House subcommittee okays EAA reform bill

The House Education K-12 Subcommittee on Tuesday reported out favorably a bill to reform the Education Accountability Act (H.4662) with two technical amendments. The first eliminates the requirement to include National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores of other states in the district report cards. The second requires graduation rate be used as one of the criteria for determining high school and district ratings. 

The bill calls for changes in four of the five major components of EAA: testing, professional development/technical assistance, public reporting and rewards and intervention. No changes are proposed for the academic standards component.

Testing:

• PACT would be replaced by the Elementary and Middle School Assessment Program (EMSAP) beginning 2010.
• EMSAP performance level terms would be Exemplary, Met, and Not Met.
• EMSAP would include tests in the four subject areas (English/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies).
• EMSAP multiple choice test items would be administered close to the end of the school year to provide schools with strand level information. The writing test would be administered earlier in the year.
• Formative tests to provide individual student diagnostic information would be administered twice a year for grades 3-8 in English/language arts and math beginning in 2008-09, and for science and social studies beginning in 2009-10. Individual student score reports will be included in students’ academic file.
• The State Department of Education would provide student test results to schools by August 1 each year.  

Technical Assistance

• EAA provisions concerning technical assistance to low performing schools and districts are updated to include several of the flexibility provisions in state budget provisos.  

Public Reporting

• The term Improvement Rating would be changed to Growth Rating.
• Graduation rate would be used as one of the criteria for high school and district ratings.
• District report cards must include the states' National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores and the nation.  

Rewards and Intervention

• Closing the achievement gap between disaggregated student groups would be added as a third criteria for Palmetto Gold and Silver awards.

The full House Education Committee is scheduled to take up H.4662 today after the House adjourns.