Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Governmental Relations
"Sen.
Royce West (D-Dallas) took the opportunity to add his Achievement
School District bill, SB 1718, to Rep. Bennett Ratliff's state
assessment reduction bill, HB 2836, after SB 1718 died
on a point of order Tuesday night in the House.
HB
2836, which was eventually passed by the Senate, would require state
assessments in grades 3-8 to be empirically determined to be valid and
reliable by an independent entity. Assessments
would be designed so that 85% of students in grades 3-8 could complete
the assessment within 180 minutes. The maximum time for the test would
be 8 hours and it would be administered in one calendar day. Districts
would be limited to two benchmarks per assessment
instrument. This limitation would not apply to college preparation
assessments, classroom examinations, and benchmarks requested by the
parent of a student with special needs. TEA would be required to
redesign test security policies to ensure the least amount
of disruption of instructional activities at a campus. Finally, the bill
calls for an interim committee to study the number and scope of
assessments in grades 3-8 and will create a committee to study the TEKS.
Aside
from Sen. West's amendment to include ASD language, the Senate amended
HB 2836 to exclude students in residential facilities from school
accountability measures.
The
House will now decide whether to agree with Senate amendments or call
for a conference committee to reconcile the different versions of the
bill."
