§ 6-15-2009 - Public school assessments and remediation. - Arkansas Statutes

6-15-2009. Public school assessments and remediation.

(a) (1) Each student shall participate in the statewide program of educational assessment required in 6-15-419, 6-15-433, and this section and by the State Board of Education.

(2) Each student in grades three through eight (3-8) shall participate in those benchmark assessments required in 6-15-419, 6-15-433, and this section and by the state board.

(3) Students in appropriate grades shall participate in the general end-of-course assessments and high-stakes end-of-course assessments required by 6-15-419 and 6-15-433 as established by the state board and this section.

(4) (A) The state board shall determine the requisite scale score of student performance on each assessment required in subdivisions (a)(1)-(3) of this section.

(B) The requisite scale score for any high-stakes end-of-course assessment shall be set only at the cut score necessary to demonstrate the minimum satisfactory passing level of that subject.

(5) The state board shall establish by rule the requisite scale score for a general end-of-course assessment and the requisite scale score for high-stakes end-of-course assessments.

(b) (1) Each student identified as not meeting the satisfactory pass levels in the immediate previously administered benchmark assessment shall participate in the remediation activities as required in the student's individualized academic improvement plan beginning in the school year the assessment results are reported.

(2) The Department of Education may determine that an individualized education program for a student with disabilities identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., meets the requirements of an individualized academic improvement plan under this section if the individualized education program addresses one (1) or more academic areas in which the student is not proficient on state-mandated augmented, criterion-referenced, or norm-referenced assessments.

(3) (A) The public school district where the student is enrolled shall notify the student's parent, guardian, or caregiver of the parent's role and responsibilities as well as the consequences for the student's failure to participate in the plan.

(B) This notice may be provided via student handbooks issued to students.

(4) A student in grades three through eight (3-8) identified as not passing a benchmark assessment and who fails to participate in the subsequent academic improvement plan shall be retained and shall not be promoted to the next appropriate grade until:

(A) The student is deemed to have participated in an academic improvement plan; or

(B) The student passes the benchmark assessment for the current grade level in which the student is retained.

(c) (1) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, a student required to take a general end-of-course assessment who is identified as not meeting the requisite scale score for a particular assessment shall participate in the remediation activities as required in the student's individualized academic improvement plan in the school year that the assessment results are reported in order to receive academic credit on his or her transcript for the course related to the end-of-course assessment.

(2) The individualized academic improvement plan shall include remediation activities focused on those areas in which a student failed to pass a general end-of-course assessment.

(3) (A) A student who is identified as not meeting the requisite scale score for a general end-of-course assessment shall not receive academic credit on his or her transcript for the course related to the general end-of-course assessment until the student is identified as having participated in remediation through an individualized academic improvement plan.

(B) For the purpose of a general end-of-course assessment, remediation does not require that a student pass a subsequent end-of-course assessment in order to receive academic credit for a course.

(d) (1) (A) (i) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, all initial high-stakes end-of-course assessments for Algebra I shall be administered by grade ten (10).

(ii) Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, all initial high-stakes end-of-course assessments for English II shall be administered by grade ten (10).

(iii) A student from an Arkansas public school who completed and received academic credit on an end-of-course assessment for Algebra I before the 2009-2010 school year or for English II before the 2013-2014 school year is not required to participate in and receive academic credit from a high-stakes end-of-course assessment on or after the 2009-2010 school year for Algebra I or on or after the 2013-2014 school year for English II.

(iv) A student transferring into an Arkansas public school on or after 2009-2010 for Algebra I or 2013-2014 for English II who can demonstrate by official transcript from an out-of-state public, private, or home school or an Arkansas private or home school that he or she has previously obtained academic credit for Algebra I or English II is not required to participate in and receive academic credit from an initial high-stakes end-of-course assessment unless the public school district assesses the student's educational status and determines the student does not possess the requisite passing knowledge of Algebra I or English II.

(B) (i) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, an Arkansas public school student who is not in grade ten (10), grade eleven (11), or grade twelve (12) in an Arkansas public school and has not previously received proper academic credit on his or her transcript for Algebra I but has successfully completed an Algebra I course is required to complete and successfully meet the requisite scale score on a high-stakes end-of-course assessment before the student is entitled to receive academic credit on his or her transcript for Algebra I.

(ii) Only a student who is in grade ten (10), grade eleven (11), or grade twelve (12) in an Arkansas public school in the 2009-2010 school year is exempt from the requirement of taking a high-stakes Algebra I end-of-course assessment, but the student shall meet any general end-of-course assessment requirements for Algebra I.

(iii) Any other student, regardless of the school year or the grade level in which he or she completes an Algebra I course or, beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, the English II course, shall successfully complete an Algebra I and English II high-stakes end-of-course assessment and meet the requisite scale score in order to be entitled to receive academic credit for Algebra I or English II on the student's transcript, unless exempted under an individualized education program.

(iv) A student transferring into an Arkansas public school district without having obtained academic credit on his or her transcript in or after the 2009-2010 school year for Algebra I and in or after the 2013-2014 school year for English II is not exempt from the requirements of subdivision (d)(1)(B)(iii) of this section.

