Bill Text: TX HB988 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to establishing a pilot program under which public schools may develop a portfolio method to assess student performance in grades three through eight for purposes of accountability and qualification for promotion.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-21 - Left pending in committee [HB988 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB988-Introduced.html
85R6716 PAM-D | ||
By: González of El Paso | H.B. No. 988 |
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relating to establishing a pilot program under which public schools | ||
may develop a portfolio method to assess student performance in | ||
grades three through eight for purposes of accountability and | ||
qualification for promotion. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 39.02302 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 39.02302. PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT PILOT PROGRAM FOR | ||
GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT. (a) The commissioner shall establish a | ||
pilot program as provided by this section under which participating | ||
school districts may: | ||
(1) implement a portfolio method to assess students in | ||
grades three through eight; and | ||
(2) use student performance under that method as a | ||
percentage of a student's overall performance on assessment | ||
instruments, in addition to the student's performance on assessment | ||
instruments required under Sections 39.023(a), (b), and (l), for | ||
purposes of accountability under this chapter and qualification for | ||
promotion under Section 28.0211. | ||
(b) A school district may choose to participate in the pilot | ||
program established under this section by submitting to the | ||
commissioner for approval not later than May 1, 2018, a plan | ||
described by this subsection and approved by the board of trustees | ||
of the district. A school district that chooses to participate in | ||
the pilot program must create a committee that consists of teachers | ||
and administrators employed by and students enrolled in the | ||
district to develop a three-year plan that: | ||
(1) specifies the goals and guiding principles for | ||
implementation of the district's portfolio assessment method; | ||
(2) designates for assessment by the portfolio | ||
assessment method: | ||
(A) English language arts; | ||
(B) mathematics; and | ||
(C) any other subject as determined by the | ||
committee; | ||
(3) specifies the essential knowledge and skills that | ||
must be addressed by the portfolio method of assessment for each | ||
subject designated under Subdivision (2); | ||
(4) designates the grades subject to portfolio | ||
assessment; | ||
(5) provides for accommodations and any other support | ||
measures that comply with applicable federal law for students | ||
enrolled in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter | ||
29, and students of limited English proficiency, as defined by | ||
Section 29.052; | ||
(6) includes requirements for using components of the | ||
portfolio assessment as: | ||
(A) an interim formative assessment tool to | ||
provide the student the opportunity to further develop | ||
understanding and performance; and | ||
(B) a final summative assessment; | ||
(7) includes the method of submitting student | ||
portfolios, which may include written submission, digital | ||
delivery, an oral defense presentation, or a combination of those | ||
methods; and | ||
(8) includes a rubric for grading student portfolios | ||
as provided by Subsection (c). | ||
(c) The rubric included in the plan developed under | ||
Subsection (b) must be developed by district teachers. In | ||
developing the rubric, the district teachers may incorporate | ||
suggestions from students enrolled in the district and community | ||
and business leaders. The rubric must be based on a 100-point scale | ||
scoring system and must establish a level of performance considered | ||
satisfactory and a level of performance necessary to indicate | ||
college readiness. | ||
(d) Subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act | ||
of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), the plan developed under | ||
Subsection (b) may provide for the use of portfolio assessments for | ||
other purposes, including to: | ||
(1) evaluate teacher performance; | ||
(2) assist in developing campus turnaround plans and | ||
other campus improvement initiatives under Subchapter E; | ||
(3) assist in communicating with the student's parents | ||
regarding the student's academic development; or | ||
(4) provide relevant information in admission, | ||
review, and dismissal committee and language proficiency | ||
assessment committee meetings. | ||
(e) The commissioner shall review and make a determination | ||
on each plan submitted under this section on or before August 1, | ||
2018. To participate in the pilot program, a school district must | ||
implement a plan approved by the commissioner under this section | ||
beginning with the 2018-2019 school year. | ||
(f) For purposes of the pilot program, if a scale score | ||
required for satisfactory performance under Section 39.0241(a) on | ||
an assessment instrument required under Section 39.023(a), (b), or | ||
(l) is not based on a 100-point scale scoring system, the | ||
commissioner shall provide for a conversion, in accordance with | ||
commissioner rule, of the scale score to an equivalent score based | ||
on a 100-point scale scoring system. A student's performance under | ||
the portfolio assessment method for a grade and subject shall be | ||
combined with the student's performance on the assessment | ||
instrument administered under Section 39.023(a), (b), or (l), as | ||
applicable, for that grade and subject to determine the student's | ||
overall performance. For purposes of assigning districts and | ||
campuses a performance rating under Section 39.054, a student's | ||
performance under the portfolio assessment method for a grade and | ||
subject is considered as 50 percent of the student's overall | ||
performance. For purposes of determining whether a student | ||
performed satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required | ||
under Section 28.0211 to qualify for promotion, a student's | ||
performance under the portfolio assessment method for the | ||
applicable grade and subject is considered as 65 percent of the | ||
student's overall performance. | ||
(g) For purposes of assigning districts and campuses a | ||
performance rating under Section 39.054, the commissioner shall | ||
consider districts and campuses participating in the pilot program | ||
separately. The commissioner shall adopt rules to substitute a | ||
student's overall performance computed as provided by Subsection | ||
(f) for purposes of accountability for the student's performance on | ||
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a), (b), or | ||
(l), as applicable. | ||
(h) A school district that participates in the pilot program | ||
shall provide student performance data to the agency as required by | ||
agency rule. The agency shall periodically review the performance | ||
data submitted under this subsection. | ||
(i) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to | ||
implement this section, including: | ||
(1) rules for submitting to the commissioner for | ||
approval a plan described by Subsection (b) and subsequent | ||
amendments to the plan; | ||
(2) rules for evaluating submitted plans and | ||
amendments described by Subdivision (1); | ||
(3) rules for submitting student performance data to | ||
the agency as required under Subsection (h); and | ||
(4) any specific rules for school districts or | ||
campuses that are rated unacceptable and choose to participate in | ||
the pilot program under this section. | ||
(j) Not later than September 1, 2022, the agency shall | ||
prepare and deliver to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the | ||
speaker of the house of representatives, and the presiding officer | ||
of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction | ||
over primary and secondary education a report that: | ||
(1) evaluates the implementation and performance | ||
results of the pilot program under this section; and | ||
(2) makes recommendations regarding the feasibility | ||
of statewide application of establishing a portfolio method to | ||
assess student performance in grades three through eight for | ||
purposes of accountability and qualification for promotion. | ||
(k) This section expires September 1, 2023. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |