1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; amending the profile of 
  1.3             learning; focusing on core academic content areas; 
  1.4             allowing school districts to use an "A to F" grading 
  1.5             system to record students' work and grades; directing 
  1.6             the commissioner to a statewide software package for 
  1.7             reporting student performance; requiring tests 
  1.8             administered annually to third-grade, fifth-grade, 
  1.9             eighth-grade, and secondary students to be nationally 
  1.10            norm-referenced tests; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.11            2000, sections 120B.02; 120B.031, subdivisions 9, 11; 
  1.12            120B.30, subdivision 1; 120B.31, subdivisions 1, 2, 3.
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.02, is 
  1.15  amended to read: 
  1.16     120B.02 [RESULTS-ORIENTED GRADUATION RULE; BASIC SKILLS 
  1.17  REQUIREMENTS; PROFILE OF LEARNING.] 
  1.18     (a) The legislature is committed to establishing a 
  1.19  rigorous, results-oriented graduation rule for Minnesota's 
  1.20  public school students.  To that end, the commissioner shall use 
  1.21  its rulemaking authority under section 127A.05, subdivision 4, 
  1.22  to adopt a statewide, results-oriented graduation rule to be 
  1.23  implemented starting with students beginning ninth grade in the 
  1.24  1996-1997 school year.  The commissioner shall not prescribe in 
  1.25  rule or otherwise the delivery system or form of instruction 
  1.26  that school sites must use to meet the requirements contained in 
  1.27  this rule.  For purposes of this chapter, a school site is a 
  1.28  separate facility, or a separate program within a facility that 
  1.29  a local school board recognizes as a school site.  
  2.1      (b) To successfully accomplish paragraph (a), the 
  2.2   commissioner shall set in rule high academic standards for all 
  2.3   students.  The standards must contain the foundational skills in 
  2.4   the three core curricular areas of reading, writing, and 
  2.5   mathematics while meeting requirements for high school 
  2.6   graduation.  The standards must also provide an opportunity for 
  2.7   students to excel by meeting higher academic standards through a 
  2.8   profile of learning that uses curricular requirements in core 
  2.9   academic content areas to allow students to expand their 
  2.10  knowledge and skills beyond the foundational skills.  All 
  2.11  commissioner actions regarding the rule must be premised on the 
  2.12  following:  
  2.13     (1) the rule is intended to raise ~~academic~~ expectations in 
  2.14  core academic content areas for students, teachers, and schools; 
  2.15     (2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence 
  2.16  consideration of school district autonomy; and 
  2.17     (3) the department of children, families, and learning, 
  2.18  with the assistance of school districts, must make available 
  2.19  information about all state initiatives related to the rule to 
  2.20  students and parents, teachers, and the general public in a 
  2.21  timely format that is appropriate, comprehensive, and readily 
  2.22  understandable. 
  2.23     (c) For purposes of adopting the rule, the commissioner, in 
  2.24  consultation with the department, recognized psychometric 
  2.25  experts in assessment, and other interested and knowledgeable 
  2.26  educators, using the most current version of professional 
  2.27  standards for educational testing, shall evaluate the 
  2.28  alternative approaches to assessment.  
  2.29     (d) The content of the graduation rule must differentiate 
  2.30  between minimum competencies reflected in the basic requirements 
  2.31  assessment and rigorous profile of learning standards.  When 
  2.32  fully implemented, the requirements for high school graduation 
  2.33  in Minnesota must include both basic requirements and the 
  2.34  required profile of learning.  The profile of learning must 
  2.35  measure student performance in core academic content areas using 
  2.36  performance-based assessments compiled over time that integrate 
  3.1   higher academic standards, higher order thinking skills, and 
  3.2   application of knowledge from ~~a variety of~~ core academic content 
  3.3   areas.  The profile of learning shall include a broad range 
  3.4   of core academic ~~experience~~ experiences and 
  3.5   ~~accomplishment~~ accomplishments necessary to achieve the goal of 
  3.6   preparing students to function effectively as purposeful 
  3.7   thinkers, effective communicators, self-directed learners, 
  3.8   productive group participants, and responsible citizens.  
  3.9      (e) The profile of learning contains the following learning 
  3.10  areas: 
  3.11     (1) ~~read, listen, and view~~ English including reading and 
  3.12  writing, literature, and fine arts; 
  3.13     (2) ~~write and speak;~~ 
  3.14     ~~(3) arts and literature;~~ 
  3.15     ~~(4)~~ mathematical concepts and applications; 
  3.16     ~~(5) inquiry and research;~~ 
  3.17     ~~(6)~~ (3) scientific concepts and applications; 
  3.18     ~~(7)~~ (4) social studies; 
  3.19     ~~(8)~~ (5) health and physical education ~~and lifetime fitness;~~ 
  3.20     ~~(9) economics and business;~~ 
  3.21     ~~(10) world languages~~; and 
  3.22     ~~(11)~~ (6) technical and vocational education. 
