(d) West Virginia Academic Standards. —

(1) Legislative authority – Sections one, two and twelve, article XII of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia impose a duty upon the Legislature, as a separate but equal branch of government:

(A) To “provide, by general law, for a thorough and efficient system of free schools”;

(B) To prescribe by law the duties of the state board in the general supervision of free public schools;

(D) To foster and encourage moral, intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement in schools.

(2) For purposes of this subsection, “academic standards” are concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. Academic standards describe what students should have learned by the end of a course, grade level or grade span.

(3) The Legislature recognizes that on December 15, 2015, the state board adopted what it represented were academic standards no longer aligned with Common Core State Standards and renamed them “West Virginia College–and–Career–Readiness Standards for English Language Arts (Policy 2520.1A)” and “West Virginia College–and–Career–Readiness Standards for Mathematics (Policy 2520.1B)”.

(4) The Legislature hereby establishes an Academic Standards Evaluation Panel. The panel shall consist of six appointed members and one ex officio member. The deans responsible for the math programs, the deans responsible for the English programs and the deans responsible for the engineering programs at West Virginia University and Marshall University shall each appoint one member. The Chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission, or his or her designee, shall serve as an ex officio member and be responsible for facilitating the work of the panel. The Academic Standards Evaluation Panel shall:

(A) Using the West Virginia College–and–Career–Readiness Standards for English

Language Arts and Mathematics as a framework, evaluate and recommend revisions to the standards based on empirical research and data to ensure grade-level alignment to the standards of states with a proven track record of consistent high-performing student achievement in English Language Arts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress; and in Mathematics, on both the National Assessment of Educational Progress and Trends in Math and Science Study International Assessment;

(B) Review the Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives for Science in West Virginia Schools and recommend revisions that it considers appropriate;

(D) Use facilities, staff and supplies provided by the Higher Education Policy Commission;

(E) Submit its evaluation and recommended revisions to the state board and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability by October 1, 2016.

(5) The state board shall withdraw from the Memorandum of Agreement entered into with the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association for Best Practices, which required the state board to agree that common core represents eighty-five percent of West Virginia’s standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics and withdraw as a governing state in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium.

(6) Any academic standard adopted by the state board shall meet the following criteria:

(A) Be age level and developmentally appropriate, particularly as it relates to sequencing of content standards and the measurement of student academic performance;

(B) Be free of instructional strategies;

(D) Be based solely on academic content.

(7) The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education and Accountability shall review any proposed rules relating to academic standards to determine whether the board has exceeded the scope of its statutory authority in approving the proposed legislative rule and whether the proposed legislative rule is in conformity with the legislative intent of the provisions of this subsection. The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education and Accountability may, at its discretion, hold public hearings, recommend to the board any changes needed to comply with the legislative intent of this subsection and make recommendations to the Legislature for any statutory changes needed to clarify the legislative intent of this statute.

~~(d)~~(e) Comprehensive statewide student assessment program. — ~~The state board shall~~ ~~establish a comprehensive statewide student assessment program to assess student performance and progress in grades three through through twelve. The assessment program is subject to the following:~~

(1) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three‑b, chapter twenty‑nine‑a of this code establishing the comprehensive statewide student assessment program;

(2) Prior to the 2014‑2015 school year, the state board shall align the comprehensive statewide student assessment for all grade levels in which the test is given with the college‑readiness standards adopted pursuant to section thirty‑nine, article two of this chapter or develop other aligned tests to be required at each grade level so that progress toward college readiness in English/language arts and math can be measured.

(3) The state board may require that student proficiencies be measured through the ACT EXPLORE and the ACT PLAN assessments or other comparable assessments, which are approved by the state board and provided by future vendors;

(1) For federal and state accountability purposes, the state board shall review and approve a summative assessment system for administration to all public school students, beginning in school year 2016-2017, in grades three through eight and once in early high school that assesses students in English, reading, writing, science and mathematics: Provided, That the assessment in science may only be administered once during the grade span of three through five and once during the grade span of six through eight. The assessment shall include those students as required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The summative assessment system must meet the following requirements:

(A) Be a vertically-scaled, benchmarked, standards-based system of summative assessments;

(B) Document student progress toward national college and career readiness benchmarks derived from empirical research and state standards;

(C) Be capable of measuring individual student performance in English, reading, writing, science and mathematics: Provided, That the assessment in science may only be administered once during the grade span of three though five and once during the grade span of six through eight;

(D) Be available in paper-and-pencil and computer-based formats;

(E) Be a predictive measure of student progress toward a national college readiness assessment used by higher education institutions for admissions purposes; and

(F) Be aligned or augmented to align with the standards in effect at the time the test is administered.

(2) The state board shall review and approve a college readiness assessment to be administered to all students in the eleventh grade for the first time in school year 2016-2017 and subsequent years. The eleventh grade college readiness assessment shall be administered at least once to each eleventh grade student and shall meet the following requirements:

(A) Be a standardized, curriculum-based, achievement college entrance examination;

(B) Assess student readiness for first-year, credit-bearing coursework in postsecondary education;

(D) Have content area benchmarks for measuring student achievement;

(E) Be administered throughout the United States;

(F) Be relied upon by institutions of higher education for admissions; and

(G) Be aligned or augmented to align with the standards in effect at the time the test is administered.

(3) The state board shall review and approve career readiness assessments and assessment-based credentials that measure and document foundational workplace skills. The assessments shall be administered to public secondary school students in grades eleven or twelve for the first time in school year 2016-2017 and subsequent years: Provided, That the career readiness assessment is voluntary and may only be administered to students who elect to take the assessment. The assessment-based credential shall be available to any student who achieves at the required level on the assessments. The assessments shall meet the following requirements:

(A) Be a standardized, criterion-referenced, measure of broadly relevant foundational workplace skills;

(B) Assess and document student readiness for a wide range of jobs;

(i) Applied mathematics;

(ii) Locating information; or

(iii) Reading for information;

(D) Align with research-based skill requirement profiles for specific industries and occupations;

(E) Lead to a work readiness certificate for students who meet the minimum proficiency requirements on the component assessments; and

(F) Be available in paper-and-pencil and computer-based formats.

(4) The state board shall not acquire or implement any assessment instrument or instruments developed to specifically align with the Common Core State Standards including Smarter Balanced Assessment or Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

(5) For any online assessment, the state board shall provide online assessment preparation to ensure that students have the requisite digital literacy skills necessary to be successful on the assessment.

(6) The state board shall develop a plan and make recommendations regarding end-of- course assessments and student accountability measures and submit its findings to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education and Accountability by December 31, 2016.

(7) The state board shall develop a policy which sets forth accountability measures for students taking the comprehensive statewide assessment.

(8) Any summative assessment approved by the state board shall take no more than two percent of a student’s instructional time.

~~(4)~~ (9) The state board may require that student proficiencies be measured through the West Virginia writing assessment at any grade levels determined by the state board to be appropriate.

~~(6)~~ (10) The state board may provide through ~~the statewide assessment program~~ policy other optional testing or assessment instruments applicable to grade levels kindergarten through eight and grade eleven which may be used by each school to promote student achievement. The state board annually shall publish and make available, electronically or otherwise, to school curriculum teams and teacher collaborative processes the optional testing and assessment instruments.;

And,

On page eighteen, section five, line four hundred eighteen, after the word “appeals.” by striking out the remainder of the subdivision.

Adopted

Rejected