(C) Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, an Arkansas public school student who is in grade ten (10) and who has not previously received academic credit under (d)(1)(A) for English II shall successfully complete the course and meet the requisite scale score on the English II high-stakes end-of-course assessment in order for the student to be entitled to receive academic credit for English II on the student's transcript.

(D) (i) A student who does not meet the requisite scale score on the relevant high-stakes end-of-course assessment shall participate in an individualized academic improvement plan.

(ii) An individualized academic improvement plan shall include research-based remediation activities and multiple opportunities for the student to take and pass subsequent high-stakes end-of-course assessments as long as the student remains enrolled in an Arkansas public school and has not reached twenty-one (21) years of age.

(iii) If after two subsequent high-stakes end-of-course assessments a student does not meet the requisite scale score on the initial high-stakes end-of-course assessment, the student shall participate in strand analysis or formative analysis remediation provided and supported by the department before taking a third or subsequent high-stakes end-of-course assessment.

(iv) Subsequent high-stakes end-of-course assessments and associated remediation programs may be administered in an electronic format.

(2) For a student required to participate in an individualized academic improvement plan in subdivision (d)(1)(D) of this section, the individualized academic improvement plan shall identify the student's specific areas of deficiency on the high-stakes end-of-course assessment, the desired levels of performance necessary for the student to meet the satisfactory pass levels, and the instructional and support services to be provided to meet the desired levels of performance.

(3) (A) A public school also shall provide frequent monitoring of the student's progress in meeting the desired levels of performance.

(B) Remedial activities and instruction provided during high school shall not be in lieu of English, mathematics, science, history, or other core courses required for graduation.

(e) (1) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year for Algebra I and the 2013-2014 school year for English II, a student identified as not passing an initial high-stakes end-of-course assessment shall not receive academic credit on his or her transcript for the course related to the end-of-course assessment and is not entitled to graduate from an Arkansas public high school until:

(A) The student is identified as meeting the requisite scale score on a subsequent high-stakes end-of-course assessment; or

(B) (i) The student is identified as meeting the requisite score established by state board rule on an alternative assessment.

(ii) An alternative assessment shall be an ACT assessment, SAT assessment, advanced placement test, or International Baccalaureate test.

(2) (A) A student identified as having not met the requisite scale score for a high-stakes end-of-course assessment shall not receive academic credit on his or her transcript for the related course until the student meets the requirements of subdivision (e)(1) of this section.

(B) If a student does not meet the requisite scale score on an end-of-course assessment and does not satisfy the remedial requirements of subsection (c) of this section for general end-of-course assessments and subdivision (e)(1) of this section for high-stakes end-of-course assessments, the student shall not be entitled to graduate with a high school diploma from an Arkansas public high school or public charter school.

(f) (1) (A) The state board shall establish the high-stakes end-of-course assessment program required in subsection (d) of this section for Algebra I beginning in the 2009-2010 school year and for English II beginning in the 2013-2014 school year.

(B) Throughout this process, the end-of-course assessment program shall be maintained in such a manner as to meet the requirements of state and federal law, including the full range of students with disabilities.

(2) (A) The superintendent of each public school district shall be responsible for the proper administration of this section and the rules promulgated by the state board to implement the requirements of this section.

(B) To the extent that a public school district is determined to have knowingly failed to administer these provisions of law or rules, the superintendent's license shall be subject to probation, suspension, or revocation under 6-17-410.

(3) Each year the department shall make public at least fifty percent (50%) of the test questions on the most recent initial benchmark and end-of-course assessments.

(4) The state board shall promulgate rules to establish cut scores, remediation programs required in (d)(1)(D), and other components of the general end-of-course assessment program and high-stakes end-of-course assessment program necessary to administer the provisions of this subsection.

(5) (A) Each school year, the department shall establish and publish by commissioner's memo an end-of-course assessment cycle for general end-of-course assessments and high-stakes end-of-course assessments that a public school district shall follow unless the public school district has obtained a written waiver from the department.

(B) The end-of-course assessment cycle shall include an assessment cycle for a student who does not meet the requisite scale score for an initial high-stakes end-of-course assessment and is required under this section to pass a subsequent end-of-course assessment before receiving academic credit on the student's transcript for the course that corresponds to the initial end-of-course assessment.

(6) (A) The department shall develop the form of end-of-course assessments and subsequent end-of-course assessments with the documents, manuals, forms, and protocols necessary for the proper administration, completion, submission, and scoring of the assessment.

(B) The assessment shall be composed of sections that may include both multiple choice and open-response test items.

(7) For the 2009-2010 school year and each school year thereafter, the department shall take steps to ensure that the end-of-course assessments are aligned with state standards and that professional development training is available to teachers of courses for which an end-of-course assessment is required.

(8) Within fifteen (15) business days from the date a public school district receives a student's score that indicates the student did not meet the requisite scale score on an initial and subsequent end-of-course assessment required by this section, the public school district shall provide written notice of the failure to the student's parent or guardian.

(9) If a student with disabilities identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. is unable to meet the requirements of this section because of the nature of the student's disabilities, the student may graduate from high school by demonstrating alternative competencies or alternative levels of competency under the student's individualized education program.

(10) In administering the assessments under this section, the public school district shall provide state-approved accommodations for students with state-recognized disabilities and for English language learners as allowed by law and state board rules.