  3.23     (f) The commissioner shall periodically review and report 
  3.24  on the assessment process and student achievement with the 
  3.25  expectation of raising the core academic content standards and 
  3.26  expanding high school graduation requirements. 
  3.27     (g) Beginning August 31, 2000, the commissioner must 
  3.28  publish, including in electronic format for the Internet, a 
  3.29  report, by school site, area learning center, and charter 
  3.30  school, of: 
  3.31     (1) the required preparatory content standards; 
  3.32     (2) the high school content standards required for 
  3.33  graduation; and 
  3.34     (3) the number of student waivers the district, area 
  3.35  learning center, or charter school approves under section 
  3.36  120B.031, subdivisions 4, 5, and 6, based on information each 
  4.1   district, area learning center, and charter school provides. 
  4.2      (h) School districts must integrate required and elective 
  4.3   core academic content standards in the scope and sequence of the 
  4.4   district curriculum. 
  4.5      (i) School districts are not required to adopt specific 
  4.6   provisions of the Goals 2000 and the federal School-to-Work 
  4.7   programs. 
  4.8      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  4.9   following final enactment.  
  4.10     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.031, 
  4.11  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  4.12     Subd. 9.  [SCORING.] (a) The grade level of a student shall 
  4.13  not prohibit a student from receiving the highest state exemplar 
  4.14  score upon completion of a content standard.  Teachers may 
  4.15  assign a score of "0" to incomplete student work on a standard.  
  4.16  The assessment of the content standard must be included as part 
  4.17  of the student's grade for a subject or course.  
  4.18     (b) A school district may use an "A to F" grading system or 
  4.19  a "4 to 0" scoring system to record students' work and grade or 
  4.20  score for a subject or course.  
  4.21     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  4.22  following final enactment.  
  4.23     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.031, 
  4.24  subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
  4.25     Subd. 11.  [TECHNOLOGY AND RECORDKEEPING.] (a) The 
  4.26  commissioner ~~shall designate to~~, in consultation with school 
  4.27  districts, area learning centers, and charter schools, shall 
  4.28  develop and implement a statewide software ~~packages~~ package for 
  4.29  reporting student performance on the content standards over 
  4.30  time.  The commissioner shall ensure that the designated 
  4.31  recordkeeping software is capable of transferring student 
  4.32  records between schools and school districts and is available to 
  4.33  school districts at a minimal cost.  ~~The commissioner shall~~ 
  4.34  ~~convene an advisory group composed of qualified experts and~~ 
  4.35  ~~interested stakeholders to recommend to districts and charter~~ 
  4.36  ~~schools recordkeeping practices under the graduation rule.~~  The 
  5.1   commissioner must ~~also~~ report on technology needs for efficient 
  5.2   daily classroom recordkeeping and accountability reporting. 
  5.3      (b) The commissioner shall notify the education committees 
  5.4   of the legislature that the requirements in paragraph (a) have 
  5.5   been met. 
  5.6      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This sections is effective the day 
  5.7   following final enactment and applies to the 2001-2002 school 
  5.8   year and later.  
  5.9      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.30, 
  5.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.11     Subdivision 1.  [STATEWIDE TESTING.] (a) The commissioner, 
  5.12  with advice from experts with appropriate technical 
  5.13  qualifications and experience and stakeholders, shall include in 
  5.14  the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade level to be 
  5.15  tested, a test, which shall be aligned with the state's 
  5.16  graduation standards and administered annually to all students 
  5.17  in the third, fifth, and eighth grades.  The tests administered 
  5.18  annually to all students in the third, fifth, and eighth grades 
  5.19  must be nationally norm-referenced tests.  The commissioner 
  5.20  shall establish one or more months during which schools shall 
  5.21  administer the tests to students each school year.  Only 
  5.22  Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, mathematics, and 
  5.23  writing shall fulfill students' basic skills testing 
  5.24  requirements for a passing state notation.  The passing scores 
  5.25  of the state tests in reading and mathematics are the equivalent 
  5.26  of:  
  5.27     (1) 70 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 
  5.28  1996; and 
  5.29     (2) 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 
  5.30  1997 and thereafter, as based on the first uniform test 
  5.31  administration of February 1998.  
  5.32     Notwithstanding Minnesota Rules, part 3501.0050, subpart 2, 
  5.33  at the written request of a parent or guardian, and with the 
  5.34  recommendation of the student's teacher, a district may offer 
  5.35  the test of basic requirements in reading, math, or writing to 
  5.36  an individual student beginning in grade 5.  The student must 
  6.1   take the same test on the same date as administered to students 
  6.2   in eighth grade or higher.  Third and fifth grade test results 
  6.3   shall be available to districts for diagnostic purposes 
  6.4   affecting student learning and district instruction and 
  6.5   curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability.  
  6.6   The commissioner must disseminate to the public the third and 
  6.7   fifth grade test results upon receiving those results. 
  6.8      (b) In addition, at the secondary level, districts shall 
  6.9   assess student performance in all required learning areas and 
  6.10  selected required standards within each area of the profile of 
  6.11  learning.  The nationally norm-referenced testing instruments 
  6.12  and testing process shall be determined by the commissioner.  
