other individual student indicators that may be used to determine a student’s performance relative to the state content standards. Such indicators shall:
(1) Provide a measure of individual student performance relative to the state content standards; and
(2) Include performance on district administered assessments pursuant to §153(e)(1) of this Title performance on end of course assessments, student classroom work products, or classroom grades supported by evidence of student work that demonstrates a student’s performance level pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.”
Section 7. Amend §153(d) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking subsections (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) in their entireties and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
“(1) A third, fifth or eighth grade student, whose performance on the reading portion of the assessments administered pursuant to §151(b) of this Title is Below the Standard, Level II on the DSTP, shall not advance to the next grade unless:
a. The student’s parent(s) or guardian and the school district agree on an individual improvement plan (which may include but is not limited to summer school, before and/or after school instruction, Saturday school, and/or tutoring) to remediate those areas of weakness demonstrated by the State assessment. A students parent(s) or guardian shall have the right to appeal the contents of an individual improvement plan to an academic review committee established pursuant to this section; or
b. If no agreement pursuant to subparagraph (a) of this paragraph can be reached, the student shall attend a summer school program and demonstrate a proficient level of performance on the state reading assessment prior to the commencement of the next school year. If at the end of summer school the student still does not demonstrate proficiency on the state reading assessment the student shall be retained unless an academic review committee composed of educators from the student’s district determines that the student has demonstrated proficient performance relative to the state content standards using evidence from other indicators approved pursuant to §153(b) of this title; or
c. The student has previously been retained for two (2) years because of academic performance.
(2) A third, fifth or eighth grade student, whose performance on the reading portion of the assessments administered pursuant to §151(b) of this Title is Well Below the Standard, Level I on the DSTP shall not advance to the next grade unless:
a. The student attends a summer school program and demonstrates a proficient level of performance on the state reading assessment prior to the commencement of the next school year; or
b. An academic review committee composed of educators from the student’s district determines that the student has demonstrated proficient performance relative to the state content standards using evidence from other indicators approved pursuant to §153(b) of this Title. Such evidence shall only be used if the student has not demonstrated a proficient level of performance on the reading assessment after at least one retake of the state assessment at a grade level; or
c. The student has previously been retained for two years because of academic performance.
(3) An eighth grade student, whose performance on the math portion of the assessments administered pursuant to §151 (b) of this Title is Below the Standard, Level II on the DSTP, shall not advance to the next grade unless:
a. The student’s parent(s) or guardian and the school district agree on an individual improvement plan (which may include but is not limited to summer school, before and/or after school instruction, Saturday school, and/or tutoring) to remediate those areas of weakness demonstrated on the State assessment. A students parent(s) or guardian shall have the right to appeal the contents of an individual improvement plan to an academic review committee established pursuant to this section; or
b. If no agreement pursuant to subparagraph (a) of this paragraph can be reached, the student shall attend a summer school program and demonstrate a proficient level of performance on the state mathematics assessment prior to the commencement of the next school year. If, at the end of summer school, the student still does not demonstrate proficiency on the state assessment the student shall be retained unless an academic review committee composed of educators from the student’s district determines that the student has demonstrated proficient performance relative to the state content standards using evidence from other indicators approved pursuant to §153(b) of this Title; or
c. The student has previously been retained for two years because of academic performance.
(4) An eighth grade student, whose performance on the math portion of the assessments administered pursuant to §151(b) of this Title is Well Below the Standard, Level I on the DSTP, shall not advance to the next grade unless:
a. The student attends a summer school program and demonstrates a proficient level of performance on the state mathematics assessment prior to the commencement of the next school year; or
b. An academic review committee composed of educators from the student’s district determines that the student has demonstrated proficient performance relative to the state content standards using evidence from other indicators approved pursuant to §153(b) of this Title. Such evidence shall only be used if the student has not demonstrated a proficient level of performance on the state mathematics assessment after at least one retake of the state assessment at a grade level; or
c. The student has previously been retained for two years because of academic performance.”
(5) A student who advances to the next grade level due to an individual improvement plan agreed to under subparagraphs (1)a. and/or (3)a. of this subsection must demonstrate proficiency on the relevant portion of the state assessment at the end of that school year. If a student does not demonstrate proficiency at the end of that school year, the student shall attend summer school. If, at the end of summer school, the student still does not demonstrate proficiency on the state assessment the student shall be retained unless an academic review committee composed of educators from the student’s district determines that the student has demonstrated proficient performance relative to the state content standards using evidence from other indicators approved pursuant to §153(b) of this Title.”
Section 8. Amend §153(d) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection (11) to read as follows:
“(11) Any academic review committee established pursuant to §153(d) of this Title shall include at least one teacher from the grade level to which the student may be promoted.”
Section 9. Amend §158 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by striking it in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Ҥ158. Student Assessment and Accountability Committee.
(a) There is hereby established the Student Assessment and Accountability Committee to provide an ongoing monitoring of the statewide system of student assessment and student accountability established pursuant to this chapter; and to review and periodically make recommendations to the Secretary of Education regarding the Delaware Student Testing Program, the alignment of the curriculum at the local school district level to the Delaware content standards, the development and approval of additional indicators for purposes of determining performance relative to the state content standards and other issues as they relate to student assessment and student accountability.
(b) The Committee shall, on an annual basis, review and analyze the decisions of district academic review committees established pursuant to §153(d) of this Title as they relate to student performance on the state assessments. The Committee shall recommend that the Department conduct an audit of such decisions should there be a significant discrepancy between student performance on state assessments and promotion and retention decisions.
(c) The Committee shall be chaired by the Secretary of Education or his or her designee and shall have no more than seventeen members and include three members of the Senate of which two are appointed by the President Pro Tempore of Senate and one by the Minority Leader of the Senate, three members of the House of Representatives of which two are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. The Secretary of Education shall, after consultation with the Governor, appoint eleven members comprised of individuals which shall include a representative of the Chief State School Officers Association, a representative of the Delaware State Education Association, a representative of the Delaware School Boards Association, a representative of the Delaware Association of School Administrators, a local school district curriculum coordinator, a local school district special education supervisor, a member of academia with expertise in assessment and three public members.”
Section 10. Amend §1270(d) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by inserting after the word "assessment" as it appears in the first sentence the phrase “, excluding grades 11 and 12,”
Section 11. Amend §1270(d) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding a new sentence to the end of the subsection to read as follows:
“Any savings made as a result of excluding grades 11 and 12 from these assessments shall be used to further align curriculum at the high school level."