  6.13  The results shall be aggregated at the site and district level.  
  6.14  The testing shall be administered beginning in the 1999-2000 
  6.15  school year and thereafter. 
  6.16     (c) The commissioner shall report school site and school 
  6.17  district student academic achievement levels of the current and 
  6.18  two immediately preceding school years.  The report shall 
  6.19  include students' unweighted mean test scores in each tested 
  6.20  subject, the unweighted mean test scores of only those students 
  6.21  enrolled in the school by January 1 of the previous school year, 
  6.22  and the unweighted test scores of all students except those 
  6.23  students receiving limited English proficiency instruction.  The 
  6.24  report also shall record separately, in proximity to the 
  6.25  reported performance levels, the percentages of students who are 
  6.26  eligible to receive a free or reduced price school meal, 
  6.27  demonstrate limited English proficiency, or are eligible to 
  6.28  receive special education services. 
  6.29     (d) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements 
  6.30  under paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), the commissioner shall 
  6.31  include the following components in the statewide public 
  6.32  reporting system: 
  6.33     (1) uniform statewide testing of all third, fifth, eighth, 
  6.34  and post-eighth grade students that provides exemptions, only 
  6.35  with parent or guardian approval, for those very few students 
  6.36  for whom the student's individual education plan team under 
  7.1   sections 125A.05 and 125A.06, determines that the student is 
  7.2   incapable of taking a statewide test, or for a limited English 
  7.3   proficiency student under section 124D.59, subdivision 2, if the 
  7.4   student has been in the United States for fewer than 12 months 
  7.5   and for whom special language barriers exist, such as the 
  7.6   student's native language does not have a written form or the 
  7.7   district does not have access to appropriate interpreter 
  7.8   services for the student's native language; 
  7.9      (2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and 
  7.10  compared across school districts and across time on a statewide 
  7.11  basis, including average daily attendance, high school 
  7.12  graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and 
  7.13  grade level; 
  7.14     (3) students' scores on the American College Test; and 
  7.15     (4) participation in the National Assessment of Educational 
  7.16  Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against 
  7.17  the nation and other states, and, where possible, against other 
  7.18  countries, and contribute to the national effort to monitor 
  7.19  achievement. 
  7.20     (e) Districts must report exemptions under paragraph (d), 
  7.21  clause (1), to the commissioner consistent with a format 
  7.22  provided by the commissioner. 
  7.23     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  7.24  following final enactment and applies to the 2001-2002 school 
  7.25  year and later.  
  7.26     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.31, 
  7.27  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  7.28     Subdivision 1.  [EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC 
  7.29  REPORTING.] Consistent with the process to adopt a 
  7.30  results-oriented graduation rule under section 120B.02, the 
  7.31  department, in consultation with education and other system 
  7.32  stakeholders, must establish a coordinated and comprehensive 
  7.33  system of educational accountability and public reporting that 
  7.34  promotes higher academic achievement in core academic content 
  7.35  areas over time.  
  7.36     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  8.1   following final enactment.  
  8.2      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.31, 
  8.3   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  8.4      Subd. 2.  [STATEWIDE TESTING.] Each school year, all school 
  8.5   districts shall give a uniform statewide test to students at 
  8.6   specified grades to provide information on the status, needs and 
  8.7   performance of Minnesota students.  The test must be a 
  8.8   nationally norm-referenced test.  
  8.9      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  8.10  following final enactment and applies to the 2001-2002 school 
  8.11  year and later.  
  8.12     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.31, 
  8.13  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  8.14     Subd. 3.  [EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.] (a) The independent 
  8.15  office of educational accountability, as authorized by Laws 
  8.16  1997, First Special Session chapter 4, article 5, section 28, 
  8.17  subdivision 2, is established.  The office shall advise the 
  8.18  education committees of the legislature and the commissioner of 
  8.19  children, families, and learning, at least on a biennial basis, 
  8.20  on the degree to which the statewide educational accountability 
  8.21  and reporting system includes a comprehensive assessment 
  8.22  framework that measures school accountability for students 
  8.23  achieving the goals described in the state's results-oriented 
  8.24  graduation rule.  The office shall consider whether the 
  8.25  statewide system of educational accountability utilizes multiple 
  8.26  indicators to provide valid and reliable comparative and 
  8.27  contextual data on students, schools, districts, and the state, 
  8.28  and if not, recommend ways to improve the accountability 
  8.29  reporting system. 
  8.30     (b) When the office reviews the statewide educational 
  8.31  accountability and reporting system, it shall also consider: 
  8.32     (1) the objectivity and neutrality of the state's 
  8.33  educational accountability system; ~~and~~ 
  8.34     (2) the impact of a testing program on school curriculum 
  8.35  and student learning; and 
  8.36     (3) the degree to which individual school districts and 
  9.1   school sites are demonstrating sufficient incremental progress 
  9.2   over consecutive school years in improving student performance 
  9.3   in core academic content areas. 
  9.4      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  9.5   following final enactment.